Biakoye

Introduction
The Biakoye District is one of the 170 in the country and one of the 18 in the Volta region.
The district was carved out of the then Jasikan District in 2007. Government business commenced in the district on 20th December 2010. The district was officially inaugurated on 15th March 2011.
Nkonya Ahenkro is the district capital. It is about 100km from the Regional capital, Ho and about 200 kilometrs from Accra the National capital.
The district is endowed with about 42,000 hectares of arable land, perennial water source ( the Volta lake) for irrigation to produce annual crops and vegetable production and aquaculture and rich human resource for the establishment of agro industries.
Location
The district is located within longitude 0 150 E and 0 450 E and Latitude 6 450 N and 7 150 N at the heart of the Volta – Region.  It shares common boarders with the Hohoe and Jasikan Districts to the east, Kpando to the south, Kadjebi and Krachi East Districts to the North and the Volta Lake to the west
Population
The population of the District is estimated to be 63,645 comprising approximately 35,005 women and 28,640 men
(Source: provisional figures of the 2010 population and housing censors)
Major Traditional Areas
The major traditional areas in the district are:
•    Nkonya
•    Tapa
•    Worawora
•    Bowiri
•    Akposor
•    Major landforms and Drainage
•    The landform of the district is relatively flat  with a few mountains ranging from Bowiri to Nkonya and also part of the Akporsor area. There are no major perennial rivers in the district; however, the Volta Lake drains the whole length of the western part corridor of the district .
CLIMATE
•    The annual rainfall total ranges between 1100mm and 1500mm, averaging 1300mm.  The rainfall pattern is bimodal with two distinct rainy seasons.  The major rains start from April through to July while the minor season covers the period from August through November.  Occasionally the district bimodal pattern gives way to continuous rain from April through to December.
VEGETATION AND SOILS
Vegetation
•    The District falls within the Forest-Savanna transitional ecological zone of Ghana, with the forest part at its north -eastern sectors. The forest areas are the Bowiri, Akporsor and part of the Nkonya areas. The present Volta Lake has occupied most of the once cocoa growing areas.
•    The vegetation of the transitional zone is considered to have developed from the forest.  The eastern highlands are clothed with high forest.  Of course the activities of man have almost devastated most of the forest.
Soils
•    The Soils generally tend to be sandy overlying iron pans. Bottomlands carry heavy silts and cracking clays.
•    The advantage of the soil groups is that both savanna and forest crops do well in the district.  Some of these crops are maize, rice, cassava, vegetables, cocoa, oil palm and yams
•    The torrential nature of rains greatly leaches the soil nutrients.  This is compounded by the fact that the vegetation cover is removed before crops are cultivated.  Most of the organic matter (vegetation) is also burnt annually through bush fires.  This further exposes the soil to erosion and leaching.  Soil fertility has gradually become a serious problem and large doses of chemical fertilizers have to be applied to realize economic yields.
AVAILABLE LAND
•    Out of the about 60,000 ha of land area of the district, about 42,000ha (70%) are suitable for the production of various crops such as maize, rice, vegetables, yam and cocoa
•    Crop production lands are evenly distributed in the district.  It is made up of forest areas of Bowiri and Akporso and the savanna areas covers the Nkonya, Worawora and Tapa areas.
LAND TENURE SYSTEM
•    Land tenure system in most parts of the district is by family/clan or individual ownership.  A family/clan land is held in trust for and on behalf of the family/clan by the family/clan head.  Such land passes from one generation to another.  Members of the family/clan have tittle to portions of the land for agricultural production (and for building) as of right.  Individuals or groups of individuals of the family/clan may not however dispose of such portions of the land without the consent and concurrence of the family head and other members of the family/clan.
•    Family/clan lands may be rented, leased or sold to strangers for agricultural purposes by negotiations with the family/clan head and other members of the family/clan.
•    Individuals may own land through inheritance, as gift or by outright purchases from an individual or family/clan.  Individual lands may be rented, leased or sold to strangers for agricultural or other purposes through negotiations with the individual owners.

AGRICULTURE IN THE DISTRICT
•    The Climate and Soils support varieties of crops and livestock.  Crop production includes cereals, root and tubers and vegetables.  The livestock include small ruminants, local poultry, piggery and cattle on a small scale.
•    The only cash crops cultivated in the district is cocoa.
•    Local vegetables namely okro, tomato, garden eggs and pepper are cultivated extensively along whole length of the Volta Lake.
•    Aquaculture is not practiced in the district although the potential exists.
FOOD CROP PRODUCTION
•    Food crops are produced mainly by peasant farmers using simple hand tools.  The average land holding per farmer is about 0.5 ha. Mixed cropping is gradually giving way to mono cropping especially for crops such as maize, yam, rice and cassava.
•    There is a decreasing level use of inorganic fertilizers. Crop productivity levels are dropping with each cropping season as poor soil fertility management practices.
•    Again yields are dropping as a result gradually decreasing use of inorganic fertilizers and seeds due to increasing costs of farm inputs and low soil fertility. Farmer’s incomes are low because of the low yields from their farms.
•    The major food crops cultivated in the district are maize, rice, vegetables, yam and cassava

Major Food crop growing areas in the  District

LIVESTOCK:

Common livestock found in the district include sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, local poultry, (domestic fowls) ducks and guinea fowls.
About 80% of all households in the district keep one or other type of livestock.    Common among them are domestic fowls and small ruminants.  The system practiced widely is free-range whereby the animals scavenge for food the whole day with little or no supplementary feeding.  These birds are generally hardy with slow growth and have poor weight gains.  The birds generally receive little or no medication and suffer from many preventable diseases.
Small ruminants (sheep and goats) are also kept by households. Most of them are not  confined. Those housed are confined during the day and let loose in the evenings for foraging with little or no supplementary feeding. Cattle production is on relatively small scale and confined mostly to the savanna areas of the district and along the Volta lake. The availability of  rice and maize  (residue) in the district can be used for small ruminant and cattle development in the district.
Fish Production
Aquaculture is not practiced in the district. Fishing is done in the Volta Lake.
MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Agricultural products either in their raw forms or semi processed are generally marketed directly by the producers or through intermediaries (middlemen/women).  Women normally carry the raw products to local markets by head loads.  The mode of sales is generally by price bargaining as the products are sold not by weight but by size, quality and or appearance.
The grains are generally sold using unit measures eg. Olonka, margarine tins or bowls etc the tubers and plantains are sold by size and variety/quality.
Market women/men go round to purchase commodities on wholesale basis.  The mode of sale is also by price bargaining.  A limited amount of pre-financing of production exists.  By this arrangement, the intermediaries advance some amounts of money to the farmers during the course of production of the crops.  The recipients of such advances are bound over to sell the produce to the intermediaries immediately after harvesting. This normally results in the traders offering low prices for the commodities.
Vegetables are sold by baskets and or boxes.
Marketing centers
The major marketing centers in the district are:
i.    Tapa Abotoase market
ii.    Kwamikrom market
iii.    Bumbula Market
AGRO- PROCESSING
The main agricultural produce which are processed are oil palm, cassava and paddy rice.
Oil palm is processed into red palm oil and palm kernel oil. Cassava is processed into cassava dough and gari. Agro-Processing is mainly done by women on either individual or on group’s basis.
There is a rice mill at Worawora that has the capacity to mill 10 tons of rice daily.
Farm input marketing
Agro input marketing is done by small retailers who get their supplies from either Hohoe or Kpando. There is the need to establish a bigger agro input shop in the district to serve the numerous farmers in the area.
AGRICULTURAL POTENTIALS AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES OF THE DISTRICT.
Availability of good basic Infrastructure is a pre-requisite for investment purposes.  The current infrastructure of the district is as follows:
INFRASTRUCTURE

ROADS

The Biakoye district has a very good road network within the district, which facilitates movement from the rural areas to the district capital.  The district capital is however linked up to the regional capital, Ho and Accra, the National capital by first class roads.  The district Capital is about 3 hours drive to the Tema Harbour and 3.5 hours drive to the Kotoka International Airport in Accra a condition suitable for the production and export of vegetables

AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES
Agricultural Lands
The greatest resource of the district is agricultural land, This forms about 80% of the total land available in the district.
The Volta Lake
The Volta Lake drains the whole western part of the district. It therefore offers a great opportunity for irrigation for all year production of food crops and vegetables in the district. It also offers the opportunity for the development of aquaculture (cage culture) in the district
Human Resource
Human resource is the second largest resource of the district. The high population density of the district and a large number of skilled,semi-skilled and unskilled labors in the district. The artisans account for a large proportion of skilled manpower while school leavers and dropouts account for the semi-skilled labour.
INVESTING IN THE CROP SECTOR
The available land forms and water body makes investment in the district a great potential with  all year round production of the following crops;
i.    Maize
ii.    Rice
iii.    Vegetables
INVESTING IN THE LIVESTOCK SUB SECTOR
The availability of large tracks of land, water and maize, maize Stover rice straw  and a dedicated animal health and production officers in the district creates an enabling environment for the production of the following animals:
i.    Goats
ii.    Sheep
iii.    Cattle
iv.    Poultry
v.    Guinea fowls
FARM INPUTS MARKETING
Before the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) in the early eighties, the Ministry of Food & Agriculture was involved in the importation, distribution and sale of agricultural inputs.  In the Volta –Region the Farmers Services Company (FASCOM) undertook this service on behalf of the Ministry. The service has been privatized but FASCOM has become functionally defunct. Input distribution in the region had been in the hands of private individuals. To date there is no importer and or distributor of farm inputs in the district.
Investing  in the Agric input sector
Investment in this service appears to be rewarding with a quick recovery on the investment made. At the same time farmers will be assured of farm inputs at the right time and at reasonable prices since the main economic activity in the district is farming and fishing
Projects
There are no projects in the district to enhance agricultural development.