Worldwide, the figures on child labour are worrying. According to estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), there are about 215 mn ‘child workers’, many of whom work full-time, and close to 170 mn are ‘trapped’ in activities considered...

Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), FAW, is an insect native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. Its larval stage (photo) feeds on more than 80 plant species, including maize, rice, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton. FAW can cause significant yield losses if not well managed. It can...

Cash transfer programmes in sub-Saharan Africa impact the productive activities of both beneficiary and non-beneficiary households in the communities where they are implemented. These programmes have led to an increase in agricultural activities in beneficiary households, including greater use of agricultural inputs, more land area in crop production and higher...

Due to inaccurate methods of harvesting, farmers tend to destroy the quality of the mangoes and obtain reduced yields of the fruit which results in a loss of income of the farmers. Through selective harvesting techniques, mangoes are harvested in three stages from the trees based on their maturity level....

FAO RAF Quarterly Newsletter is an information resource platform designated for broader audience in Africa and published every quarter of the year. This newsletter mostly contains news stories, articles, reports and up-to date events from FAO’s representatives, policy makers and other stakeholders in the sub region of Africa. The aim...

In Ghana 70 per cent of the population are smallholder farmers who depend on the land for their basic needs. Growing competition for this resource is having significant impacts on rural livelihoods and governance as land changes hands. This study highlights the key drivers of pressure on rural land and...

Ghana’s work to promote the legal timber trade, in partnership with the European Union (EU), strongly emphasizes involving local communities who live in or near forests. Yet many farmers and communities don’t understand their rights, which means that illegal activity by loggers has gone unchecked in Ghana’s off-reserve forests. The...

Forest cover in sub-Saharan Africa declined by nearly 10 per cent between 2000 and 2010. Of this loss, 75 per cent was caused by the conversion of forest to agriculture, largely for food production to serve rapidly growing domestic food demand. Focusing on Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania, this study examines...

FAO Regional Office for Africa's Newsletter highlights some relevant news stories, articles, and feature stories across the region, subregions and at countries of Africa. The RAF Newsletter is a good platform resource for knowledge and information sharing. This edition which covers the period of January to June 2017 takes into...

Access to land is at the heart of rural livelihoods. In sub-Saharan Africa, the pace and scale at which land is changing hands are increasing fast. Understanding these changes in land access is crucial if the systems of land governance, the practices of companies and organisations, and the initiatives seeking...

The paper focuses on the various stressors to which SSF are subject to, whether environmental or socio-economic and how it affects their vulnerability. The study was done in three coastal communities in Ghana that were closely assessed in terms of how multiple stressors combine to affect SSF.

Past agricultural mechanization efforts in Ghana and Nigeria have focused more on the styles of machinery used in western countries or Latin America, where average farm sizes are much larger. While West African countries, particularly Ghana, are still relatively land abundant compared to Bangladesh, seeking the right balance across various...

Inclusive agribusiness umbrella organisations (which ideally are vertically integrated down to the level of smallholder farmers’ organisations) could be key institutions to contribute to policy dialogue and design from the perspective of the private sector. Furthermore, they have the potential to carry forward the implementation of such policies on the...

This working paper examines the development of regional socioeconomic scenarios for West Africa’s development, agriculture, food security and climate impacts. We present four globally consistent regional scenarios framed and outlined by regional experts who crafted narratives and determined key drivers of change. Stakeholders identified the type of actors driving change...

The Regional Initiative seeks to strengthen the programmes, mechanisms, capacity and delivery of actions needed to operationalize commitments to end hunger by 2025, and to support mapping exercises that identify gaps and determine requisite interventions to enhance policy dialogue on food security and nutrition, both at regional and country levels....

Trees produce timber and firewood, but also fruit, pods, leaves and medicines for people and livestock. Some species help improve soil fertility and reduce local temperatures. The system supports crops and livestock.

This publication provides guidance on using a common methodology for monitoring pollinator diversity and abundance, as part of the GEF supported Project “Conservation and Management of Pollinators for Sustainable Agriculture, through an Ecosystem Approach” implemented in seven countries - Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan and South Africa. The project...

In Africa street food vending and consumption have proliferated in the last three and a half decades, especially in urban areas. People who face barriers to the formal wage labor market find in street food vending a viable income option, as it requires little start-up capital and no formal education....

This Edition of RAF Newsletter captures the key projects and success stories of FAO across the subregion of Africa. It also present to readers news highlights and titbits of FAO activities in focus.

There are three major poverty divides in Ghana: rural-urban, northsouth, and between women and men. To meet these challenges, IFAD, the African Development Bank and the Government of Ghana are investing in rural northern Ghana to create viable economic opportunities – particularly for women – while improving market linkages with...