Farmers schooled on climate change adaptation
Farmers schooled on climate change adaptation
09 April 2014
published by www.businessghana.com
Ghana — Some 3,000 smallholder farmers from 16 communities in the Upper East, Upper West and the Northern regions have benefited from a training programme on climate change adaptation measures.
The training was in a form of community durbars and radio discussions, sponsored by Oxfam-Ghana to ensure that the farmers adhered to best farming practices by adapting to climate change adaptation to boost their farming activities.
Additionally, a total of 506 farmers have also been educated on climate smart farming techniques through the running of six climate change adaptation Farmer Field Schools (FFS).
Mrs Lillian Mwintome Kuutiero, Advocacy Officer of Oxfam-Ghana, told the GNA in interview in Tamale on Tuesday that the Enhancing Livelihood Security through Climate Adaptation Learning Project (ELCAP), was being championed by Oxfam to strengthen farmers and women groups.
She said Oxfam was working in collaboration with four national partners, which comprised the Rural Empowerment and Development (RED) in East Mamprusi District of the Northern Region, ProNet North and Nandom Denary Integrated Development Program (NDID) in the Nadowli District . Nandom Districts also in the Upper West Region as well as the Presbyterian Agriculture Station (PAS) in the Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East Region in response to urgent needs to advance food security and adaptation to climate change in the country.
Mrs Kuutiero explained that the overall objective of the project funded by Scarcity Challenge Fund, was to enhance the livelihood security and capacity of rural communities to adapt to climate change to secure the natural resource base upon which people’s livelihoods depended.
“The project also aimed at enhancing food production and availability to improve income levels of women and men farmers by undertaking advocacy on policies to enhance community’s adaptation to climate change”, she added.
She said the investment component of the project had yielded fruitful results and that a total of 421 people, mostly women, were able to manage their incomes better by investing through the formation of Village Savings and Loans Associations.
Mrs Kuutiero said 13 ‘anti-bush fire squads’ comprising 150 men and 99 women volunteers in 6 communities had also been trained and equipped with tools to prevent and manage bushfires and some 21 bushfires were put out by the newly trained volunteers during the dry season.
She said 60 women in three communities were trained and supported to build energy saving stoves for 500 households.
She said the project had ensured that farmers had access to drought resistant and fast-maturing crop varieties through the provision of improved maize, water melon, onion and soya bean seeds and other inputs to some 572 farmers.
