This research paper seeks to delve deeper and analyze the model of B-BOVID Company of Ghana. My research identified that such model has won the original inventor Issa Quadrego numerous international awards but the questions are
1. Is the model feasible in its implementation in a developing country like Ghana?
2. What is the present status in the implementation of the model in Ghana since its invention in 2008 in Ghana?
?Generally in Africa there are clear identified benefit of Agriculture to it people; Agriculture employs 65% of Africa?s labour force and account for 35% gross domestic product (World Bank Fact Sheet Report, 2014).
According to the World Bank Fact Sheet Report, 2014, there are five thematic areas that need public attention for a higher and a sustained growth in Agricultural sector on the African continent and these are:
1. Facilitating agriculture markets and trade
2. Improving agriculture productivity
3. Investing in public infrastructure for agriculture growth
4. Reducing rural vulnerability and insecurity
5. Improving agricultural policy and Institution
For decades agricultural science has focused on boosting production through development of new technology. It has achieved enormous yield gains as well as lower costs for large scale farming. But the success has come at a high environmental cost. Irrespective of the huge damage some of the technologies have caused, they have not been able to solve the social and the economic problems of the poor in the developing countries, which have generally benefited the least from the boost in production (IAASTD Report, 2008).
Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, in a 2008 AGRA Report asserted that, the advancement of Agriculture with a focus on small holder farmer, is central to progress in developing countries of Africa
The Agricultural sector contribution to GDP of Ghana has fallen from 31.8% to 22% within 2009-2013. This fall has been attributed to a lot of factors, paramount amongst them the ?Dutch Disease? which seems to have crept into the Ghanaian economy since the discovery of oil.
On a visit to B-BOVID centre where there was a conduct of a transient research into the technology and approach used in farming, findings indicate that the model advocate for socially-inclusive commercial farming which ensure a ready market for farmers and also share the profit with the farmers with aim of helping improve the economic livelihood of the farmers and their family.
It was further identified that the centre currently produces quality organic vegetables and vegetable oil, palm nut oil and palm kernel oil, animal feed and fertilizer.
?The percentage of production of the above listed product could only address 4% of commercial consumption in Ghana and the reason was lack of access to affordable funding for production?(Senzu B-BOVID Report, 2014). The following are some of the observations made during the research on the subject at B-BOVID.
1. Support small holder farmers with modern agricultural machinery to expand their effort from subsistence farming
2. The Centre further rear poultry birds, guinea fowl, ducks, cows, goats, sheep, tilapia and catfish.
3. ICT centre for Agricultural studies specially designed for college and University student.
4. The factory for the processing of the palm nut and vegetable oil was designed with a work shop attach for accessibility to Agricultural Engineering student to have first hand practical based studies
5. The organic vegetable garden mixed with various kinds of fruit plantation ranges from Pineapple, orange, banana, pawpaw, sweet apple was about 120 acres wide to act as an eco-tourism centre for visitors both in and out of western region of Ghana.
These define the current status of the model realistic implementation from 2008 to 2014
In my attempt to answer the second question asked from the introductory paragraph of this paper, we began analyzing the B-BOVID model critically with two indifferent specialists from Bastiat Ghana Centre.
It was deduced that the model addresses the central global agricultural problem of feeding 9 billion people in the years to come and also addresses the procedure to achieve that without affecting the environment adversely, taking into consideration consumer health factors by producing quality product from agriculture.
It was realized that the innovator of the model has been able to implement 90% of the structures in the model at the micro level and realized that if the model will have a strong economic impact on the state it will depend on government and private partnership initiative (PPP). Any initiative away for this proposition the model will not be maximally accessed in the advancement of the Agricultural Industry in Ghana and even Africa.
Source:
Tweneboah Senzu PhD. BGi.
Bastiat Ghana Institute
[email protected]
