By Philip Tengzu, GNA
Wa (UW/R), Aug. 20, GNA – ActionAid Ghana (AAG) and its partners have transformed livelihoods, enhanced food security, and improved economic prospects in their operational communities in the Upper West Region through their programme and project interventions.
These interventions, which included training in agroecology, composting, nutritional gardening, rabbit rearing, beekeeping and entrepreneurship, were implemented in the Jirapa, Sissala East, Lawra, and Lambussie Districts.
The 2025 annual report of AAG-Upper West Regional Programme, which revealed this, added that the interventions had helped improve agricultural productivity, diversify sources of income and strengthen household resilience of the interventions’ participants.
The report said Mr Gilbert Lebtiyel, a smallholder farmer from Tolibri in the Lawra Municipality, who received training in composting, said it had changed his farming fortunes after years of poor harvests.
It said before the intervention, Mr Lebtiyel rarely harvested five bags of maize per acre, making it increasingly difficult to meet his family’s basic needs.
His fortunes, however, began to change three years ago when he participated in a community sensitisation meeting organised by AAG under the Northern Ghana Integrated Development Project (NGIDP).
The sensitisation introduced the participants to compost production as a low-cost alternative to chemical fertilisers through practical demonstration.
“I began applying compost to my fields and soon noticed a significant improvement in soil fertility and crop yield.
“Today, I proudly share that I now harvest up to ten bags of maize per acre, double what I used to produce.
I can sell part of my harvest, generate income, and cater for my household’s needs, including feeding my family and supporting extended relatives”, Mr Letiyel said in the report.
The impact of the interventions on Madam Linda Zury, a 32-year-old smallholder farmer from Mwofo in the Jirapa Municipality, was not different after receiving training on agroecological practices.
The report indicated that she and over a thousand other women farmers were introduced to strip cropping, residue retention, minimal soil disturbance and organic farming.
She also received drought-resistant sorghum and soybean seeds, organic fertiliser and training on improved farming practices as part of the intervention.
From a half-acre plot that previously produced only half a bag of produce, Madam Zury harvested three 50-kilogramme bags of sorghum and one bag of soybeans.
In the area of livelihood diversification, Madam Felicia Kyaraapo, a 35-year-old farmer and seamstress from Pina in the Lambussie District, had expanded her economic opportunities through rabbit rearing.
She was among ten women supported and trained by AAG and its partner, the Jirapa Farmers Network (JIFAN), on rabbit rearing, disease control and feeding practices.
She was also provided with five rabbits as start-up support, which she multiplied to 25 within six months.
Similarly, Mr Nandzo Gbene of Kowie community in the Sissala East Municipality received training in beekeeping, which had enabled him to adopt safer and more sustainable honey production practices.
The report said he previously resorted to ill environmental practices to harvest honey from the wild, including cutting trees and using fire.
Mr Gbene said the training and support provided by AAG and its partner, the Action for Sustainable Development (ASUDEV), enabled him to increase his honey production for household consumption and sale.
Also, Madam Kuupag Kuubezaa, a 45-year-old mother of six from Orbili and Madam Gladys Farkuu, from Tolibri in the Lawra Municipality, received training and support in nutritional gardening and agricultural entrepreneurship, respectively.
They recounted that the interventions had significantly impacted their income fortunes and livelihoods.
These stories demonstrate the transformative effect of the interventions, including the knowledge, skills training and access to productive resources, on their livelihoods.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo
Reporter: Philip Tengzu, GNA
[email protected]