Newmont’s AILAP Project Supports Ghana's Agric Production

Samuel Boadi The 26 per cent contribution of Ghana’s agricultural sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Ghana, according to some critics, is not enough, especially looking at the strategic importance of agriculture in terms of employment, poverty reduction and food security in the country. The 2012 Report on the State of Food Insecurity in the world estimates that about 870 million people, representing 12.5 per cent of the global population, were undernourished in the period 2010-12. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for about 234 million of the undernourished. And in almost all developing countries, it is the rapid growth in agriculture which holds the key to reducing undernourishment and speeding up the pace of economic development. Records at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicate that about 14 million people, representing 60 per cent of Ghana’s current total workforce, are engaged in agriculture, which still remains the backbone of the economy and contributes 26 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP). Government’s Quota In its 2012 Budget, government spelt out what it has done. These included the offloading of over 10,000 metric tonnes of maize from the National Buffer Stock Company (NBSC) to the market to stabilize maize prices. Also it utilised a total of GH¢23.950 million under the Fertilizer Subsidy Programme to supply 55,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizers to farmers. 315 hectares of irrigated land was rehabilitated for tomato cultivation to feed the Northern Star Tomato Factory at Pwalugu. Additionally, under the Phase II of the rehabilitation/extension works at the Tono Irrigation Project, two reservoirs and night pump houses have been completed with the provision of electricity and water pumps. Furthermore, 52 per cent of rehabilitation works on flood damaged dams in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions were completed. Gobind Nankani, a former economic advisor to the late Professor John Mills, in his book entitled, ‘The challenges of agriculture in Ghana,’ notes that the data on yield gaps between Ghanaian productivity levels for crops, compared to achievable yields, shows gaps in the range of 20 percent for oil palm, to 40 percent for maize and rice, to 60 percent for cocoa. On the way forward, he said“Ghana can make a break with the past, if each of us plays our part. Part of that break will make possible a frontal assault on the challenge of agriculture in Ghana.” He added that it will help unleash a stronger and more sustainable growth path; move almost a million more people above the poverty line by 2015, improve the lot of rural Ghanaians by a quantum leap and finally make a real dent in the incidence of poverty in the North.” Newmont’s Dream It’s against the foregoing background that Newmont Ghana’s contribution to agriculture comes into focus. In its quest to empower the people in its catchment area economically, Newmont Ghana introduced its Agricultural Improvement and Land Access Programme (AILAP), a post-resettlement mitigation package to assist the farmers who are directly affected by the development of the Ahafo Mine to re-establish their agricultural livelihoods. The programme was first introduced in 2006 to assist farmers who had lost their lands, with training in alternative livelihoods. They are provided with lands outside the catchment area, free farm inputs and improved extension services. “Since our operations in Ahafo, Newmont has invested more than 10 million dollars under the Agricultural Improvement and Land Access and other Livelihood Re-establishment programmes, the Skill Development for Income Improvement and the Vulnerable Peoples’ Programme,” Agbeko Azumah, Communications Manager of the Newmont’s Ahafo mine disclosed. With the AILAP, the farmers are registered and taken through Business Plan Training (BPT), as well as assessment of beneficiaries’ lands and subsequent allocation by the Land Allocation Review Committee (LARC). Their claims to farms are subsequently verified, after which they receive their first cash assistance for land acquisition, clearance and maintenance. Farming inputs are also distributed to them while technical assistance is provided by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and OICI Extension Officers. A second tranche is paid them for the control of weeds on the farms based on the recommendations of Extension Officers after monitoring. Farm inputs are also distributed to them. What the farmers are doing The farmers are also encouraged to cultivate yams, cassava, cocoyam, maize, groundnuts, cowpea, soya bean, sorghum, okro, and pepper, as well as garden eggs, tomato, mango, cocoa, oil palm, and plantain, among others. The AILAP is being executed in phases. AILAP 1 started from 2006 to 2008. AILAP 2 began from 2009 and 2011 and covered farmers affected by the expansion of Amoma and Subika East and the mapping of the site for K1 resettlement. AILAP 3 took off in August 2011 and expected to end in July 2013. It covers farmers from Gyakakrom/ECD4, the construction of a Water Storage Facility (WSF) and expansion of the Tailings Storage facility. A personal testimony A beneficiary and the 2011 Best National Plantain Farmer, who was sponsored by Newmont to attend this year’s Farmers Day celebration at Abokobi confessed proudly “I am glad to be a beneficiary of the AILAP; I was working for nothing until I joined the programme. “I won the Best National Plantain Farmer award last year because of the extension services and inputs received from Newmont and the Ministry of Agriculture.” “I am not the only beneficiary; over 5,000 other farmers have chalked various degrees of success, due to the intervention of Newmont. We now adopt good agronomic practices, to improve our yields, Mr. Asamoah had earlier been crowned the best AILAP farmer by Newmont. Mr. Asamoah says he now owns a four-bedroom house and educates his children. “With my association with Newmont, I can now boast of a 31-acre cocoa farm, banana and oil palm plantations and a poultry farm. Aside these, I have ventured into aquaculture and piggery, to supplement my income,” he stressed. “Some of us have been lucky because Newmont has invested so much in us, which is aiding us in our profession. What about the farmer who is not receiving any assistance in terms of financial support, and agric inputs, among others?” he asked. Despite all these, Mr. Asamoah is faced with such challenges as bad roads, and unavailability of ready markets, among others. The way forward Akoto-Nimoh Frederick of Newmont Ghana stated that “an erratic rainfall pattern made planning and execution, very difficult, especially the distribution of inputs. Bad roads to and from farm gates, and farmers having to travel longer distances to access their farms have all been a bother, and also hampered the work of the MOFA extension officers.” Despite its challenges, Newmont Ghana’s AILAP programme can be said to be making a great difference in the lives of farmers, their families and catchment communities. In the wider context, it is contributing meaningfully to the socio-economic development of Ghana.

Minimum Pension Now GH¢100

By Samuel Boadi New pensioners will be entitled to a minimum monthly pension of GH¢100.00 with effect from January 2013, the Social Security & National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has recently stated in a media release issued in Accra. Signed by Evangeline Amegashie, Corporate Affairs Manager of SSNIT, the release noted that SSNIT increased (indexed) pensions-in-payment for this year in accordance with Section 80 of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766). “As a result, all pensions-in-payment as at December 31, 2012, has been increased by a rate of 12.0 percent and a flat amount of GH¢21.36 per pensioner. This gives an overall indexation rate of 22.6 percent for the year 2013.” It stated that all pensioners receiving monthly pension of less than GH¢100.00 will be placed on a pension of GH¢100.00 per month. Over the years, concerns have been raised by public servants over inadequacies of the level of pensions to sustain a respectable life for retired public servants. Of particular concern to most workers’ groups has been the low pensions under the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension Scheme compared to those still under Chapter 30 of the 1950 British Colonial Ordinances (Pension Ordinance No. 42), popularly known as CAP 30. In addition, pension schemes that have been operated in Ghana so far have, beside their limitations, also failed to consider the plight of workers in the informal sector, who constitute the bulk (about 85 percent) of the working population in Ghana. Workers’ organizations agitated for the restoration of public service pensions to the level of the provisions available to some public officers under CAP 30, in place of the SSNIT system that was introduced in 1972, as the mandatory and universal pension scheme for all employees. It was as a result of this that a new pension law, the National Pensions Act, 2008(Act 766) was enacted on December 12, 2008. The National Pensions Act caters for the establishment of a new contributory three-tier pension scheme with a National Pension Regulatory Authority to oversee the efficient administration of the composite pension scheme. SSNIT, it would be recalled, called on all pensioners who are 72 years or above to complete life certificates twice a year. Consequently, for year 2013, such pensioners were advised to visit the nearest SSNIT branch at the beginning of February as well as the beginning of August to complete their life certificates. “Those who, for one reason or another, cannot go to any SSNIT branch should contact the Benefits Customer Service on Telephone Number 030 7011365 for assistance.”