Peasant Farmers Association initiates project for farmers in U/E Region
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has embarked on an initiative aimed at establishing agro-ecology farms and community seed banks to address challenges of farmers in the Kassena Nankana West District and Kassena Nankana municipality in the Upper East Region.
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The initiative is under a broader two-year project known as “Agro-ecology farming food systems and political participation of small-scale farmers in Ghana."
The project, which is being funded by Open Society Initiative of West Africa (OSIWA), would also help train about 400 small holder farmers on climate change resilience, adaptation and agroecology farming practices in the Upper East and Brong Ahafo regions.
Partners
The African Climate Change Adaptation Initiative (ACCAI) and the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness both of the University of Ghana, including the Kofi Boa’s Agro-ecology Farms at Nkawie in the Ashanti Region, the Organisation for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (OSARD) and the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD) are partnering the PFAG in the execution of the project.
Meeting
At a meeting held at Paga last Wednesday on the project, the Programme Officer of the PFAG, Mr Charles Nyaaba, disclosed that follow-up meetings with the beneficiary district assemblies would soon be organised to further dialogue on the project.
He explained that the Ministries of Finance and Food and Agriculture would also be involved in the project implementation.
Climate change
Mr Nyaaba mentioned crop rotation, zero burning and biological pest control as some of the measures put in place to address climate change issues and their effects on farming.
"The climate change impact on northern Ghana and the middle belts have led to severe droughts in the dry season, floods, high temperatures, influx of pests and diseases such as the Fall Army Worm and Swine fever," he stated.
The Focal Person of the PFAG in the Kassena Nankana West District, Mr Isaac Pabia, expressed regret that farmers were not getting enough crop yield due to certain climate change issues, poor farming methods and the over-reliance on chemicals on farms.
Appreciation
The Assembly Member for the Kassena Nankana Municipal Area, Mr Ceasar Awepuga, and Madam Janet Atimoliga a farmer expressed appreciation to the PFAG for the initiative.
Madam Atimoliga said she was hopeful the agro-ecological farming practices would help boost yield and maintain soil fertility in the area.
She called on her colleagues to change their farming practices to increase yield, stressing that they must also help monitor negative practices such as the indiscriminate felling of trees.
Background
The need for Agro-ecology or sustainable farming by the PFAG was based on a series of observations that showed that there were signs of failure of industrial agriculture in addressing food security.
Agro-ecology refers to understanding ecological relationships, processes and agro systems to improve production on sustainable basis with fewer negative environmental and social impact.
The PFAG, therefore, envisage that the adoption of the initiative would ultimately help to address those challenges.