Day: February 9, 2022

Accra,- COCOBOD is committed to the national course of promoting local processing and consumption of cocoa, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive of COCOBOD has said.

The health and socio-economic benefits of increased local processing and value addition were enormous include decreased inflammation, improved heart and brain health, blood sugar and weight control and healthy teeth.

The Chief Executive said this in Accra at the opening of the ‘Chocolate City’, as part of this year’s National Chocolate Week celebration, launched at the Tetteh Quarshie Farms, Mampong Akuapem.

The setting up of the Chocolate City is to provide an avenue to showcase various products made out of Ghana’s premium cocoa.

The celebration has been part of COCOBOD’s broad strategic plan to promote cocoa consumption, to make cocoa a daily food for every Ghanaian household.

“Our intention is to explore the various recipes and products that cocoa can be used for to maximize its utilization in every aspect of our daily lives. This will obviously result in increased cocoa consumption,” he said.

He said the Chocolate City would be an experience of Cocoa Heaven for visitors with surprise cocoa products giveaways, live band performances, University Alumni Quiz competition, family day and many other activities.

The Chief Executive urged the public to visit the Chocolate Cities in Accra and Kumasi and buy the taste of Ghana’s cocoa products.

He said the journey of the cocoa consumption campaign had been successful because of the unflinching support of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Cocoa Processors, and the financial institutions.

Mr Akwasi Agyemang, the Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Tourism Authority, said the government would work to ensure that the Tetteh Quarshie Farms in Mampong Akuapem was made a tourist attraction.

“We will collaborate with stakeholders to ensure that the consumption of cocoa products in the tourism space is improved,” he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Dr Kofi Abban Foundation has donated equipment to the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission for the Mole National Park.

The equipment, worth over GHS200,000, include a 4×4 Safari Land Rover Defender, 10 helmets, 10 pairs of safety Boots, three boxes of respirators, communication gadgets and two rechargeable flashlights. 

During the presentation ceremony at the Forestry Commission Office in Accra, Dr. Kofi Amoa-Abban, a Ghanaian Oil and Gas entrepreneur, said the equipment enhance the operations of  the Mole National Park as management traversed its vast land coverage, about 4,570-kilometre sq.

 ”It is a pleasure to make this donation to the Forestry Commission. I was informed about the challenges that faced the Mole National Park as a wildlife enthusiast, so, I deem it vital to support the Park to further enhance its smooth operations.

“I hope this donation would build a close relationship with the Forestry Commission and support them in most of the activities to ensure the promotion of Ecotourism in Ghana,” Dr. Abban said.

Mr John Allotey, Chief Executive Officer, Forestry Commission, who received the equipment on behalf of the Wildlife Division, expressed his gratitude to Dr. Abban for his kind gesture, adding that the items would boost operations of the park.

Mr Allotey noted that the Mole National Park had some logistical challenges and was grateful to the foundation for donating the items. 

He indicated that the Mole National Park had huge potential to generate more revenue for the state, especially in the area of eco-tourism and that the country needed massive investment to help boost the tourism sector.

Mr. Allotey said despite the Government’s support to the Forestry Commission, he would encourage corporate institutions to support their cause  of safeguarding the environment. 

Mr Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey, a member of the Tour Operators Union of Ghana and CEO of Kaya Tours, said during a visit to the park, he noticed that the guards had insufficient  transportation and communications gadgets, which made their operations difficult.

As a result, he solicited the support from corporate Ghana and individuals, to enable the managers of the park to effectively undertake their duties.

Mr. Aggrey, who was adjudged the 2020 Tourism Oriented Media Personality, therefore, commended Dr. Abban for his gesture and urged other corporate bodies and individuals  to help develop the various parks to boost tourism in the country.

Mrs Alisa Asamoah, President of Tour Operators Union of Ghana, said the initiative by the Dr. Abban Foundation was in line with their objective of  domestic tourism.

She said her outfit had over the.past months visited some tour sites to identify their various challenges, and help find solutions.

Dignitaries present at the ceremony included Mr. Jones Nelson, Corporate Affairs Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority, who outlined various measures taken by the Authority to help boost local tourism.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr. Chidi is a renowned world-leading lifestyle physician, with clients across the world.

He is also an entrepreneur and a philanthropist and a motivational speaker.
Being of black origin, it is worthy to note that Dr. Chidi has distinguished himself as a pioneer in his practice due to his unique application of Lifestyle Medicine.

Through his craft and tested methods, Dr. Chidi has been proven to cure and reverse diabetes in many patients around the world.

He believes that diseases can be cured if patients are willing to make adjustments to their lifestyle and to live a particular way.
In this episode, RTWN visited him at a plush home and interviewed him on his life journey.

Dr. Chidi talks about where and how he grew up and why he chose to become a lifestyle medical practitioner.

Dr. Chidi talked about his resilience, commitment, and dedication to his life-changing challenges – From living with foster parents, being denied admission to medical school in England to establishing his practice on the famous Harley Street in London.

At Real Talk with Nana, we promise to bring inspirational and accomplished individuals to you by connecting with their stories and walking through their life journeys.

Follow Dr. Chidi on instagram @Dr. Chidi.

Subscribe to our you tube channel real talk with nana for more of these interviews.

Source: Ghana Web

Promasidor Ghana has donated assorted PGH food products worth GHS 70,000 to victims of the recent explosion which occurred in Appiatse a suburb of Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality.

The donation was done in the presence of the MCE for Prestea Huni-Valley, PGH trade partner for the area – Ransbet Supplies, assemblyman of the Appiatse, traditional leaders, victims of the explosion among others.

Presenting the items under short ceremony held at the temporary campsite for the victims, Head of Events and PR at Promasidor, Gideon Kodo shared the shock with which management of the business received the news of the explosion and further expressed his condolences to families that had lost their relatives in the disaster as well as an assurance of the commitment of the business to support in any way possible.

Mr. Kodo also explained how community engagement is key in the operations of PGH across the country for which reason management found it important to present assorted food products as the first form of assistance to the victims of the disaster. He also called on regulatory bodies and other stakeholders to ensure that the country does not witness this form of disaster again.

The team took the opportunity to share words of encouragement and empathized with the victims as they toured the campsite.

Receiving the items on behalf of the people of Appaitse, MCE of Prestea Huni-Valley, Dr. Isaac Dramani expressed his gratitude to the business for the kind gesture and assured the team of immediate disbursement of all items presented. Items presented include Cowbell products, Miksi dairy products, Yumvita infant cereal, Onga seasoning, branded bowls, buckets, and other kitchen appliances.

On the 20th of January, 2022 an explosion at Appiatse a suburb of Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality, claimed the lives of 13 people while leaving hundreds of others displaced.

Source: Ghana Web

Accra, -The Data Protection Commission of Ghana has compiled a list of non-compliant data controllers to be forwarded to the Attorney General’s department to commence legal proceedings.

This follows the refusal by some Data Controllers to register with the Data Protection Commission as mandated by law under Section 46(3) of the Data Protection Act 2021 (Act 843).

Ghana joined the rest of the world on January 28th, 2022, to celebrate Data Privacy Day giving the topic on Data Protection the volume it needs.

The Executive Director of the Data Protection Commission of Ghana, Ms Patricia Adusei- Poku spoke extensively on the need for organisations to prioritise data protection, respect others privacy and act in accordance with the Data Protection act to avoid non-compliance.

Riding on the back of all past and recent avenues created for Data Controllers and Data Subjects to engage with the commission on their queries, challenges and/or concerns, the Commission has moved to the next level to instigate legal proceedings against defaulters.

In the meantime, the Commission continues to encourage organisations to do what is right by registering with the Commission, training an employee to become a Certified Data Protection Supervisor (CDPS) and implementing an in-house privacy programme.

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) is a statutory body established under the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) to protect the privacy of the individual and personal data by regulating the processing of personal data, choices of technologies and integrity of people with access to personal data. The Commission provides for the process to obtain, hold, use, or disclose personal information and for other related issues bordering on the protection of personal data.

Meanwhile, the Data Protection Commission is calling on training institutions interested in the field of Data Protection to come forward for accreditation to assist the commission in offering the Certified Data Protection Supervisor(CDPS) Training as a service.

This follows the commission’s intention to scale up awareness creation on data protection especially among Data controllers and as well as make available accredited institutions nationwide to take up the demand.

Section 58 of the Data Protection Act 2012, Act 843 makes provisions for the appointment of a Data Protection Supervisor who must be qualified and certified.

It is against this background that the Commission is now inviting eligible consultants to indicate their interest by writing to the Commission.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Executive Summary

Background CARE is a humanitarian non-governmental organization committed to working with poor women, men, boys, girls, communities, and institutions to have a significant impact on the underlying causes of poverty. CARE seeks to contribute to economic and social transformation, unleashing the power of the most vulnerable women and girls. The AgroSource project in Ghana was initially designed as a two and half (2½) year project implemented between July 2018 and December 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic however, necessitated a 6-months extension, thus making it a 3-year project that extended into 2021. The project aimed to support smallholder women farmers to:
• Increase availability and access to good quality agricultural inputs in rural communities by 50% through a private sector led agro-dealership scheme that will establish and support 50 women and men rural agro-dealers by the year 2020;
• Increase availability of and access to certified seed through a community seed production system in partnership with the private sector, which will engage 200 smallholder women farmers as out-growers:
• Improve utilization of good quality agricultural inputs by enhancing knowledge of smallholder farmers through input fairs, demonstration plots and trainings: and
• Create an enabling environment for women in agri-input systems through improving gender responsiveness of both private and government sector partners.

The project was designed to build on existing work done by CARE’s Pathways project, which ran from 2011 to 2018, in establishing a private sector led agro-dealership scheme. The overall objective of the AgroSource project contributes to CARE Ghana’s Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) and the Social and Economic Empowerment (SEE) programming priorities by promoting equitable access to key agricultural inputs for smallholder women and new entrepreneurial prospects for women and youth in strong partnership with the private sector. Over the course of the project implementation, the number of community agro-input dealers was expected to increase from 24 in two project districts to 50 dealers in five (5) districts (i.e., Garu, Tempane, Bawku West, Lambussie-Karni and Nandom in the Upper East and West regions).

Purpose and Objectives of the Evaluation

The main reason for the evaluation was to assess the processes and achievements made with respect to the project objectives and expected results as well as issues of capacity, partnerships established, and approaches used. To this end, the evaluation captures lessons learnt focusing on what has worked and not worked for future planning. Additionally, the evaluation elucidated the contributory factors for the change in the impact groups that have been part of the Agro Source Project.

Methodology

The methodology is grounded in the appreciation that, an evaluation focused on finding meaning in life issues such as “seeking to improve agricultural productivity of smallholder women farmers through increased availability, access and use of good quality agriculture inputs” goes beyond either only quantitative or qualitative thinking. Both conceptions of reality are needed to appreciate the true nature and values that characterize this last-mile agricultural input supply systems project. To this end, there was the need to use “quantitative” measures of verification to capture any changes in the parameters of change that Agro Source sought to bring about; on the other, it was prudent to use “qualitative” measures of verification to appraise the changes which can best be expressed mainly in social value terms not easily captured through quantitative variables of change. In this light, the evaluation used both Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Survey as main methods to collect and document the findings in answer to the requirements of the ToR. These methods gave different types of information which complemented each other for a comprehensive participatory evaluation. For purposes of consistency and ease of cross-comparison of results, the final evaluation adopted the same sampling approach for respondents as executed during the baseline. The evaluation replicated the three-stage random sampling technique in selecting the districts, communities and households. In the first stage, all the five (5) Agro Source project districts were selected followed by sampling of communities in the second stage and finally the sampling of households. Four (4) communities were sampled from each district with a total of twenty (20) household respondents, fifteen (15) of whom were women and five (5) were men. A total of eighty (80) household respondents consisting of sixty (60) women and twenty (20) men were therefore targeted in each district. With a target of 30,000 smallholder women farmers, a total of 400 households were sampled using the Taro Yamene’s method.

Findings

The evaluation found strong overall project performance confirmed by improvements in input availability access and utilization; as well as, income mobility and increased productivity at the farmer level across all project districts. Performance exceeded both project targets and expectations – in light of the ravages occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of a total of 16 indicators, the project was successful in accomplishing all targets (14) except two (i.e. number of partnerships with commercial seed companies and types of support offered to out growers [2/5]; and percentage of farmers who use recommended GAPs and inputs application practices [52% achieved against 70% targeted]. Performance on M&E indicators showed variation in results, as output to outcome conversion was mostly positively consistent per type of activity. However, outcomes that required either strong engagement from relevant private sector actors or changes in farmer behaviour showed relatively lower achievement — indicating that these may require extra effort or more time to achieve sustained progress. Performance on M&E indicators showed variation in results, as output to outcome conversion was mostly positively consistent per type of activity.

Conclusion

Designed, developed, and implemented within the highly patriarchal social-cultural contexts of Northern Ghana, where women’s access to agri-inputs and services have been highly constricted, CARE’s Agro Source has been greatly successful in attaining measured progress toward attaining the simultaneous empowerment of women agriculture-wise and the strengthening of agriculture input systems for improved productivity. Our general assessment of the project’s achievements over the course of the three years is that it has progressively met its purpose and significantly contributed to the project goal – in most areas, it exceeded the expectations of the original project targets. The Agro Source concept provides a good model that should be carried forward, either as a continuation of this project or in future projects.

Recommendations

i. The ability for a project to link holistically from farm to market, is strengthened where a project engages the full value chain – where Agro Source leveraged other CARE projects (Pathways, AGREE etc.) engaging in different parts of the value chain, project performance was stronger. The advantages of Agro Source’s integration with other CARE programmes is bi-directional: integration strengthens the activities led by other programmes by strengthening their alignment with input system dynamics, and enables the project to have much broader reach, applicability and relevance.

ii. Agro Source project activities used a mix of approaches — partnerships, capacity building, training, face-to-face interactions, input fairs, special events, and traditional methods of communication—that led to the sustained up-take of project initiatives. It also leveraged the diversity of people, cultures, and social networks and government structures, taking advantage of the opportunities they presented to influence the attitudes and behaviours of different social segments. These approaches were found by the evaluation team to be novel, complementary and reinforcing and thus guaranteed project success. We recommend that this approach be sustained in future programming.

iii. Agro Source has been quite successful in identifying strategic partners and collaborators (government, community and private sector) able to implement projects with strong outputs and high potential for impact. As CARE continues to intervene in this space, we recommend that further commitments be made to strengthen agri-input dealers, out-growers and CBEAs and their performance beyond the technical support currently being provided. To pursue a balanced and holistic approach to input systems development, CARE could consider addressing both supply-side (farmers) and demand-side (buyers) challenges through its programming. While the majority of interventions focused on strengthening the capacities of farmers and farmer organizations to engage effectively with markets, inadequate linkages to institutional buyers and limited absorptive capacity of smallholder farmers (due to endemic poverty) inhibited the achievement of some outcomes. Developing closer coordination or takers considering targeted, direct support to input dealers/seed growers, private sector off and other institutional buyers could improve market outlets for farmers.

iv. Strengthen agroinput dealers’ associations at district level to serve as a platform for advocacy and lobbying to obtain input credit or loans, reduce transaction costs between agro input wholesalers and community agroinput dealers. AGREE’s WAPs provide a very suitable avenue for realizing this recommendation. Similarly, it would be worthwhile to continue to facilitate the formation of a seed outgrowers’ association which will be important for advocacy, lobbying and marketing of their produce.

Source: CARE

Cape Coast,- The Department of Children, under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has cautioned the public, particularly students, to be vigilant in their internet usage to curb online criminal abuses.

It said sextortion, cyber bullying, blackmail, sexting, money laundering, fraud and child pornography were unsafe online issues that could easily destruct, especially children, from achieving academic success.

Ms Ivy Amartey, the Central Regional Director of the Department, said this in an engagement with students on the Africa Safer Internet Day Celebration at Ekon, a suburb of Cape Coast.

The day, celebrated annually in 200 countries on the eighth day of February, is to create awareness on the positive and critical use of the internet among youngsters.

This year’s event is on the theme: “Together for a Better Internet.”

Ms Amartey said the theme was apt because it sought to educate all people to develop an intuition that detected unsafe materials as they navigated the online world.

It was sponsored by the Child Online Africa (COA), a child focused research and advocacy Non-Governmental Organisation that campaigns to influence policies and change practices that affect child protection online, wellbeing and literacy in Ghana and across Africa.

Warning on the dangers of online nudity, the Regional Director said sexting was the most common way the nudity of children, particularly girls, were discovered.

“Do not ever take or send any image of yourself that you would not want your family or friends see because such pictures could easily be shared from one source to the other,” she said.

She urged all to desist from child pornography, adding: “We know you have sexual drives at your age, and they are very natural, but you would have to exhibit resilience to everything you see.”

Ms Amartey said parents must opt for family link, an app that would help control their children’s internet access and monitor their daily navigation activities on phones and tablets.

As part of accessing the internet, knowledge level of stakeholders, a questionnaire was given out to stakeholders to ascertain the level of sensitisation young people went through before mobile devices were handed to them.

It was also to collect data on the current level of risk that children were likely to encounter when it came to internet access and usage.

On COVID-19, Ms Grace Mensah, the Assistant Programmes Officer of the Department, urged youngsters to strictly adhere to the protocols to guarantee their safety.

She said students must educate their families, neighbours and friends on the need to wear nose masks, wash hands regularly with soap under running water, and observe social distancing.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Egyptian goalkeeper, Mohamed Qotb Abou Gabal Ali also known as Gabaski has finally opened up on what his captain, Mohammed Salah told him before saving Sadio Mane’s penalty in the final of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON].

Senegal, who were chasing their first continental title were awarded an early-minute penalty, which Sadio Mane stepped up for it.

Whiles the Liverpool forward was getting ready for the spot-kick, Salah was captured telling Gabaski a clue of how Mane’s plays his spot-kicks.

The conversation between the two Egyptians was interrupted by Mane but Gabaski went on to save the penalty.

Speaking to Egyptian television, MBC Masr, the Zamalek goalkeeper gave details on the conversation that went on between the three.

“Salah told me ‘Mane would shoot to the right side, he is coming now because he knows what I am saying,” Gabaski said.

“Mane said to me: ‘I will shoot on the left,’ then Salah replied: ‘Let’s see’”.

Egypt, eventually lost the final, 4-2 on penalties with Gabaski saving one of Senegal’s five and diving in the right direction four times.

The 33-year-old won the man-of-the-match in the final for an outstanding display, where he made 8 saves to keep the Pharaohs in the match that lasted 120 minutes.

Source: Modern Ghana