As part of global efforts to beef up food security in Ghana, the United States (US) Embassy in Ghana has supported the Dachio -South Women Farmers Cooperative Society with eight Bullock and ploughs to assist them in their farming activities.
The women group who are mostly widows and single mothers, faced a big challenge in acquiring tractor services whenever it was time for planting. The bullock service which is affordable also usually came in very late to plough for women farmers which mostly result in late ploughing, leading to poor yield.
This was observed by a community development agent, and facilitator of the group, Mr. Collins Atuah; with the consent of the women, they applied for the US Ambassador Special Help Project in Ghana in 2021 to support them with animal traction to facilitate agriculture and ease their annual difficulty in getting their farmlands tilled on time to benefit from the farming season.
They received a financial support of $5,100 from the Ambassador Special Help Project committee. With the technical support of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), they procured eight bullocks, four bullocks ploughs, four yokes to support them in their farming activities.
Gunner Hamlyn, the Economic Officer at US Embassy on behalf of Ambassador Virginia Palmer, Commissioned the project at a community durbar organized by the Chief and people of Dachio in the Bolgatanga East district of the Upper East Region of Ghana.
Mr. Gunner Hamlyn expressed his delight at the Community Self Help initiative started by the women group in agriculture and shared the commitment of the Government of the U.S in helping such initiatives.
“We are pleased to have supported this project with our contribution of more than $5,100 in materials, but the real efforts were yours. We are honoured to have partnered with you and commend your dedication and hard work to complete this project and promote development in your community.
Appreciation:
On behalf of the group and community, Madam Ayimpoka Nsoh, a leader of the group, expressed the gratitude of the group and entire Dachio community to the U.S government and the American people for assisting them through the Ambassador Special Help Project in Ghana.
The community presented a locally hand woven Smock to Mr. Gunner Hamlyn and another to be given to the Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Virginia Palmer. Madam Ayimpoka underscored how helpful this initiative would be for them and their families: “with the assistance of the US Ambassador’s Special Help Project in Ghana, the project will support our livelihoods especially the widows among us and our children and through it we can support our children’s education”
According to the office of the U.S Ambassador, nearly 200 applications for funding were received in 2021 alone but only nine were selected which includes the Dachio Women Cooperative Farmers Society’s application. The Ambassador’s representative explained that ”the committee were inspired by your project, which demonstrated strong community support and worthwhile goals, the use of animal traction to facilitate the agricultural activities of the Dachio South women’s Cooperative provides the members of this community with an incredible economic opportunity. People have benefitted from animal traction for generations, with this fundamental agricultural process still used around the world today, including right here in Dachio.”
The U.S Ambassador Special Help Project:
The Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program is a very special program at the Embassy. It draws on the philosophy that small assistance to a community that is willing to help itself can go a long way. The program has provided support to community development projects across Africa since 1964. Over just the last three decades, the U.S. Embassy has distributed over $2.3 million in Special Self-Help grants to support community development projects across Ghana.
Self-Help projects must meet the following criteria:They must be initiated by a local community or NGO,they must be sustainable and they must require no additional support from the U.S. government after the initial funding.
Food Security Situation:
The support by the U. S Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program to support agriculture in Dachio has come at a time where the Upper East Region is counted amongst regions with the highest level of food insecurity in Ghana, according to the Ghana Statistical Service’s (GSS) 2020 Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA). The GSS notes that food insecurity is concentrated in the five northern regions in the country, comprising Upper East (48.7%); North East (33%); Northern (30.7%); Upper West (22.8%); and Savannah (22.6%). The districts in the country facing the highest rates of food insecurity, among others are Kassena Nankana West (78.8%), Karaga (75.9%), Builsa South (74.5%), Tatale (68.4%), Bolgatanga East (66.3%), Kumbungu (61.2%, Jirapa (61.0%), Chereponi (60.3%, Tempane (59.2%) and Bongo (57.3%).
The regions with the highest level of food insecurity are also the areas most prone to adverse weather conditions, such as floods and droughts.
The timely intervention by the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program is expected to help reduce the challenges faced by women farmers and to increase food security in households in the Dachio community.
By:Adekurah Wisdom/mywordfmonline.com