BACKGROUND
Location and Physical Characteristics
Adansi North district is one of the districts in the Ashanti Region. It has its capital at Fomena along the Kumasi –Cape Coast main road. It lies between longitude 1.5 degree west, latitude 6.3 degree north.
The district is bounded to the south by the Adansi South District, to the North-East by the Amansie East, to the south-West by Obuasi Municipal and to the West by Amansie Central District
The district has a total land area of 1140sqkm representing 4.67% of the total land cover of the Ashanti Region with 94 communities, 35 electoral areas, 7 area council and 2 constituencies (Fomena constituency and Asokwa constituency).
The total population of the district is 76,000 with 36,936 males and 39,064 females (based on the 2000 census).
LAND USE, VEGETATION, SOIL AND CLIMATE
Land use: Lands are owned by the chiefs and people in the district. The average farm size per a holder is 1 hectare. The land is either used for crops, livestock and building construction.
Land acquisition for agricultural purposes can be done by:
- Outright purchase
- lease
- Abunu: for plantation crops
- Abusa: for food crops
Vegetation: Semi-deciduous forest.
Soil: Forest Ochrosols.
Climate: Semi-equatorial climate with average temperature ranging from 26oC-30oC. Rainfall pattern of the district is bi-modal that is it has two rainfall regimes in the year with annual total rainfall of 1250mm-1750mm.
CROP PRODUCTION
Most farmers in the district engaged in farming practices such as mixed cropping, mono cropping and mixed farming. Major crops grown are maize, plantain, cassava, cocoyam, yam and rice. Cabbage, pepper, tomatoes, okra and garden eggs are some of the vegetables grown. The main cash crops in the district are Cocoa and oil palm.
The table below shows the major crops performance in the district in 2008 and 2009.
Table 1.0 Major crop performance
| Commodity | Cultivated Area (ha) | Yield (mt/ha) | Production (mt) | |||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| Maize | 10,800 | 4014 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 20.520 | 7626.6 |
| Rice | 13 | 13.0 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 23.4 | 19..5 |
| Cassava | 8524 | 6886 | 15.5 | 11.8 | 132,122 | 81254.8 |
| Yam | 670 | 771 | 9.5 | 13.1 | 6365 | 10100.1 |
| Cocoyam | 1990 | 1330 | 10.5 | 6.1 | 73872 | 8113.0 |
| Plantain | 6840 | 4408 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 73872 | 52455.2 |
Source: SRID, MOFA.
LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
The livestock/Poultry set-up in the Adansi north district is increasing rapidly due to the education of MoFA staff to farmers. The district has the potential for all types of livestock/poultry. The district has not encountered any outbreak of the notifiable diseases of the country.
Kanyiti farm located at Kyekyewere community in the district has fifty-three thousand (53,000) layers, fifteen (15) cattle and fifty (50) turkeys.
The farm has standard feed and drinking facilities in addition to a feed mill.
Below is a summary of the livestock and poultry holdings in the district.
Table 2.0 Livestock/Poultry census.
| Year | Cattle | Sheep | Goat | Pigs | Poultry |
| 2009 | 1000 | 18000 | 25000 | 300 | 90000 |
Source: Veterinary Services, Fomena
AQUACULTURE
Currently, sixty (60) fish ponds are functioning with thirty (30) males farmers and two (2) females farmers. Most of the fish ponds are located in Anhwiaso, one of the communities in the district.
AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS
Adansi north district has benefited from a number of projects to improve agricultural production as well as creating employment to the local people. Some of the project include the following:
- UPoCA Project: Currently twenty five (25) acres secondary
multiplication site for improved varieties of cassava namely, (Afisiafi,
Bankyehema and Esam Bankye) have been established to supply
Planting materials to farmers in and around the district.
- CODAPEC Programme: Under the government mass cocoa spraying exercise, the district has sixty five (65) gangs involved in the spraying of insecticides against Capsid on cocoa farms and thirty nine (39) gangs are involved in the mass spraying of fungicides against the Blackpod disease of cocoa within the district
- Cocoa Hi-Tech Programme: The programme made available Sidalco
- Liquid Fertilizer, as well as Granular Fertilizer such as Asase Wura and Cocofed at subsidized price for farmers to purchase and apply on their cocoa farmers for increased yields.
- Root and Tuber Improvement and Marketing Programme (RTIMP): Secondly multiplication of improved cassava varieties. Distribution of cassava planting materials to tertiary farmers
- Block farming and youth in agriculture: The district enrolled in the programme for the minor season 2010 as far as maize production and vegetable production is concerned.
- Fertilizer subsidy programme :The government of Ghana through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has supported the farmers to buy ferlilizers such as NPK , Sulphate of Ammonia and Urea at subsidized prices. This programme is on-going in the district and the nation as a whole.