LOCATION & SIZE
It shares political and administrative boundaries with the Assin North in the north, Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese and Mfantseman in the south, Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa and Ajumako-Enyan-Assiam in the east and Twifo-Heman-Lower Denkyira in the west.
The district covers a total land area of 1,187 square kilometres which is about 12% of the total land area of the Central Region i.e. 9,826 square kilometres.
VEGETATION
The district falls within the Evergreen and Semi-Deciduous Forest Zones.
WEATHER
Annual average temperature ranges between 300C, i.e. from March-April and about 200C in August. Annual average rainfall is between 1500mm to 2000mm whilst average relative humidity ranges between 60% – 70%. The district experiences Bi-Modal rainfall pattern thus given rise to Major (April – July) and Minor (September – November) rainfall seasons.
DEMOGRAPHICS
The 2000 Population and Housing Census (PHC) put the then Assin District population at 196,457 at an annual growth rate of 2.9%. The population of Assin South District was 98,228 at the time it was carved out of the then Assin District. This was made up of 48, 377 males and 49,851 females.
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION
According to a survey conducted by GERGIS (2008), the District has more than 1500 settlements scattered all over the district. The settlement is linear along the road network of the district. Most of the bigger settlements are located along the main Cape Coast – Kumasi road. However, there are many clotted hamlets in the farming areas. The scattered nature of these hamlets poses serious planning challenges.
HOUSEHOLD SIZES/ CHARACTERISTICS AND POPULATION DENSITY.
The 2000 PHC puts the population at 82 persons per square Kilometres. The average household size of the then Assin District in 1984 was 7.5 persons. By the 2000 PHC, the figure for the Assin South District was estimated to be 4.9 persons. Though the figure is declining and lower than the National Average of 5.1, it is still the highest. The high population growth rate of 2.9% has the tendency of worsening the housing situation if adequate measures are not put in place to address the above trend. Indeed, large household sizes could unpeel serious economic and social hardship on household heads unless income levels improve.
AGE – SEX COMPOSITION
According to the 2000 PHC, the sex (Female-Male) ratio was 1:0.985. In other words, for every 100 females there are 98.5 males. The above has serious implications on fertility, migration, dropout rate, unemployment, vulnerability, poverty levels, HIV/ AIDS related issues etc.
According to the 2000 PHC also, the present population structure depict the normal trend of a large population of below 15 years. They constitute about 45.5% of the total population which is higher than the Region’s average of 43.3%, while the remaining 54.4% is made up of adults above 15 years. Specifically, the less than 5 year and 5-9 years constitute 16.7% and 15.9% of the population respectively.
The youthful population might be due to:
- High child survival rate of 83.5% (meaning mortality rate is low at 17.5%)
- High fertility rate of 4.9% as compared to that of Cape Coast and the Region’s average of 2.4% and 4.0% respectively.
- Low family planning at acceptance rate of 56.
LAND USE
- Total Land Area 1,187 square kilometres
- Total Agricultural Land N/A (Data was not ready as at the time of compilation)
- Agricultural Land under Cultivation N/A (Data was not ready as at the time of compilation)
- Average land holding/ Household N/A (Data was not ready as at the time of compilation)
INVESTMENT POTENTIAL OF THE DISTRICT
There are large tracks of suitable land that can be used for the following projects
- Rice cultivation
- Fish farming
- Vegetables Cultivation
Availability of natural water bodies (rivers and streams) that can be tapped for irrigation to boost food crop production especially during the minor season.
Other natural resources that can be tapped to generate jobs and increase income generation include;
- Bamboo
Small scale Cottage Industry for the processing of the under listed commodities;
- Citrus
- Oil Palm
- Palm Kernel
- Cassava
MAJOR CROPS PRODUCED
The major crops produced in the District are cereals (maize, rice), legumes (cowpea), root and tuber crops (Cassava, Cocoyam and variety of Yam species), Plantain and Vegetables (Pepper, Garden Eggs, Okro etc.) forming the major staples in the district.
Tree crops cultivated include Cocoa, Oil Palm and Citrus forming the major cash crops produced.
Recently, rubber cultivation has also come to stay as one of the major cash crops.
LAND AREA UNDER MAJOR CROPS
| Crop | Estimated Cropped Area (Ha) | Remarks |
| Maize | 4,053.00 | |
| Rice | 41.60 | Has potentials for development |
| Garden Eggs | 369.26 | –do– |
| Okro | 29.17 | |
| Pepper | 83.82 | |
| Tomato | 44.86 | |
| Plantain | 2,445.49 | Usually intercropped with other crops in the course of production especially, cocoa. |
| Cassava | 9,987.00 | Usually intercropped with other crops |
| Cocoyam | 39.29 | Normally intercropped with other crops but has potentials for development |
| Yam | 46.20 | Mostly local varieties i.e. “Cocoa ase” |
| Cocoa | 55,306.00 | |
| Oil palm | 8,064.94 | |
| Citrus | 2,037.33 | |
| Rubber | 152.12 | Has potentials for development |
INFORMATION ON PERFORMANCE
- Farmer Trainings
Trainings that aimed at equipping the farmer to increase production and productivity were carried out. Summary has been given in the table below.
| Training area | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | ||||
| Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | ||
| Crops | 3733 | 2345 | 5021 | 2969 | 5810 | 3998 | |
| Livestock | 1065 | 535 | 2826 | 1620 | 5227 | 3641 | |
| Planning M&E | |||||||
| Gender mainstreaming | 1557 | 1307 | 260 | 144 | 2179 | 1912 | |
| HIV/ AIDS | 1912 | 1497 | |||||
| WIAD | 6520 | 7813 | 8748 | 9663 | |||
| Total | =SUM(ABOVE) 6355 | =SUM(ABOVE) 4187 | =SUM(ABOVE) 14627 | =SUM(ABOVE) 12546 | =SUM(ABOVE) 23876 | =SUM(ABOVE) 20711 | |
- Veterinary Service
Veterinary activities centred more on disease surveillance – to assess the general disease situation on the ground, sensitization and vaccination. In general, there was an increased awareness and practice in the prophylactic treatment of farm animals for increased production and with positive impact on agriculture in the district. The need for increase awareness creation and education cannot be over emphasized.
LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
Livestock production in the district is mainly on subsistence levels though the district abounds in potentials for its production, especially sheep and goats. However, few commercial poultry production springs up towards Christmas, Easter, Eid-Al-Fitr, Eid-Al-Adha and other festivities / celebrations. Guinea fowl, rabbit, grasscutter and snail rearing have also been identified to have great potentials and economic values in the district.
The major livestock produced in the district are small ruminants (sheep and goats), pigs and poultry. However, cattle are produced on a small scale. Non traditional animals (grasscutter, rabbit and snail) are gaining prominence in the district.
FISH PRODUCTION
The district has rivers and streams that flow through it from which fishing is done on a small scale. The district also abounds in a lot of lowlands as well as marshy areas which serve as great potential for large-scale aquaculture development.
However, there are pockets of fish ponds located at Assin Adiembra, Assin Adubiase, Assin Dominase, Wurakese Station, Assin Kumasi, Gyahadzi, Nyankumasi Ahenkro, Nuanua, Assin Nsuta, Nkwantanan, Assin Nkran, and Adadientem.
All these communities in the district have great potential for large-scale aquaculture development. It could be tapped to increase fish productions and the protein intake of the citizens as well as the economic standard of the people through job creation.
For now, the total area under aquaculture (i.e. fish production) is estimated to be about 10 Ha.
SPECIAL PROGRAMMES
- RTIMP
Since the inception of the programme, the district has undertaken Secondary Cassava Planting Material Multiplication across the District, distribution of Cassava Planting Materials to Tertiary Farmers and Farmer Field Fora – Cassava, in selected communities within the District; notably, Amanbete, Dawumako, Adubiase among others. Farmer Field Fora – Cocoyam has commenced this year at Amanbete.
- Cocoa Disease and Pest Control Programme (CODAPEC) – Capsid Programme
The cocoa Mass Spraying Exercise to control pests and diseases started in the district in the year 2006. This exercise covers all the cocoa growing areas within the district. In all, a total of 56 gangs are involved in the programme.
- Cockerel Project
Since the programme commenced, Nine Hundred (900) Cockerels have been received and distributed to 45 beneficiary farmers across the district. Other farmers have also expressed interest in the programme to help improve the local breed of chicken.
- Block Farm (Maize and Vegetables) Edition
The Block Farm –Maize and Vegetable edition commenced in the district in 2010. So far 24 farmers have cultivated 55 acres of land under the programme. Many more farmers are itching to join the programme of which the youth form a sizable portion.
NEW INITIATIVES
- Citrus Value Chain Committee
The district has a vibrant value chain committee for citrus in the district. This committee over sees the activities of about 1017 citrus farmers in the district. The committee was formed on 14th December, 2010 in collaboration with Market Oriented Agricultural Programme (MOAP).
The committee ensures;
- Citrus training on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
- Access to competitive market
- Linkages among actors
- Certification (especially for organic farmers).
- Farmers Day Award Winners Association
Since the inception of the district in 2004, the Assin South District Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in collaboration with the Assin South District Assembly organized 7 Farmers and Fishermen’s Day Events.
Award winners are selected based on merit after meeting the criteria for selection that the Ministry provides. The Team that go for inspection of commodities / farms are made up of the Decentralized Departments in the District with MoFA spearheading the activity.
The Past Award Winners in the district help to augment the efforts of the few Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) in the transfer of improved technologies to their fellow farmers in their various communities.
COLLABORATION WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
- District Assembly
The Assin South District Assembly provides invaluable support to the Directorate especially in the area of financing, capacity building, accommodation, logistics etc.
- National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) – BAC/ REP
Provides training to some farmers/ farmer groups within the District. Mainly in the area of;
- Marketing Skills
- Credit Management
- Skill Acquisition (Fish Farming, Cassava Processing, Grasscutter Rearing, Snail Rearing)
- Market Oriented Agricultural Programme (MOAP)
MOAP provides the platform for training citrus farmers in marketing and accessing markets and formation of citrus value chain committee in the district.
- ADVANCE
Provides technical support / training to citrus farmers in the district
- FRUITILAND
Provides financial and technical support to value chain committee and citrus farmers Association
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Completion of Office Accommodation for the DADU (construction started since June, 2007and completed in November, 2010).
- The district has a complete Veterinary Unit comprising Technicians Office, Veterinary Clinic and a Veterinary Doctor’s Office within the MoFA Office Block.
- Due to hard work of the officers, 3 officers gained admission to pursue BSc. Agriculture programme at the University of Cape Coast.
- Extension of electricity to new office block at Nsuaem-Kyekyewere and two MoFA Agricultural Extension Agents (AEA) quarters at Nyankumasi Ahenkro and Assin Nsuta.
- 4 field officers pursuing a 2-year Diploma in Agric Extension at UCC/ Kwadaso Campus
- Since the inception of the district in 2004, 7 National Farmers and Fishermen’s Day has been celebrated so far.
INFORMATION ON LOCATION OF OTHER OFFICE BRANCHES
There are Thirty-Two (32) Operational Areas (Op. Areas) within the district. However, due to inadequate Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) coupled with some field staffs going on study leave, the Operational Areas are manned by Twelve (12) AEAs which brings the Agric Extension Agent : farmer ration to 1: 3047 (based on 2010 projected active population of 36564 from 2000 PHC at growth rate of 2.5% per annum)