Africa Agriculture

Ghana’s cocoa industry has enjoyed a bumper crop this year, on the back of favourable weather conditions. During the most recent primary harvest period, from September 2010 through May 2011, the sector produced just over 900,000 tonnes of cocoa, up substantially from 623,000 tonnes the previous year. An additional 80,000 tonnes of production is expected during the three-month light crop period that began in June 2011, which should bring the annual total to just below 1m tonnes.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced a new initiative that could boost private sector lending to the agriculture industry. The Nigerian Incentive-based Risk-sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) was formally unveiled at a conference in Abuja on July 5-6. The purpose of the CBN-organised event was for stakeholders to gather to discuss the new initiative.

With food security becoming a growing concern worldwide, the Nigerian agriculture sector has recently become the focus of multiple investment programmes. The government is taking a proactive approach to boosting domestic production and has designed a plan to help the nation fulfil its agricultural potential.