The Needy Club of Ghana (TNCG) has supported 40 farmers in the Logba communities within the Weto socio-ecological landscape of the Afadzato South District with farming equipment and protective gear to promote sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation.
Apostle Killians Kwame Carr, the Project Manager of TNCG, said the support formed part of a 12-month community-based biodiversity conservation project being implemented in Logba Akusame and Logba Vuinta under the COMDEKS Small Grants Programme.
He said the project, titled “Appropriate Attitude and Behavioural Change for Community Biodiversity Conservation,” had a total value of US$42,000, comprising a US$28,000 grant and US$14,000 in cash and in-kind co-financing.
Apostle Carr said the initiative sought to combine environmental conservation with sustainable livelihoods, stressing that the future of the Weto landscape depended largely on the attitudes and behaviour of people living within it.
He said the project had also established a 60,000-capacity community nursery to produce and supply seedlings to farmers for restoration and agroforestry activities, while beneficiaries were periodically monitored to assess their conservation efforts.
The Project Manager said the programme had further introduced a microcredit scheme, through which GHS50,000 had been disbursed to 10 groups, each comprising between three and five members.
He said the loans would be repaid monthly over six months at an interest rate of 10 per cent, with new beneficiaries expected to join the scheme as existing groups repaid their loans.
Apostle Carr said measures had been put in place to ensure the sustainability of the scheme and minimise loan defaults, including the formation of project management committees for the various interventions, such as beekeeping and the hunters’ association.
He said the project also focused on alternative livelihoods, particularly beekeeping and honey production, sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, entrepreneurship and micro-enterprise development, with special attention to women and young people.
The project further includes the establishment of a 10-hectare multipurpose woodlot and fodder bank, community nursery development and restoration of degraded areas, as well as strengthening community capacity in wildfire management, controlled hunting and sustainable land management.
Mr Raymond Quarcoo Dzakpo, former Assembly Member for Logba Alakpeti, who spoke on behalf of the chiefs and beneficiaries, expressed gratitude to TNCG for the support, describing it as a significant intervention for farmers in the community.
He said the Wellington boots and raincoats would enable farmers to continue working during rainy conditions, while the boots would also protect them against snakes, thorns and other hazards encountered on farms.
Mr Dzakpo, however, appealed to the organisation to extend the support to other farmers, particularly those cultivating cassava and maize, who were not among the initial beneficiaries.
He urged the organisation to consider providing additional Wellington boots and cutlasses to ensure that more farming households benefited from the programme.
The beneficiaries, including women, expressed appreciation to TNCG for the assistance and pledged to use the items to improve their farming activities while contributing to the protection of the Weto landscape.
Apostle Carr said the ultimate objective was to ensure that biodiversity conservation and improved livelihoods reinforced each other, enabling communities to increase their incomes while reducing dependence on activities that degrade the natural environment.
By Michael Foli Jackidy, GNA
