AGRICULTURALPOTENTIALS/OPPORTUNITIES

INTRODUCTION

The Ejura-Sekyedumasi District is one of the 27 districts in the Ashanti Region, which was established by the Legislative Instrument 1400 (L. I. 1400) of 29th November, 1988.  It was carved out of the then Sekyere and Offinso District.

LOCATION AND SIZE

The District is located in the Northern part of Ashanti Region and is bounded on the North by Nkroanza North and Atebutu District of the Brong Ahafo Region. To the East by the Sekyere Central, to the South by Sekyere West and  Mampong and to the West by the Offinso North District, Nkoranza North and Nkoranza South Districts.  The District covers an area of 1,782.2 sq km which is about 7.3% of the total land area of the Ashanti Region.  Ejura, the District capital is 106 km from Kumasi, the Regional capital.

RELIEF AND DRAINAGE

The southern part of the District has a smooth rolling topography with valleys as deep as 35 metres and peaks as high as 315 meters above see level.

The range of hill, which runs eastwards through Ejura and Mampong, forms part of the Kintampo-Koforidua range and represents the highest point in the District Notable hills in the district include

1. Kwasi Mahu Hills (1,350ft)
2. Ejurachen Scarp
3. Dente Scarp

Almost the entire forest reserve occurring in this area is a scarp.  The Northern part of the district is fairly flat and undulating with elevations ranging mostly between 150-300 metres.

Ejura is located on an altitude of about 228 metres.   The flat and undulating topography allows for mechanized farming.

The District is drained by a number of rivers and their tributaries.  The main rivers are Afram, Akobaa,  Chirade, Bresua sua, Subonta, Soko, Brensua and Borahoho.   The minor rivers include Aberewa, Yaya and Baba.  With the exception of Afram, all the others are seasonal.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION

CLIMATE

Ejura –Sekyedumasi District lies in the transitional zones of the semi-deciduous has bimodal type of rainfall of the semi-deciduous Forest and Guinea Savanna zones.  The District experiences both forest and savanna climatic conditions.

TEMPERATURE

High temperatures with a mean monthly of 21°C – 30°C are generally experienced.  January – April is the warmest months whereas July- August is the coolest. “Easter wind” which is a period of windstorm exceeding 4 Knots (MSD,1985) occur in April and cause lodging to crops and trees as well as damage to buildings.

 

RAINFALL

The district has bimodal rainfall.  The raining season is April- November.  The major season is April – august whereas the minor season is August – November.

The dry season occurs between November-April and during this period, the North – East trade winds (Harmattan) blows dry and dusty winds across the district.  The annual rainfall for the district varies between 1,200 mm –  1,500 mm.  Generally, the rainfall pattern is very erratic and unreliable.  Monthly average rainfall in the district is shown in the table below.

The rainy periods are associated with very high humidities . Relative humidity as high as 90% is experienced in June and as low as 55% in February.  The District is the driest in the Ashanti Region.

 

VEGETATION

The district has both forest and savanna vegetations. The South-Eastern part has semi-deciduous forest vegetation, while the northern part has derived or open savanna vegetation (Guinea Savanna).

The Guinea Savanna vegetation consists of tall grasses interspersed with short fire-resistant tree species.  Common grass species in the district are; Andropagon, Beckeropsis, Plasmodium and  Rottbela  while common trees include: Butyrospermum, Damella, lophira and vitex.

The trees are generally scattered with thick corky barks which are frequently twisted and guarled showing forest region, common economic trees include odum, wawa and sapele as well as other lesser-known species. Logging has depleted most of the economic trees.

SOIL

The soils in this district fall under the forest and savanna ochrosols groups.  Forest ochrosols are found in the cocoyam, and plantain growing areas.  Others classify the soil under Ejura-Amantin Association or Sene Soil Association.  The soil is deep, light in colour well aerated and drained with moderate supply of organic matter and plant nutrients.  Most soils has good water-holding capacity very easy to work and are well adapted to mechanized cultivation.  The soil range from sandy loam or clay.   The soils are suitable for growing maize, millet, groundnuts, cowpea, guinea corns, yams, cassava, garden-eggs, tomatoes etc.

IMPLICATION OF THE PHYSICAL FEATURES FOR DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT RELIEF, CLIMATE AND VEGETATION

The climate is very suitable for cereal production, cashew, teak, vegetable, yam, cassava, livestock and poultry production, grasscutter and bee-keeping the potential of livestock production is very high because of the savanna vegetation, which is very ideal for livestock production.  With respect to poultry, the production cost (input) is lesser in the District than in other districts because of the production of maize in the district.

SOIL RESOURCE

The topography of the soil makes mechanization of farming very easy.  This therefore calls for large scale farming in the district.

 

DEMOGRAPHY

Ejura Sekyedumasi District has a population of 81,115.51.77% are males whereas 48.23% are females.  The population is 2.2% of the population of Ashanti Region.  About 48.8% of the people live in the urban centers namely Ejura and Sekyedumasi whilst 51.2% live in rural areas. According to the 2000 population census, Ejura has a population of 29,478 excluding Ashakoko whiles Sekyedumasi has 10,085.  Apart from these two settlements all other settlements have population below 5000.

ETHNICITY

The district is heterogeneous society with Akan ethnic group forming the majority.  Other ethnic groups include Dagombas, Dagartis, Kotokolis, Grumas etc.

 

RELIGION

About 65% of the population are Muslims, whiles 30% are Christians.  The remaining 5% are traditionalist.

EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE

About 60% of the labour force is engaged in Agriculture.  This is followed by those engaged in trading and other institutional workers, manufacturing and professionals (largely teachers).

TOURISM

Tourism attraction in the district are Tigare shrine festival at Babaso, Yam festival at Ejura, naturally made bridge over River Subonta, naturally made Oware all at Anyinasu.  There is also the warrior prayer camp at Sekyedumasi.  These can be properly developed to provide tourism.

Hotel and restaurant services are also available mostly in Ejura.

HEALTH

The District has two hospitals, one health centre, four clinics, eight PHC and twenty-five TBAs.  There are three doctors in the district.  Provision of orthodox health services is complemented by traditional medical practice.  There are several herbalists who provide medical services based on herbal medicine

ELECTRICITY

Electricity is enjoyed in ten (10) communities of the district.  These communities include Ejura, Sekyedumasi, Anyinasu, Kasei, Nkwanta, Hiawoanwu, Bonyon-Dromankuma, Ebuom and Miminaso No 1.

HOUSING

Housing delivery in the district may be considered satisfactory in terms of quantity.  Housing conditions in the district are generally poor, which is a reflection of the low incomes of the inhabitants.   The commonest materials used are landcrete blocks, mud, wattle and daub, iron sheets and thatch.

ROADS /TRANSPORT

Most of the roads in the district are feeder roads, which are in very poor conditions physical accessibility to services is poor.  Only 20 km length of road is asphalt.  Public transport is inadequate.  The main modes of transport are tractors, motorcycles, bicycles and some few taxis.

BANKING SERVICE

There are four (4) rural Banks, one (1) Agricultural Development Bank and one (1) Ghana Commercial Bank in the district.

The Rural Banks are Otuasekan, Sekyedumasi, Kasei/Amantin Community Bank and Ejuraman Rural Bank.

CONDITION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

The most prevalent farming practice in the district is the slash and burn method.   This practice exposes the land to erosional activities leading to excessive leaching and erosion making the soil highly infested.   It also destroys the vegetation and consequently charges the ecology of the district.  Bushfire also threatens the vegetative cover of the district. Due to the activities of game hunters and some farmers.  Felling of trees for firewood and charcoal production have also contributed to the depletion of the vegetation and calls for intensive afforestation to address the problem of land degradation.

MINERAL DEPOSITS

There are large deposits of sand and gravel in Ejura, Anyinasu, Frante, Nkwanta, Babaso and Beme.  Clay deposits are also found at Nkwanta, Frante, Aframso, Dukukrom and Nkwaseakan.  Stone deposits are also found in Anyinasu and Sekyedumasi. In all case, the minerals are not properly explored.

WATER RESOURCE

Access to good drinking water supply is very essential not only for human well-being but also for agricultural and industrial development.  The District is however, characterized by water shortage in many towns and villages, especially in the dry seasons because most of the rivers and streams dry up in the dry season.

The main sources of water supply in this district are;

1. Rivers and streams
2. Hand-dug wells
3. Boreholes with pumps
4. Pipe-borne water from mechanized boreholes

Six (6) communities namely Ejura, Sekyedumasi, Kasei, Hiawoanwu, Nkwanta and Babaso enjoy pipe – borne water,  there are also 178 bore-holes in 68 communities of the district.

 

POST AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

The district is served by one post office located in Ejura and two postal agencies located at Sekyedumasi and Anyinasu.  Telephone facilities are inadequate. Ejura, Sekyedumasi, Bonyon and Kasei enjoy telephone facilities.  Public telephone booths have been installed in Ejura, Sekyedumasi, Anyinasu, Frante, Drobon and Nkrampo.  There are also private communication centres.

COMMERCE

This is a major activity in the district.  It employs about 35% of the labour force in the district after agriculture.  Commodities which are brought and sold include industrial and agricultural goods.

Farm implements, footwear, used-clothing and textiles are the main industrial goods traded in the district.   These are brought from Accra, Kumasi, and Mampong.  The major agricultural goods are yams, rice, maize, groundnuts, cowpea, cassava and plantain.

The major marketing centres in the district are Ejura, Anyinasu and Sekyedumasi.  Mondays are market days for Ejura, Tuesdays and Thursdays are Anyinasu and Sekyedumasi respectively.

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES

There is no large scale manufacturing industry in the district.  There are only micro and small scale industries like blacksmithing, metalworks, woodworks, gari processing, soap making, groundnut oil extraction and pito brewing.  Services like sewing, barbering and hairdressing are also rendered.

The establishments of manufacturing and processing industries are being facilitated by its numerous resource base including agriculture produce and forest resource base including agriculture produce and forest resources which serve as inputs.

The Business Advisory Centre (BAC) has been established under the Rural Enterprise Project (REP) to serve as a focal point for the promotion and development of micro and small scale industries in the district.

INVESTMENT POTENTIALS

There are investments potentials in the district.  The areas include;

1. There are large trades of land and ideal soil types for the commercial production of maize, rice cowpea, groundnuts, yams, cassava, mangoes and vegetables.
2. Production of non- traditional export crops like cashew
3. Fish farming – the Aframso Valley Bottom irrigation project site where infrastructure is already in place is available for improvement and expansion.
4. Tree crop plantation – Teak, mango and cashew
5. Cassava processing plants to process cassava into industrial starch for pharmaceutical and textile industries
6. Canning of tomatoes, garden eggs, pepper and mangoes for local consumption and export
7. Abundant forage for livestock (cattle, sheep, coat etc) rearing
8. Maize, Groundnut and cowpea and produced on commercial scale in the district which could be processed to weaninix as an important substitute for baby food, as well as cereal food products.
9. Marketing of agric produce, particularly maize

10.  Cultivation and processing of soyabeans

11.  There is an existing Dairy plant at Sekyedumasi which requires improvement and expansion.

COMMUNITY NEEDS AND ASPIRATIONS

The following community needs and aspirations have been realized after an interface with community members and opinion leaders;

1. Extension of electricity supply
2. Provision of portable water facilities
3. Provision of toilet facilities
4. Improvement in road infrastructure
5. Additional health care facilities
6. Construction and rehabilitation of school infrastructure
7. Extension of credit to farmers and small scale entrepreneur
8. Additional postal facilities
9. Irrigation facilities

10.  Provision of employment opportunities

CROP PRODUCTION

About 80% of the land in the district support crop production.  The location of the district within the forest/  savanna transition zone allows the cultivation of both forest and savanna adapted crops;  thus maize, yams, cassava, cowpea groundnuts, plantain, guinea corn and rice are produced in the district.

Mangoes, avocados, cashew, guava and sheer nuts are the tree crops cultivated in this district.  Vegetables such as garden eggs, okro, tomatoes and pepper are also produced.  The district remains the leading producer of maize and yams in Ashanti Region.  It is estimated that the district produces 28,861 tons of maize, 33,034 tons of yams, 2,716 tons of cowpea, 5,318 tons of plantain, 17,046 tons of cassava, 934 tons of rice and 751 tons of groundnut.

The area, yield and production estimates for the district in 2007 are given below.

Table: Area, yield and production estimates for 2007.

	Cassava	Cowpea	Plantain	Rice	Groundnut	Maize	Yam
Total No of Holders Cultivating	3,952	7,068	1,905	1,184	2,060	13,222	4,287
Average Cropped Area per Holder (Ha)	0.42	0.61	0.33	0.84	0.5	1.02	0.43
Estimated Cropped Area (Ha)	1,659.84	4,311.48	628.65	994.56	1,030	13,486.44	1,893.41
Average Yield/ Crop (Mt/Ha)	10.27	0.63	8.46	0.94	0.73	2.14	17.92
Estimated Crop Production (Mt)	17,046.55	2,716.23	5,318.37	934.88	751.90	28,860.98	33,033.90

Source: DADU SRID report (2007)

Table: ESTIMATED CROP PRODUCTION (MT FOR 2003 – 2008)

YEAR	MAIZE	RICE	CASSAVA	YAM	COCOYAM	PLANTAIN	COWPEA
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008	22,547 24,802 27,282 30,833 28,861 24,419	55.5 61 67 – 934.88 1,020	19,763 21,739 23,913 – 17,046 21,898	100,049 110,054 121,059 – 133,033 142,078	318 350 385 – – 392	927 1.020 1,120 – 5,318 6,940	– – – – – 63,165

Source: DADU SRID report

Table: ESTIMATED CROPPED AREA (HA) FOR 2008

YEAR	MAIZE	RICE	CASSAVA	YAM	COCOYAM	PLANTAIN
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008	16,139 17,753 19,528 11,951 13,486 17,500	82 90 99 – 994.56 850	3,031 3,334 3,667 – 1,659.84 3,250	7,079 7,787 8,566 – – 9,680	59 65 72 – – 85	116 128 140 – 628.65 785

Source: DADU SRID Report

 

FARMING SYSTEMS

Farming in this district is dominated by small-scale subsistence farmers who cultivate plots of less than 2 hectares.  The average area per farm unit for a household is about 1.6 hectares.  Crop production is basically rainfed.  Some mechanized farming is practiced by farmers engaged in maize, and rice production.  The traditional shifting cultivation system as described as the “slash and burn” or the bush fallow system is the prevailing system of cultivation.

The selected farmland is cultivated until, such time that crop yields begin to decline due to loss in soil fertility.  This occurs after three or more years depending on the fertility of the soil and the types of crops cultivated.  Maize may be produced on the same land for five or more years by the use of chemical fertilize since irrigation systems are not widespread, most farmers depend on the rains, thus shortening the cropping season and limiting it to the rainy months of May through November

FARM IMPLEMENTS

Technology application in the agricultural sector is low.  Thus most of the operations are manual. Simple farm implements like the hoe, cutlass and axe are the common tools used by farmers.  However, on the mechanized farms, ploughs, tractors, fertilizers, irrigation and other inputs for modern farming prevail.  Most farm operations are done by the farm family.

LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION

This involves the production of cattle, goats, sheep and poultry.  It is growing in significance in Ejura, Aframso, Sekyedumasi, Kasei and other communities in the district due in part to the livestock development project (LDP) which has been of immense help to livestock farmers in the district in terms of training, credit etc. Also many farmers now see livestock rearing as more profitable than crop production.

There is a sheep breeding station of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the district which produce improved breeds for the livestock farmers in the district.  Many farmers keep their animals except cattle on free range. Livestock production is mainly a part-time and a predominantly female dominated.

The primary constraints in this enterprise is seasonal forage deficit. During the raining season, there is an abundance of neatly available forage whose nutritive value is adequate until the other problems are high cost of veterinary drugs and poor management dry season, which the nutrient level of the grasses drops.

Common animal disease that affect livestock include Pestes Petits Ruminants (PPR) which affect mainly sheep and goats pneumonia and diarrhoea which affect sheep, goats and cattle.

 

FISH FARMING

This is an insignificant economic activity in the district due partly to absence of large rives.  However, it is becoming an important activity at Aframso where the Afram Valley provides a high potential.

MARKETS AND MARKETING

Market is very important for the development of local economy.  Exchange of goods and services between people inside and outside the district lead to economic growth due to the multiplier effect.  Ejura and Sekyedumasi owe their growth and importance to being marketing centres for maize, yams, cowpea, groundnuts and vegetables.

Three major weekly markets prevail in the district.  The Ejura market on Mondays is the principal trade centre in the district.  The second largest market is the Sekyedumasi market which is held on Thursdays whilst the Anyinasu market on Tuesdays is the third largest.  There is a daily market in most communities of the district.  People from Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Northern Regions visit these markets to buy and sell.

CROP STORAGE

Crop storage is generally a major problem for perishable crops especially plantain, cassava, tomatoes and garden eggs which needs market within a week after harvesting due to their short half- life.  Yams and cocoyam are difficult to store but can be kept under ground for some time before harvesting when market is available.  Maize is mostly stored as cobs in barns in farmers homes.  However, shelled maize are properly dried and treated with the recommended insecticide and stored for some months before consumption.  Postharvest losses of major crops in the district are shown in table.

Table 5: Post Harvest losses of major crops

Crop	Post harvest loses	Major causes
Maize Cowpea Cassava Yams Tomato Rice	15-20 20-25 8 8 35-45 N/A	Poor storage structure

AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS

Currently, there are five (5) projects in the district. There are;

1. Livestock Development Project (LDP)
2. NERICA
3. Root and Tubers Improvement Project and Marketing Programme (RTIMP)
4. Inland Valleys Rice Development Project (IVRDP)
5. Millennium Development authority (MiDA)

The District is home to Ejura farms of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture where there is large tract of land for the cultivation of crops, especially maize and rearing of livestock, especially cattle.  There are silos for the storage of maize in this farm.

FOREWORD

FOR YOUR PIGS, POULTRY AND POULTRY PRODUCTS VISIT THE MUNICIPALITY.

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INTRODUCTION

Ejisu- Juaben Municipal is Located 20 km from Kumasi on the Kumasi-Accra highway. It is one of the 27 administrative and political Districts in the Ashanti Region with Ejisu as its capital.

 

LAND LOCATION AND AREA

The Municipality is located in the central part of the Ashanti Region and shares boundaries with six (6) other Districts in the Region namely Kumasi, Kwabre, Afigya Sekyere, Asante Akim north, Asante Akim South and Bosomtwi Kwanwoma Districts. It lies within latitude 1.15˚N and 1.45˚N and longitude 6.15˚W and 7.00˚w.

The Municipality stretches over an area of 637.2 km₂ constituting about 10% of the entire Ashanti Region. The strategic location of the Municipality (especially the capital Ejisu, which lies only 20 km from Kumasi and the other communities along the Kumasi-Accra trunk road offer a lot of potentials that foster development of marketing activities along the road sides and the diffusion of information and innovation.

 

TOPOGRAPHY AND DRAINAGE

The Municipality falls within the forest dissected plateau terrain region. This region is underlain by the pre-cambrian rocks of the Birimian and Tarkwaian formations. It rises from about 240 metres to 300 metres above sea level. The area is generally undulating and is drained by a number of rivers, notable among them being Oda, Anum, Bankro, Hwere and Baffoe. In the rainy season, occasional flooding is experienced in the inland valleys along the river basins. The construction of a dam on the Anum River at Nobewam for irrigation offers a great potential for agricultural development in the Municipality.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION

As in the case of most of the middle belt in Ghana, the municipality experiences tropical rainfall that is bi-modal rainfall pattern and wet semi-equatorial climate. It is characterized by double maxima rainfall lasting from March to July and again from September and normally ends in the later part of November. The mean annual rainfall is 1200mm which is ideal for minor season cropping. Temperatures range between 20˚C in August and 32˚C in March. Relative humidity is fairly moderate but quite high during rainy seasons and early mornings. The fair distribution of temperature and rainfall patterns enhances the cultivation of many food and cash crops

throughout the Municipality thus making the Municipality a food sufficiency case in Ghana. The Municipality lies within the semi deciduous forest zone, which does not differ much in appearance from the rain forest. Most of the trees shed their leaves during the dry season, but not at the same time for all the trees of the same species. The ecologically unfriendly farming practices, stone quarrying activities and illegal chain saw operations have resulted in the natural vegetation cover being degraded into secondary forest. Massive deforestation has occurred in areas such as Ejisu, Adadientem, Achiase and Peminase, resulting in the forest giving way gradually to savanna conditions.

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

The geology and soils types in the Municipality offer vast opportunity for the cultivation of traditional and non traditional cash crops and other staple food stuff and thus present the municipality as one of food basket case in Ghana. The geology and soil types found in the Municipality include the Kumasi-Offin Compound Association, Bomso-Offin Compound Association, Swedru-Nsuba Simple Association, Boamang-Suko simple Association. Bekwai-Oda Compound Association, Kobeda-Eschiem-Sobenso-Oda Compound Association, Atunkrom-Asikuma Association, Fig 1.4 shows the location of the types of soils in the Municipality.

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DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

Currently, the population of the Municipality stands at 144,272. This signifies that there has been increase in population of the Municipality over the years. The female population for 1960 was 21.264 representing 44.0% which increased to 63.456 (projected) representing 52.5%. This shows that the female population is increasing at an increasing rate. The male population on the other hand is increasing at a decreasing rate. The males constitute 56.0% (27.064) in 1960 and 47.5% (57,413) in 2005. Continuous increase in the population for the various censal years’ is likely to attract entrepreneurs and investors since population increase will lead to an increase in human resource and labour.

The intercensal growth rates have been on the rise between the various censal periods whereas the population growth rates have been rising for both the Municipal and the national.

The age structure of the district is basically youthful thus indicating that the working age in the municipality is more than those in the dependant age. The working age is about 64 percent of the population whilst the dependant age forms about 36 percent of the population. The age dependency ratio in the municipality is about 1:0.3 thus substantiating the fact that there are more people in the working age than the dependant age. Children (0-14) constitute 38.5%, 58.5% for the working age group (15-64) and 3.0% fall within the aged group (65 +).

The age dependency ratio for the municipality is 1:0.7. This means that 100 persons in the active population group are being depended on by 70 persons in the inactive population group.

The working population group is not over burdened since one person in the active group takes care of himself and another person in the inactive group.

POPULATION DENSITY

The size of the Municipality is 637.2 sq. Km and that of the national (Ghana) is 238,537 Sq. Km. It is realized that the population density growth rate of 2.5% (2000-2006) for the municipality is less than the national rate of 2.6 % (2000-2006).

Therefore, this increase in the density will put pressure on the available natural resources and some of the agricultural lands will be turned into residential uses especially at the peri-urban settlements.

Household Sizes

The average household size in the country is about 4.2% for urban areas and 5.24 for rural areas, giving an average of 4.89% for the total country. In Ejisu-Juaben municipal, the average is 3.96 (2009 survey).

RURAL-URBAN SPLIT

The rural settlements are those with their population less than 5,000 and basically their economic activities are agricultural. The rural settlements account for 69.82%. The implication here is that the municipal is basically rural: therefore agriculture can be used as a development focus in order to reduce poverty in the municipal. Urban centers are considered as those with population above 5,000. Out of 84 settlements, the municipal has only five (5) urban centers namely: Ejisu, Juaben, Bonwire, Fumesua and Kwamo. These five towns account for 30.18% of the total population in the district with the municipal capital covering 9.2%. The population of the municipal is considered rural. Therefore development policies for the municipal should be rural centered, not to the neglect of the urban areas.

 

ETHNICITY AND RELIGION

The municipal is typically homogeneous, with about 79.5% of the population being Ashanti’s. Other tribes’ identified in the municipal are Kwahus 5.8%, Akwapims 5.6%, Bonos 2.5%, Ewes 3.6%, Ga 1.5%, Fantes 1.5%. The small proportion of migrants is due mainly to the fact that the municipal offers less opportunity to immigrants. The large proportion of residents being indigenous is a positive sign as the people are likely to contribute to the development of their own land.

The main religion in the municipal is Christianity, practiced by about 72% of the people. About 20% are Moslems and the remaining 8% of the people practice traditional religion.

SERVICE INSTITUTIONS

The Non-Governmental Institutions like the self-Help Foundation Project provide credit facility and agricultural inputs to district farmers. Field staff of the Ministry Of Food and Agriculture educate the farmers on the use of improved methods of farming and introduce farmers to improved seeds and breeds of livestock/poultry; extension support, programme guidance and supervision of farmers’ activities.

 

 

ESTIMATED AGRICULTURAL LAND AREA

Agriculture land area is estimated to be 180,931 hectares (2000 DADU BASELINE).

Area under annual crops         :         76,265 Ha

Area under tree crops.             38,113 Ha

Area under fallow.                   60,393 Ha

Area under forest                        6,160 Ha

 

LAND OWNERSHIP (LAND TENURE)

Land acquisition is also another issue of importance and there are basically three forms of land acquisitions in the municipality. These are family (inheritance), self or by lease/hiring. Quite a significant percentage (54.5%) of the farmers use family lands. This is followed by those who own the land personally. They constitute 28.8% of the farmers. The rest (16.5%) resort to the last option, which is by hiring. However, the sizes of their farms are small and keep on reducing as a result of fragmentation due to increasing family sizes. This impedes efforts to enter large-scale production.

AVERAGE FARM LAND

Average farm size is as low as 1.9 acres per farmer as against the national average of 5 acres. The small farm sizes affect production and consequently income; and therefore the standard of living of the farmers.

 

AGRICULTURE

CROPS

Agriculture stands to be the main stay in the Ejisu- Juaben District economy by virtue of its percentage employment, which is 55.6% of the total employed labour force and farming intensity in the municipality stands at 69.57%. The sector can produce better result if mechanized agriculture is introduced and carried out intensively by farmers. There is currently over dependent on rainfall, basic farm tools such as cutlass, hoes, among others. These certainly do not promote and encourage production on commercial quantities.

The major crops cultivated include food crops (maize, plantain, cassava, rice, cocoyam and vegetables), tree crops (cocoa, oil palm and citrus). In spite of agriculture not being done on commercial basis, most of the food crops grown are mainly to be sold for income and the rest to be consumed by the family. Tree crops such as cocoa citrus and oil palm are also grown mainly for commercial purposes.

Few of the agricultural produce are processed. These are cassava into Gari, maize into corn dough and oil palm into palm oil and palm kernel oil.

 

LIVESTOCK

Animal Husbandry activities range from large through small to domestic keeping of poultry, goats, sheep, cattle and pigs. About 80% of animals are kept under the semi-intensive system where the animals are allowed to forage out of their keeping places and return indoors later. All commercial poultry keepers however use the intensive system of animal rearing.

 

MAJOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

The major agricultural produce in the municipality are:

Food Crop:                            53.0%

Tree Crop:                               25.5%

Industrial Crop:                       01.5%

Poultry/Livestock Farming:  –  19.5%

Non traditional enterprise                 00.5%

Non traditional enterprise includes Black Pepper,

Pineapple, Beekeeping, Mushroom, Grasscutter and Snail

rearing.

FARMING SYSTEMS

The major farming practice in the district is mixed farming (90.1% of the farmers). This implies that, whilst the farmers cultivate the food and tree crops, livestock and poultry are also kept in the backyard as a supplementary source of food and income. The remaining 9.9% of the farmers practice mono cropping.

Considering the farming systems, bush fallowing, which is a system whereby a land is left for a period of time to regain its fertility is being practice by 48.5% of the farmers. The length of fallow period has been drastically reduced due to the growing population and the increasing demand for lands for uses other than agriculture. Continuous cropping is practiced by about 45.5% of farmers. This can result in lose of soil fertility and adversely affect output levels if measures are not put in place to retain the soil fertility in the course of continuous cropping. The other 6% of the farmers practice crop rotation.

Major Crops Grown in the Municipality

Type of Crop	Output per season (Tones)
Maize	5,400
Plantain	32,300
Cassava	81,200
Rice	1,632
Cocoyam	16,660
Yam	4,560
Cocoa	2,500
Oil palm	22,100.11
Citrus	16,970,54
Pepper	52.7

Top Ten Animals Reared in the Municipality

Type of Animal	Total Stock
Sheep	8,097
Goats	9,842
Pigs	11,100
Poultry local	118,198
Poultry exotic	501,000
Cattle	1,400
Duck	1784
Turkeys	92
Rabbit	56
Grasscutter	35
Guinea fowls	1273

 

MAJOR MARKETS

There are three market centres within the municipality where farm produce such as maize, cassava, plantain, maize, cocoyam etc and other products are sold.

MARKETS	MARKET DAYS
Ejisu	Sundays and Thursdays
Juaben	Tuesdays
Boamadumasi	Fridays

INTRODUCTION

LOCATION AND SIZE

The Bosomtwe District is located at the central portion of the Asante Region.  The former Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District which had two constituencies, the Bosomtwe and Atwima Kwanwoma Constituencies got divided into two districts; the Bosomtwe District and the Atwima Kwanwoma District in 2008 by LI 1922.

The Bosomtwe District is bounded on the North by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, on the South by Bosome Freho District, on the North-West by Atwima Kwanwoma District on South West by Amansie East District and Ejisu Juaben District on the East.

According to the 2000 population and housing census, the population of the District was62,450 covering an area of approximately 500 square kilometers which forms about 1%  of the area of Ashanti Region.  Currently, the projected population for 2010 reveals a total of 83,165.  The only Natural Lake in Ghana,   Lake Bosomtwe covers the South Eastern end of the District.

The District is made up of 3 area Councils namely: Kuntanase, Boneso and Jachie

AGE AND SEX COMPOSITION

There are 51.0% females as against 49.0% males.  This is because men usually migrate in search of jobs leaving the women to take care of the children particularly during the dry season.

THE DISTRICT ECONOMY

The structure of the district economy is made up of Agriculture, service and commerce.  Table 1.2 shows the number of the labour force and their percentages.

Table:  Structure of District Economy

Sector	Percentage (%)
AgricultureService Industry Others Total	62.619.1 16.7 1.6 100

Source:  2000 Population and Housing Report, 2010

RELIEF AND DRAINAGE

The only unique topographical feature in the district the Lake Bosomtwe, which is located in the Southern end of the district, has  an outer ridge that maintains a constant distance of 10 km from the centre of the lake and stands at an elevation of 50 to 80 m.  The drainage pattern of the District is dendrite with the rivers flowing in a North-South direction.  Around the lake there is an internal drainage where the streams flow from surrounding highlands into the lake.  The rivers are Perennial.  Notable rivers in the District are the Oda and Bankro.

CLIMATE & VEGETATION

The district falls within the forest belt of the Ashanti Region and it is within the West Semi-equatorial Climate region with a rainfall regime typical of the moist semi-decidous forest zone of the country. There are two well-defined rainfall seasons; the major season occurs from March to July with a peak fall in June.  The minor season starts from September to November with a peak fall in October. August is generally cool and dry.  The dry season begins in December and ends in February.

Temperature: are generally uniformly-high throughout the year with an annual mean of 24o        C.  The highest mean (27.8 oC)           Occurs just before the major season in February as observed in Kumasi.  The mean minimum occurs during the minor wet season.

Relative humidity (RH) is general high throughout the year.  The Relative humidity values ranges between 95% and 71.6% during the wet season with the lowest value of 42.5% in the dry season during January.

The natural vegetation of the area falls within the semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana, which is characterized by plant species of the Celtis-Triplochetol Association.  However due to extensive farming activities, the original vegetation has been degraded to mosaic of secondary forest,  thicket and forb re-growth and various abandoned farms with relics of food crops and vegetation.

Secondary forest: These are forest, which are generally over 10 years.  It is characterized by close upper canopy at height of about 9m with a number of growing soft wooded trees and few hard woods.  It has less open undergrowth of spiny shrubs and climber.

The major tree species are Terminalia Spp, Funtumia Spp, Ceiba Pentandra, Bambax Spp, Archonia Sp, Ficus Spp, etc.

Thicket: They are forest areas of about five years with relatively impenetrable mass of shrubs, climbers, coppicing shoots and young trees.  The mass is dominated by chromolaena Odorata (Siamese Weed) with few trees above the mass.

Forb re-growth: These consist of soft stemmed leafy herbs mostly Chromolaena Odorata and weed which  appear on farm and have to be cut down regularly and remnants of food crops and coppice shoots re-growth from stumps of felled trees.

 

SOILS AND AGRICULTURAL LAND USE

The district has six main soil types that are described as follows:-

1. Soil developed over granite and associated rocks. i.e.
   1. Kumasi-Offin compound Association
   2. Bomso-Offin Compound Association
   3. Soil developed over the upper and lower Birimian Rocks
      1. Bekwai-Oda Compound Association
      2. Bekwai-Akomadan-Oda Compound Association
      3. Kobeda-Bechem-Webenso-Oda Compound Assocation
      4. Atukrom-Asikuma Assocation.

The Kumasi-Offin and Bomso-Offin Compound Associations have similar characteristics.  They are well drained and made of quartz gravels and iron-stone nodules in the sub-soil.  They are mostly found in the western end  and of the district respectively.  They  support both cash and food crops such as coffee, cocoa, oil palm, citrus, vegetables, maize just  to mention a few.

The Bekwai-Oda, Bekwai-Oda and Kobeda-Bechiem-Sebenso-Oda Compound Association also have similar characteristics.  The associations are found mostly in the western, north-eastern and eastern parts of the district respectively.  These soils are moderately well-drained and support cash crops, legumes and food crops.

The Atukrom-Asikuma Association is well drained in some parts.  The soil is mostly found in the eastern part of Lake Bosomtwe and supports food and tree crops as well as vegetable and sugar-cane production.

The soil types in the district have been found to be ideal for the cultivation of cash crops and indigenous food developed over a wide range of highly weathered parent materials including granite, Trakwaian and Birimian rocks.  They are more richly supplied with nutrients.

 

AGRICULTURAL LAND USE

The Kumasi-Offin and Bomso-Offin compound Association are well drained and made of quarts, gravels and iron stone modules in the sub soil. They are found mostly in the Western and middle belt of the district.  They support cash crops and food crops such as coffee, cocoa, oil palm, citrus, vegetables, maize among others.

The Bekwai – Oda Bekwai Akumadan – Oda and Kodeda –  Eachien (Behiem) Sebenso –  Oda compound Association have similar characteristics.  These associations are found mainly in the Western North-Eastern and Eastern parts of the districts respectively.  They are moderately well drained and support cash crops as well as food crops.

The Atuakrom – Asikuma Association is well drained.  This is mostly found on the eastern part of Lake Bosomtwe and supports food crops, tree crops as well as vegetables and sugar cane productions.

LAND TENURE AND AGRICULTURAL LAND AVAILABILITY:

Land ownership is mainly on family bases where the head of family holds title in trust and on behalf of family members.  There are some stool lands, which are held and cared for by occupants of the Stools, Kingmakers and elders of the royal lineage.

Available lands for Agricultural purposes are acquired from these two reconised land owners on lease or outright purchase.  Individuals who own parcels of land probably through inheritance or care-taker titles also give land out for agricultural activities.

The common practices are share-cropping (“Abunu or Abusa”) and hiring of land.  In this case, money is paid for the right to use a piece of land for a period of time, usually counted in years.

Apart from the few commercial farmers who purchase large tracks of lands, the small scale and peasant farmers are mostly using family lands by free hold.

The land area available for agricultural activity is nearly 48% of the total area of the district (1300sq km). This is primarily because of the good soils, vegetation and favourable climatic conditions prevailing in the District.

Agriculture involving crops, animals and fish farming employ about 58.55% of the active working population.  Crop farming alone account for 53.41% of the active population in the Agricultural sector, with the rest in Livestock and fishing sectors.

FARMING METHODS / SYSTEMS:

The common method of farming in the District is the slash-stump and burn method.  This is done to make lands ready for cropping.

The method adopted is used as result of the location of the district in the forest belt (semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana) where methods such as ploughing and other mechanical methods of farming are rarely used.

Secondly, the hilly and undulating nature of most portion of the district, is a limitation of their use.

FARMING SYSTEMS:

Two main systems of farming are adopted in the district.  These are:

ii. Permanent cultivation:

This is adopted for perennial crops such as cocoa, oil palm, sugar cane, plantain and citrus among others.  Under this system, the farmer remains on the piece of land under cultivation for many years with the same crops.

Year to year harvest is derived from ratoon crops, as in sugar cane or yield from the same parent crop.

ii. Land rotation

Most of the arable crops are grown under this system.  Maize,

Cassava, vegetables are the crops associated with this system

They are either grown as a sole crop (monocrop) or mixed-crops where a combination of more than one crop is cultivated on the piece of land for a season and then shifted to another to enable a period of fallow.

 

AGRICULTRURAL PRODUCTION

The major occupation in the district is agriculture that employs about 62.6 percent of the labour force.  Crop farming employs 57.4% and fishing 5.2%.  About 44% of those who engage in other occupations still take up agriculture as a minor occupation.

Farms holding in the district are moderately large.  Farmers had holdings of more than 3 ha with an average of 3.5 ha per farmer (DOP UST) put under various crops. Crops of substantial economic significance in the district are cocoa, maize, oil palm, cassava, plantain and cocoyam.  The cultivation of these crops is mainly subsistence.

On the whole, agricultural production is low as supplementary food stuff are brought in from Kumasi.

Though majority of farmers are producing on subsistence basis, areas of concentrated production of some crops have surpluses for sale or processing.   Maize is the predominant food crop cultivated in the district.  Cassava also thrives well in most parts of the district.  Vegetable production has a greater potential as it also has ready market in view of its proximity to Kumasi.  Some of the rivers namely Oda and Bankoro that run through the district are perennial and therefore promote vegetable production in the dry season.

The district proximity to Kumasi (peri-urban) serves as a favourable influence of market prices and attractive market awareness for farmers.  Thus prices are very different in most parts of the district compared to the city of Kumasi.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND YIELDS

Table:  Agricultural Out/Put Production (Mt)

CROP	2006	2007	2008	2009
MAIZE	6,385	6,394	6,415	6,443
CASSAVA	60,104	60,108	60,116	60,188
YAM	4,375	4,397	4,402	4,408
PLANTAIN	30,456	30,463	30,497	30,584
COCOYAM	6,309	6,328	6,389	6,443
RICE	348	356	367	378

Table:  Crop Yield MT/HA

CROP	2006	2007	2008	2009
MAIZE	1.3	1.2	1.34	1.4
CASSAVA	15.9	16.21	15.7	16.4
YAM	10.3	10.72	10.8	10.7
PLANTAIN	6.9	7.5	7.4	7.8
COCOYAM	5.6	5.9	6.1	6.3
RICE	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.2

Table: Livestock Census

CROP	2006	2007	2008	2009
SHEEP	8,427	8,238	8,541	8,056
GOATS	5,478	5,647	5,887	6,149
DUCKS	3,456	3,812	3,699	4,128
FOWLS (LOCAL)	8,897	8,495	10,722	10,086

LIVESTOCK, POULTRY AND FISHERY

The livestock industry is not well established in the district.  However some few farmers have small ruminant, pigs and cattle.

Poultry production is gaining patronage in the district mainly due to its closeness to the Regional Capital.

There are few large commercial poultry farms north of the district closer to Kumasi.

Table 3 gives the production level of poultry and livestock in the district from 2006 to 2009.

Fishing is done on a smaller scale in the lake Bosomtwe Aquaculture is practiced in the district through in the past most fish ponds were abandoned by farmers due to lack of knowledge in aquaculture,.  Today we have over fifty fishponds in the district which can be found in Kuntanase, Apinkra, Abuontem, Oyoko, Sawuah, Jachie and Esereso.

 

AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS/PROGRAMMES

The District has five projects in the Agricultural sector.  These are:

1. I.            Cocoa Diseases and Pests Control Programme(CODAPEC)

Or Cocoa Mass Spraying Programme

1. II.            Cocoa Hitch Programme
2. III.            Expanded Maize Production Programme
3. IV.            Fertilizer Subsidy Programme
4. V.            Livestock Development Project

1. Cocoa Mass Spraying

The involves the spraying of cocoa farms against cocoa capsid.  The various societies are supplied with chemicals to spray their farms.  There are presently twenty three societies with twenty-three (23) spraying gangs.  A total of 1,900 ha (59500 tanks) of farms was sprayed for the 2009 year covering a total of 4,502 farms which was an increase over the previous years.

II  COCOA HITECH PROGRAMME:

Only sidako fertilizer (a liquid fertilizer) was supplied by COCOBOD to the district to mix with the capsid chemicals and spray together in the Mass Cocoa spraying.  The District has applied for cocofeed fertilizer to sell to farmers this year, 2011.

III Expanded Maize Production Programme

Two groups of farmers, the Bosomtwe District Award winners association and the Atwima Kwanwoma District Award winners association were given some loan to cultivate maize during the minor season.  The loan recovery was over 90%.  This implies that recognized FBO could be supported with credit for farming activities instead of individual farmers.

 

IV. Fertilizer Subsidy Programme

This started in 2008 and involved the issuing of fertilizer coupons to farmers to buy fertilizer at subsidized price from some identified input dealers.  These subsidized fertilizers include NPK 15-15-15, NPK 23-10-5, Sulphate of Ammonia and Urea (see table below)

Table:  Final Fertilizer Coupons Report, January – December 2009

	NPK 15:15	NPK 23:10:5	S.O.A	UREA	REMARKS
Total coupons received from region	3900	1850	1750	1350	A total of 1793 coupons which were not utilized were with farmers
Total coupons distributed to farmer	3900	1850	1750	1350
Total coupons endorsed	3208	1394	1469	986
Total coupons not  utilized	692	456	281	364
Total coupons returned to RADU	Nil	Nil	Nil	50

• One booklet returned to RDO (Accounts)
• One booklet contains 50 coupons
• Many of the farmers bought the fertilizer from Kumasi where it is normally available and also because of available means of transport direct to their communities.

 

 

V. Livestock Development Project

Five farmers in the district were selected to start the project in 2010.  They were each supplied with 10 sheep, one ram and 9 ewes for breeding.

VI. Farmer Registration

The district also carried out some farmer registration through the Agricultural Extension Agent.  A total of 7070 (3534 males and 3536 females) farmers were registered for the 2009.  The exercise is on going.

 

 

Table:  Agro processing

There are few agro processing activities in the district as seen in the table.

Activity	Community	No. of  plants
Oil palm processingOil palm processing Oil palm processing Pineapple processing Cassava Processing	PiaseWorakose Jachie-Krofrom Jachie-Krofrom Abuentem	41 1 1 1

The plant at Abuentem is currently processing corn dough because of lack of cassava tubers.

Other industrial activities include saw milling, making of ornament, Gold smiting, Aketeshi distilling, wood carving, textile and dress making.

SOCIAL AMENITIES

MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE:

There is no periodic market in the district.  Market facilities are located in some towns in the district such as Brodekwano, Feyiase, which have market pavilions.  There are stalls at Kuntanase and Jachie with good market facilities.

The rest of the towns have just small market places without stalls or sheds.  Commercial activities take place in various forms at these daily market points.  Some individuals operate shops as retail outlets for varied goods.

The absence of large markets in the district is largely attributed to poor road condition and network.

HEALTH:

The St. Michael’s Catholic Hospital at Pramso and the District Hospital at Kuntanase are the only Hospitals in the district.

These Hospitals cater for referral cases in the District.  However, due to proximity to Kumasi, the populace has access to the services of Hospitals and Polyclinics within the City.

WATER:

The supply of portable water in the district is inadequate.  There is no pipe born water in the district.  The Communities depend on boreholes, and dug-out wells and streams for their water needs.

Lake Bosomtwe is a source of water for communities living near it.  There are about 27 hand-dug-wells, 116 boreholes and 60 more are under construction.

Kuntanase, the district capital has no access to pipe borne water.  A project to lift water by pump from a borehole for distribution in the town is completed and is supplying water to the Kuntanase community.

ROADS:

The District has one Bitumen surfaced road from Chirapatre (Kumasi) through Esreso, Aputuogya, and Kuntanase to the Lake Side and Nyameani.

The rest of the roads are gravel or latrine surface with several pot-holes.  These roads become water logged and muddy during raining seasons and are virtually impassable.  Roads in the hilly areas of Asisiriwa, Konkoma, Beposo and Amakom usually suffer from severe erosion making them difficult to use by vehicles during the rainy season.

TOURISM:

The district has tourist attraction sites of historical, scientific and aesthetic importance These include:-

• The Humakyemase sacred groove along the Kuntanase – Piase road.
• The waterfall at Piase with special species of fish.
• The sacred groove between Kuntanase and Kokwado and Royal Mausoleum.
• River Bobi and Kokom.  River Bobi has the history of never having dried up before and River Kokom is considered the spiritual base of Kuntanase.
• The settlement at Feyiase is the final battle ground between Denkyira’s and Ashanti’s Okomfo anokye’s Kola tree still stands in the town.
• Lake bosomtwe is the main tourist centre of the district.  This is a natural Crater Lake.