By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, August 15, GNA – A total of 600 women from six districts in the Northern Region have been supported to do backyard gardening to produce vegetables as part of efforts to enhance nutrition and contribute to household food security.
The districts included Nanton, Karaga, Sagnarigu, Yendi, Gushegu and Mion, and the beneficiary women were trained on how to maintain proper backyard gardens and were also given starter packs, which included trays of vegetable seedlings, seeds, gardening tools, organic fertilizers and pesticides.
This followed the launch of the One Household, One Garden project (1H1G), which is being implemented by the Agrihouse Foundation with support from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and United States Agency for International Development’s Ghana Inclusive Agriculture Transformation programme.
The project, which will be replicated in 11 other districts in the North East, Upper Western, and Upper East Regions, is targeted at empowering 2000 households and 10 schools through backyard gardening with the objective to ensure household food and nutrition security.
The other districts included Tempane, Daffiama Bussie Issa, Nadowli, Sissala East, Sissala West, Wa East, East Mamprusi, Mamprugu-Moagduri, Bawku Municipal, Bawku West, and Garu.
Ms Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, speaking during the launch of the 1H1G project in Tamale, said it was expected to equally yield a wide variety of fresh vegetables to increase the quantity and quality of nutrients available to the beneficiary families.
Ms Akosa said the project would trigger and revive national interest in home gardening to contribute to household food security by providing direct access to food that could be harvested, prepared, and fed to family members often daily.
She expressed hope that the beneficiaries, who were already farmers, would carry on with the initiative and make use of materials within their environment to cultivate their gardens, saying “This way, they do not have excuse that they could not do it because of some reasons.”
Mr Yaw Frimpong Addo, a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture described the project as impressive, especially how the beneficiaries embraced it and said that was good for its success.
Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister lauded the project and said it amounted to giving life to the people.
GNA