About 1,500 smallholder women farmers from the Bawku West District in Upper East Region have been supported to practise sustainable and climate-smart agriculture.
The Ingraining Development for Empowerment and Advancement of Society (IDEAS Ghana), a Non-Governmental organisation with funding support from the Africa Action Germany is the organisation working with rural communities to build their resilience against climate change and help them adopt sustainable agricultural practices.
Under the project dubbed “Upskilling Sustainable Farming Rudiments Under Climate Transformation (USUFRUCT) Project”, it has worked with stakeholders to increase female extension volunteers in the district from 11 to 22.
This has made it possible to increase the smallholder farmers under the project from 500 to 1,500 farmers in 2024.
Speaking at a training session for female extension volunteers at Zebilla on Climate-Smart agriculture technology, Dr Joseph Ayembilla, Board Chairman, IDEAS Ghana, the project was building on the success of an initial project which contributed to improved agriculture production in the area.
“IDEAS Ghana has built-up experience in facilitating 11 rural communities to embark on sustainable agriculture practices focusing on climate smart farming. This was under a one-year project named Rural Extension Linkages for Enhanced Food Security for smallholder women farmers in the Upper East Region (RELIEFS).
“This practice within one year has recorded remarkable improvement in beneficiaries’ food security. A total of 165 out of 500 beneficiary women have reported improvement in the number of meals taken per day during the lean season giving a 33 percent achievement,” he said.
The current project, he said, would incorporate indigenous innovations and technology to better position rural farmers to practise sustainable farming and adapt to the changing climate to increase yields.
“I want to plead with the female Extension volunteers to take their roles seriously. Failure to produce results will attract removal by the Community and the women groups who selected you to represent them.
“It is my expectation that this current project will bring broader smiles on the faces of our rural women farmers resulting in improved food and nutrition security. You the female Extension volunteers play a critical role in achieving this hence the need for you to be committed to your work schedule,” he added.
Mr Douglas Akologo, the Bawku West District Agriculture Extension Officer, said soil and water conservation was key to adapting to the climate change impacts and increasing agriculture productivity.
He, therefore, urged the smallholder farmers to adhere to sustainable climate-smart innovations and seek technical advice from extension officers to practice sustainable farming.
By Anthony Adongo Apubeo, GNA
