Asuogyaman

 

Capital:Atimpoku

 

Size Of Distric ; 1507 sq. km (Approx. 580 sq miles)

Location : Latitude 6°34°N and 6°10°N;                                                              Longitude 0°1°W and 0°14°E

 

Population : 74,124 (2000 Population Census)

 

Population By Gender : Males    – 52.1%

Females- 47.9%

Population Destiny : 53 per sq. km

 

Growth Rate : 1.7 %

 

Rural-Uban Split Of Population: Rural – 35%    Urban – 65%

 

Relief : Undulating Topography

Soil Type : Savannah Greisols and Aluviosols

 

Main River : Volta Lake (Largest man-made lake in the world)

 

Vegetation : Forest, Savannah woodland and regrowth.

Agricultural Land Use

 

Total Land Area : 1507sq km

Total Cultivable Land Area: 633sq km

Per Capita Land Area : 2.03ha

Per Capita Cultivable Land Area : 0.85ha

Agric Land Availability Coefficient : 0.42

Agricultural Output

 

A. Crop Sector

 

Principal Agricultural Produce

 

Tree Crop : Mango

Industrial Crops :          Cocoa, Oil palm

RootAndTubers:   Yam,Cassava,Cocoyam

FruitsAndVegetables:Banana,Pineapple,Mango,Tomato,Pepper

Cereal:Maize

AgriculturalPopulation

Average household size: 5

Average farm size: 2.5 acres

 

AGRICULTURALGENDERROLESINTHEDISTRICT

Men normally do the general manual work on the farms such as weeding, stumping and arduous tasks, whilst most women are concerned about harvesting, gathering and sorting of agricultural produce.

FARMINGSYSTEMS

Agriculture is predominantly on small holder basis in the District. About 90% of the farm holdings are less than 3 acres (1.2 ha) although there are some large farms and plantations particularly for mango and banana. The main system of farming is traditional slash and burn, with the hoe and cutlass as the main farming tools.

 

FARMINGACTIVITIES

There are four (4) prominent types of farming activities in the district: food cropping, cash cropping, livestock farming and fishing.

 

FOODCROPPING

Seventy-eight per cent (78%) of the farming population is engaged in crop production. The major crops are maize, cassava, vegetables and yam. A large number of these farmers have small holdings.

The main farming areas are Tortibo, Domeabra, Mpakadan, Frankadua, Gyakiti, Ankyease, South-Senchi and Survey line, Yeniama, Sapor.

The table below shows the major crops grown and the major production areas in the district.

CropsGrownandMajorProductionAreas

Crops	Major Areas of Production
Maize	Frankadua, Asikuma, Mpakadan, Yeniama, Sarpor
Cassava	Apegusu, Mpakadan, Frankadua, South –Senchi, Yeniama, Sarpor
Yam	Frankadua, Fintey, Apenkwa, Adjena,
Plantain	Nnudu, Aboasa, Sarpor, Yeniama.
Pepper	Mpakadan, Old Akrade, South – Senchi
Cocoa	Nnudu, Aboasa, Apegusu, Opokuase – Anum
Oil Palm	Aboasa, Nnudu, Tortibo, Frankadua, Sarpor, Apegusu, Asikuma

Source: MOFA, Asuogyaman

 

 

 

Areas planted to the major crops from 2004 to 2010 are shown in the table below.

 

AreaPlantedToSelectedCrops(Hectares)

Crops	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Maize	8,300	10,416	8,078	8,988	8,757	8,815	8,594
Cassava	13,450	11,638	7,465	10,976	11,057	12,289	11,075
Yam	860	661	278	896	724	932	825
Cocoyam	560	–	535	–	450	–	–
Plantain	940	–	1,565	1,643	1,453	1,071	1,433

Source: MOFA, Asuogyaman

Cassava is a major produce of the district. From 2004 to 2010, production of this commodity averaged 162,845tons. For the same period, maize production averaged 14,656tons.

CropProduction(MetricTones)

Crops	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Maize	14,110	22,186	10,219	14,201	14,011	13,663	12,902
Cassava	162,745	227,290	109,474	158,384	147,058	159,511	151,494
Yam	15,050	7,767	3,889	15,232	12,453	14,539	13,629
Cocoyam	4,368	–	4,120	–	3,465	–	–
Plantain	8,394	–	13,631	16,069	13,949	9,543	13,305

Source: MOFA, Asuogyaman

Crop yields recorded in the district as compared to the achievable indicate that higher yields can be achieved through more effective extension services and use of recommended technologies.

 

AverageYieldofSelectedFoodCropsunderRain-fedConditions

Crops	Yield (Rainfed) (Metric Tones / Hectare)	Achievable Yield (Metric Tones / Hectare)
Maize	2.13	5.00
Cassava	19.00	28.00
Yam	17.54	20.00
Cocoyam	7.80	8.00
Plantain	8.93	10.00

Source: MOFA, Asuogyaman; MOFA SRID.

 

CASHCROPPING

Cocoa and oil palm are the major cash crops grown on small plantations. Of late, mango production is gaining currency.

 

AverageFarmSizeofVariousCrops

Crops	Average Farm Size
Maize	2 acres
Cassava	2 acres
Yam	3 acres
Plantain	1 acre
Cocoyam	1 acre
Citrus	5 acres
Cocoa	3 acres
Mango	5 acres
Pepper	2 acres
Okro	1 acre
Water Melon	1 acre

Source: MOFA, Asuogyaman

 

NoofHoldersofVariousCrops(2010CropSurvey)

Maize                          –             14,050

Cassava                       –            12,672

Yam                            –              2,175

Plantain                       –              1,338

Pepper                         –              2,113

 

 

B.LIVESTOCKSUB-SECTOR

The main types of livestock reared in the district are cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and poultry. Most of the livestock farming that goes on in the district is on subsistence levels.

Livestock/PoultryPopulation(1999-2009)

Year	Cattle	Sheep	Goat	Pigs	Poultry
1999	2,014	6,008	8,091	2,203	32,324
2000	2,100	5,200	7,800	2,041	36,222
2001	2,503	5,450	7,921	2,008	36,142
2002	2,210	6,100	8,210	1,981	39,021
2003	2,423	6,341	8,306	1,720	38,430
2004	2,752	6,446	8,500	1,600	39,741
2005	2,862	6,502	8,729	1,465	39,023
2006	2,901	6,622	8,993	1,233	28,825
2007	2.992	6.843	9,355	1,099	29,913
2008	2,286	6,733	9,531	1,622	31,669
2009	2,377	7,289	10,103	1740	41,779
% change 2008/2009	4.0	8.2	6.0	7.3	31.9

Source: MOFA, Asuogyaman

 

SLAUGHTERHOUSES

There are two slaughter houses that cater for the meat requirements of the district.

• V.R.A. slaughter house
• Atimpoku slaughter house

Average Number of Animals Slaughtered in a Month

Name of Slaughter House	Food Animals	Av. No. Slaughtered / Month
VRA	Cattle	50
	Sheep	20
	Goats	25
Atimpoku	Cattle	15
	Sheep	6
	Goats	8

Source: MOFA, Asuogyaman

C.FISHING

Fishing in the Volta Lake which contributes as an important segment of the agricultural sector is done in some communities along the 141km shore line, including parts of the Kpong head waters. These communities include Dzidzorkope, Atimpoku, Akosombo, Survey Line, Small London, South- Senchi, and Dodi Asantekrom, Kudi Kope, Sedom.

 

FISHPRODUCTION

Total fish caught on the lake as at the first quarter of 2007 amounted to 434 tons.

Below are the species of fish caught and their corresponding local names.

Fishes Caught and Their Local Names

Species	Local Name
Tilapia	Akpa
Chrysichthys	Blolo
Bagrus	Yalefo
Synodontis	Tsetse
Hydrocynus	Ankow
Sierrathirssa	“One mouth thousand”
Distichodus	Agbasra
Volta Perch	Akobi

Source: MOFA, Asuogyaman

FISH CAGE CULTURE

West African Fish Ltd at Asikuma and Tropo Farms at Mpakadan are practicing fish cage culture on large scale using barrels and other local materials. There are many other small holder fish cage farms dotted along both banks of the Volta Lake within district.