The Kintampo South District is one of the twenty two (22) districts within the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. The District was created by the Legislative Instrument (LI) 1781 and was duly inaugurated on 24th August, 2004. It lies within longitudes 10 20’ West and 2010’ East and latitude 80 15’ North and 70 45’ South. Jema is the District Capital of the Kintampo South District with an estimated population of about 7,868 while the total District population stands at 93,600.
The District shares boundaries with Kintampo North District to the North, to the South by Nkoranza and Techiman Districts, to the East by Atebubu and Pru Districts and to the West by Wenchi Municipal. The District covers an area of about 1,774.85 km2 and comprises about 122 settlements. There are other major and important towns including Amoma, Anyima, Apesika, Krabonso etc, which make up the District.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
Population Size and Growth Rate
The District has a population of 93,600 with a relatively high growth rate of 3.0% as above the national growth. Out of this population figure, males account for 45,864 and females 47,736.
Spatial Distribution of Population
The District has about 122 communities. However, some of them have a population of less than 100 people and can thus be described as hamlets and villages. There is only one community which has its population above 5,000 and thus can be classified as urban (when urban is defined as settlement with population above 5,000), i.e. Jema, the District capital. The population of the District is fairly distributed. As a result, there is no heavy concentration in a particular area.
Population Density
The District has a population density of 53 persons per square kilometre as compared to the Regional figure of 44 persons per square kilometre.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Topology & Drainage
The District falls within the Voltarian Basin and the Southern Voltarian Plateau physiographic regions. The Voltarian Basin is made up of flat-bedded rocks and is extremely plain with rolling and undulating land surface with an elevation of between 60-150metres above sea level.
The Southern Voltarian Plateau occupying the Southern and South-eastern part of the District is characterised by series of escarpments. Many rivers and streams drain the District.
The major ones are River Pumpum, River Oyoko, River Nante and River Tanti. These rivers flow to join the Black Volta. Most of the rivers are intermittent in nature and thus fluctuate in volume.
These features of the rivers make them unreliable for irrigation purposes with the exception of River Nante, which offer opportunities for irrigation.
Other features of the rivers are shallow holes on River Oyoko on the road between Krabonso and Anyima and the waterfalls on River Odum near Kokuma, which flows to join River Tanti. The extensive plains also augur well for road construction, settlement design and offers opportunities for mechanized farming.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
Weather & Vegetation
The Kintampo South District experiences a modified Tropical Continental climate or modified Wet Semi-equatorial climate. This is because the District lies in the transitional zone between the Wet Semi-equatorial and Tropical Continental climates. Like other parts of the country, the District experiences two seasons namely wet and dry.
The Wet season shows double maxima (peaks) rainfall pattern (i.e. major and minor). The major raining season starts in early March and reaches its peak in June, and tapers off gradually through July. The minor season starts in late August and reaches its peak in September/November.
However, because of the transitional nature of the District, the distinction between the peaks is often not so much; the first peak is often obscured. The mean annual rainfall ranges 1,150mm and 1,250mm.
The mean monthly temperature in the District is between 24oC in August and 30oC in March. These conditions create sunny conditions for most part of the year. The relative humidity is also high varying from 90%-95% in the rainy season. The climate of the District has the tendency to change and be inclined more to the Dry Tropical continental conditions or to the Wet Semi-Equatorial conditions.
Vegetation
The vegetation of the District falls under the Woodland Savannah Zone. However, due to its transitional nature the area does not exhibit typical savannah conditions. The savannah is heavily wooded with relatively taller trees in contrast to trees in the typical savannah grassland areas of the north but not as tall as trees in the deciduous forest areas of the south. Typical in the district exist the formation of a “fringe forest” found along the banks of major rivers and streams. The type of tree species prevalent in the District includes the Mahogany, Odum, Senya, Apupuo, Shea, Wawa, Dawadawa etc. These trees have adapted to the environment but are dispersed.
Geology & Soil
The District is underlaid by the voltarian formation. This formation covers about 2/3 of the total land area of Ghana and about 80% of the District’s land surface. The voltaian formation consists principally of sandstones, shale’s, mudstones and limestone.
Some parts of the District are also underlaid by Birimanian formation. Economically, the Birimanian formation has been the most important geological formation in Ghana. It bears all the minerals mined in the country.
There are reported mineral deposits of diamond at Mansie and gold at Anyima. The economic viability of such minerals for exploitation in order to create more jobs and to generate income for development is unknown. Attempts to develop the clay deposit at Nante into bricks and tile factory by the former Kintampo District Assembly were thwarted by lack of funds. As a result, these clay deposits are untapped.
However, with the creation of the new Kintampo South District, measures will be put in place to harness these resources to benefit the population in general and to raise the living standard of the people.
Agriculture
The District has extensive fertile land coupled with favourable climatic conditions. Due to these factors, agriculture has been and continues to be the main economic venture in the District. It employs about 72.7% of the workforce and contributes about 60% of household incomes.
Agriculture in the District is undertaken at a subsistence level. Only few farmers are engaged in plantation and mechanized farming. The rainfall is bi-modal and supports the cultivation of maize in two seasons (April-June) and (July-September).
Major crops cultivated include the following; yam, cassava, millet and sorghum, cowpea, rice, groundnut, watermelon, cashew, mango and tobacco. Vegetable farming has also taken root with the leading crop being tomato followed by garden eggs.
Livestock activities are also carried out in the District. In this sector, there is appreciable number of cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, local and improved poultry.
The major agriculture production centers in the district are: Apesika, Amoma, Ayima, Jema, Ntankoro, Pamdu, Nante and Kokuma.
Land Use and Tenure
Like most places in Ghana, land is mainly owned by the traditional authorities, i.e. Chiefs, who hold it in trust for their people. Such lands are known as stool lands. The second category of land is those owned by various families or clans within the District. Such lands known as family lands are managed by the heads of the families that own them. The third category of lands is those acquired in the interest of the public for various purposes.
The various farming systems / methods practiced by the farmers in the district include; shifting cultivation, continuous cropping, mixed cropping, mono cropping, inter cropping, and land rotation and bush fallows. The major crops cultivated include yam, cassava, cocoyam, rice, potato, pepper, plantain, garden eggs, okro, watermelon, ground nut cowpea, and other tree crops such as cashew, mango.
There are also non-traditional farming activities that are being practiced by the farmers. These include grascutter rearing, bee-keeping
Major Crops Produced
Major crops produced in the District include yam, maize, cassava and plantain. These crops are extensively cultivated in all parts of the District except plantain which is restricted to the forest areas. Maize is cultivated twice in the year (major and minor cropping seasons).
| Table 1: Comparative Production Figures (2009-2010) | |||||||||
| Crop | Area Cropped (Ha) | Average Yield (Mt/ha) | Production (Mt) | ||||||
| 2009 | 2010 | % Change | 2009 | 2010 | % Change | 2009 | 2010 | % Change | |
| Maize | 14,910 | 13,420 | -10.00 | 1.88 | 2.26 | 20.08 | 28,063 | 30,329 | 8.08 |
| Cassava | 3,900 | 3,580 | -8.20 | 17.17 | 17.92 | 4.38 | 66,956 | 64,154 | -4.19 |
| Yam | 8,140 | 7,570 | -7.05 | 20.80 | 21.59 | 3.81 | 169,300 | 163,436 | -3.46 |
| Cocoyam | 440 | 370 | -15.00 | 6.48 | 5.51 | -14.98 | 2851 | 2039 | -28.5 |
| Plantain | 50 | 49 | -2.00 | 6.79 | 7.50 | 10.43 | 340 | 375 | 10.43 |
Information on performance
There were mixed results in production figures between 2009 and 2010. Increases were realized in maize and plantain whilst yam, cassava and cocoyam dropped marginally in production. The drop could possibly be attributed to low farm expansion, difficulty in accessing seed (yam) and weather failure etc.
Livestock production
Livestock production activities are carried out throughout the District. This ranges from small ruminants (goats and sheep), pigs and cattle. 2010 statistics show the numbers of the various species.
Sheep – 25,150
Goats – 28,750
Cattle – 11,500
Pigs (Exotic) – 605
Pigs (Local) – 380
Current statistics are as below:
• Local poultry – 26,106;
• Guinea fowls – 750;
• ducks – 1,009
• Turkeys – 252.
Fertilizer Subsidy Programme
Quantity of Fertilizer Received and Distributed-2010
| TYPE OF FERTILIZER | |||||||||
| 15 -15 – 15 | SOA | UREA | 16 – 16 – 16 | SULFAN | |||||
| In | Out | In | Out | In | Out | In | Out | In | Out |
| 865 | 728 | 1,243 | 1,243 | 542 | 542 | 619 | 619 | 992 | 992 |
Remarks: This includes fertilizer sold in the market and those received by the Directorate under the Block Farm Programme. There are seven (7) registered input dealers in the District.
Major stakeholders in Agriculture: District Assembly, NGOs – ADRA, Heifer International, World Vision Ghana and Natural Conservation Research Centre (NCRC)
Financial Institutions
Kintampo Rural Bank Limited – Jema Agency
Road Network
Information on types of road network and length (km)
Feeder Roads : 385.44 km
Engineered Roads : 135.85 km
Non-engineered Road: 249.59 km
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Cashew Development Project (CDP)
The project funded by the African Development Bank/Government of Ghana between 2003 and 2010. The District became part of the project because it was carved out of Kintampo North district. The project sought to increase production and village level processing of cashew nuts through the implementation of the following components:
• Production and development activities
• Training and extension activities and
• Credit
Key Achievements:
The District established a total of 1,914.6ha of cashew by 1,565 farmers. Of this 989 were males and 576 were females. Even though the African Development Bank funding for the project ended in September, 2010, the Ministry has mainstreamed cashew activities into MOFA’s plan to fulfill its objective of food security and increased growth in income. In addition the following activities were undertaken.
• Field staff of MoFA received adequate training to build their capacities in cashew production to assist farmers increase their yields.
• Farmers trained through fora and field tours to equip them with technical skills to improve their yields etc; expansion of cashew farms through the provision of improved seeds/seedlings and credit to farmers.
• Undertook mapping of cashew farms in the district
Major activities to be continued are: establishment of new cashew farms; formation of new farmer groups; provision of extension support for new farm establishment and rehabilitation of old cashew farms; collaboration with Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) for cashew loan disbursements and recoveries.
African Cashew initiative (ACi) has also come in to continue from where Cashew Development Project ended.
LIVESTOCK DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (LDP)
The Livestock Development Project which was launched in Kintampo in 2004 had to be extended to the District after the split of the then Kintampo District into North and South. It aims at improving the production of livestock within the District and the country at large. The production of livestock was meant to reduce the importation of meat/poultry products to ensure food security and alleviate poverty among livestock farmers.
The project comprised a credit component and capacity building of farmers. Initially, cash loans were disbursed to farmer groups but the facility was converted to a Credit-in-Kind Scheme (CIKS) due to challenges with cash loan recoveries.
Under CIKS, a first batch of sixty (60) livestock farmers benefited with each getting ten (10) sheep to be recovered in two (2) years. A second batch of twenty (20) more livestock farmers were supplied in September, 2010. A third batch of forty (40) farmers also benefited in March, 2011. The project officially ended in December, 2010.
VILLAGE MANGO PROJECT
Under the project in 2009, mango seedlings were supplied to farmers for planting in their compounds on an average of five (5) seedlings per farmer to maintain and nurture to maturity.
In 2010, 3,500 seedlings were acquired and distributed to 1,146 farmers. The aim is to maintain the environment while at the same time providing income, preventing or reducing malnutrition through the consumption of mango.
ROOT AND TUBER IMPROVEMENT AND MARKETING PROGRAMME – (RTIMP)
This programme was extended to the District during the minor season in 2008.
• In 2008, four (4) hectares of secondary multiplication sites for cassava were established at Jema, Jema Nkwanta, Amoma, Ntankro and Kwabia all in the District.
• In 2009, cassava planting materials from these sites were supplied to two hundred and sixty-four (264) tertiary farmers.
• One (1) Farmer Field Fora (FFF) plot on cassava was established at Kwabia.
• In 2010, eight (8) hectares of secondary multiplication sites were established.
– Two (2) Farmer Field Fora (FFF) have been established on yam and cassava at Abudwom and Asante Akuraa respectively.
– Five (5) yam minisett multiplication sites were also established at Jema, Abudwom, Kwabia and Paninamisa. Cassava planting materials were supplied to 282 tertiary farmers.
BLOCK FARM PROGRAMME
The programme is to ensure food security and reduce poverty amongst farm families. The district started implementing the Block Farm Programme in 2009 during the minor season. Under the programme, 129.6ha (324 acres) of maize were cultivated by 59 youths (46 males and 13 females).
It was continued in 2010 during the major and minor seasons. Crops cultivated included maize (white and yellow), soya bean and seed maize. Farmers were supported with seed, fertilizer and cash to prepare their land. Under the programme, field staff provided technical support to farmers to ensure good yields.
162 farmers were assisted to cultivate 199 hectares of maize; 3 farmers to cultivate 12 hectares of seed maize; 30 farmers to cultivate 22.8 hectares of soya bean and 5 farmers to cultivate 7.2 hectares of rice under the Block Farm Programme
Block Farm Recovery Status for Kintampo South District as at April, 2011
| Year | Season | Crop | Expected No. of Bags | No. of Bags Previously Recovered | No. Recovered Currently | Cumulative No. of Bags Recovered | Balance | % Recovery |
| 2009 | Minor | Maize
grain |
1,620 maxis | 653.2 maxis | – | 653.2 maxis | 966.8 | 40.3 |
| 2010 | Major | Maize grain | 1,311.2 maxis | 589.5 maxis | 49.9 maxis | 639.4 maxis | 671.1 | 48.8 |
| 2010 | Minor | Yellow maize (grain) | 633.7 maxis | – | 97.6 maxis | 97.6 maxis | 536.1 | 15.4 |
| 2010 | Minor | White maize
(grain) |
404.4 maxi | – | 32.0 maxis | 65 maxis | 339.4 | 16.09 |
| 2010 | Minor | Seed maize | 102 .7 minis | – | 87 minis | 87 minis | 15.7 minis | 84.8 |
| 2010 | Minor | Soya seed | 141.6 minis | – | 44 minis | 44 minis | 97 minis | 31.1 |
Performance of the soya beans was very poor due to a large number of empty pods. This was as a result of insufficient rains at the time of podding and thus making pod filling difficult or impossible.
Csir-Crop Research Institute Yam Minisett Multiplication Programme
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the auspices of Crop Research Institute (CRI) in collaboration with Root and Tuber Improvement and Marketing Programme (RTIMP) and MOFA recently started a yam minisett multiplication programme in the District. The programme started in 2010. So far five (5) acres of yam minisetts have been established at Pamdu and Krutakyi. Forty (40) farmers are being trained under the programme.
Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP)
This is a programme involving MOFA/IFAD/AfDB. It is aimed at reducing poverty and ensuring food security among rural households within the programme coverage area. Activities so far carried out include:
• Registration of farmer groups as well as the taking of photographs of group members
• 30 groups consisting of 107 males and 10 females were submitted to the Kintampo Rural Bank for assistance.
• The DDA, Schedule Officer, 3 DOs and 10 AEAs were trained in the handling of the Farmers’ Business Book.
• Staffs were trained in mycrotoxin management in maize. This was in collaboration with Nestle Ghana Limited.
• An NGO, Association of Christian Development Projects (ACDEP) with its headquarters in Tamale, has been contracted by the programme to facilitate in the organization of farmer groups.
MOFA – World Vision Ghana Collaboration
MOFA and World Vision Ghana are collaborating in the following areas:
Under the Integrated Malnutrition, HIV/AIDS and TB (IMHAT) Prevention and Control Project, the Kintampo South Area Development Programme (ADP) of World Vision, Ghana assisted as follows:
• Various vegetable seeds (tomato, garden eggs, okro, amaranthus, cabbage and carrot) were distributed to 300 farmers in 10 communities.
• 5 goats were purchased and distributed to 17 farmers in two communities-Amoma and Pramposo.
• 762 birds (cockerels) were also purchased and distributed to 50 farmers in 10 communities.
The Anyima-Mansie ADP also collaborated with MOFA to organize food demonstration sessions in ten (10) communities. The objectives were:
• To educate communities on nutritionally dense diets
• To encourage community members to use local foodstuffs to prepare nutritious diets.
• To educate community members on food safety and personal hygiene.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• Trained 1,991 farmers in row planting.
• Trained 1,524 farmers in correct use of agro-chemicals.
• Trained 548 farmers in the yam minisett technology
• 868 farmers were trained in postharvest handling of grains and legumes
• 162 farmers were assisted to cultivate 199 hectares of maize; 3 farmers to cultivate 12 hectares of seed maize; 30 farmers to cultivate 22.8 hectares of soya bean and 5 farmers to cultivate 7.2 hectares of rice under the Block Farm Programme.
• Capacity building of 50 farmers from 10 FBOs.
• 12 demonstrations on utilization of soya to 758 beneficiaries
• 321 women taught the construction of energy saving stoves
• 147 farmers assisted to dig soak-away pits in 6 communities
• 314 hectares of new cashew farms established
o .
• 320 cashew farms were mapped.
• 1,400 grafted cashew seedlings supplied to cashew farmers
• 13 hectares of cassava secondary multiplication sites were established
• 546 individual farmers were supplied with cassava planting material for planting.
• 567 small ruminant farmers were trained in the construction of simple improved housing structures.
• 90 pig farmers trained in feed formulation
• 70 farmers given practical training on hoof trimming, tagging, ecto and endo-parasite control.
• 164 school children taught on the application of the I-2 vaccine
• 9,476 local birds vaccinated against NCD using the I-2 vaccine
• 2,614 cattle vaccinated against CBPP
• 6,011 sheep vaccinated against PPR
• 5,766 goats vaccinated against PPR
• 2,022 dogs vaccinated against rabies
• 168 cats vaccinated against rabies
• An internally generated fund of GH¢1,930.00 was realized in 2010.