2013 state of Ghana’s business and economy

President John Mahama at his inaugural address earlier in the year 2013 said he wanted Ghana to be a place where economic opportunities are available to all citizens.

He promised to give off his best and ensure his actions make a positive difference in the lives of Ghanaians. The President wanted the private sector to be an ally in his quest to grow the economy.

Economist, Deodat Adenutsi told Luv Biz Report the President will be under pressure to deliver on promises, stated that job creation, macroeconomic stability and Ghana’s international relations within the global economy were some areas to engage the attention of the President.

From the service industry to manufacturers, the impact of the power cuts was felt throughout 2013. Manufacturers were most worried as the erratic supply of electricity did not only disrupt production but people had to invest in fuel and maintenance to run their generators.

Fire outbreaks also wrecked havoc to commercial and business activities. The Kumasi Central Market and Suame light industrial area recorded major fire outbreaks, as valuable property worth thousands of cedis is lost in the inferno.

Owners of affected shops were devastated as most of them did not have insurance policies covering their shops.

A team of technical experts from the Netherlands was in the Country to help artisans under the Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organization (SMIDO) in Kumasi to improve their ability to the manufacture of vehicles.

As part of the project, a prototype vehicle – the SMATI Turtle 1 – was built at the Suame magazine and showcased in Ghana and the Netherland.

All eyes will however be on the introduction of the vehicle that uses no fuel, no oil, no water being developed by a Ghanaian innovator, Samuel Ampiah, at Suame magazine.

He will be pushing the frontiers of the current global automobile engineering standards, when he unveils the new vehicle. The SMATI Magnetic A is expected by the first quarter of 2014.

Ghana’s drive to mobilize deposits from the unbanked population and encourage savings faced serious challenges from the activities of unscrupulous microfinance firms.

Some of the microfinance firms collapsed as a result of poor risk and business management. This led to widespread public apathy in depositing funds with microfinance institutions.

Banking expert, Nana Otuo Acheampong advocated the establishment of a Financial Ombudsman in the country to serve the needs of financial consumers.

There was an insurgence in illegal mining activities in 2013. Farmlands were destroyed whilst water bodies and the environment were gravely polluted as a result of illegal mining.

Interest groups devised strategies to get tough to uproot galamseyers.

Ghana’s economic growth slowed in the first two quarters of the year and deep into the third quarter.

Financial and economic analysts anticipated the successful adjudication of Ghana’s electoral dispute would restore business and consumer confidence to speed up recovery of the larger economy.

However, power rationing, coupled with the introduction of new taxes impacted heavily on manufacturing and industrial production.

There was a 20% hike in petroleum prices and transport fares in September and from October utility tariffs went up – 78.9% for electricity and 52% for water.

These were expected to raise the cost of living, against the 17% increase in the National Daily Minimum Wage announced in September.

Labour unions and associations threatened to hit the streets in a demonstration against hikes in utility prices. Their agitations resulted in a downward review of electricity tariff.

Crude oil, Ghana’s second biggest export earner, generated some revenue to sustain the economy, but targets for cocoa sale were unstable and gold lost its shine prices on the international market drop steadily.

There were fears of business collapse, employee redundancy and high unemployment – mining firms took steps to downsize in order to contain the rising cost of production.

Hundreds of mineworkers have lost their jobs in 2013.

Yet, the some foreign investors, including the Australian Trade Commission, saw Ghana as a destination of choice for many of its companies, identifying investments in natural resources, agribusiness and education as the main opportunity areas for investors.

2013 was also rife with the debate of growing and eating genetically modified crops in Ghana. But at year end, scientists at the Crops Research Institute of the CSIR harvested seeds of the first-ever GM crop to be planted in Ghana – the Nitrogen Use Efficient (NUE) rice.

The trails were conducting on confined fields in the Ashanti region.

Interest groups in Ghana’s cocoa production also explored climate smart agricultural practices for farmers to mitigate and cope with the impact of climate change on production.

Going into 2014, interest groups would be watchful for government’s programs to address the rising budget deficit.

Already, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has hinted of an increase in electricity and water tariffs from January 1, as the Automatic Adjustment Formula (AAF) for review of tariffs kicks in.

Businesses and other economic actors will keenly observe how the 2014 Budget will lead to a productive and prosperous New Year 2014.

Review by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Ghana’s emerging billion dollar bamboo industry

Ghana can generate a billion dollar revenue annually from the export of value added bamboo and rattan products, according to projections.

The economic value of the product is not yet significant but this could be leveraged if the industry is properly developed.

In this special report, Kofi Adu Domfeh, examines how bamboo development can help Ghana address problems of climate change, poverty, rural-urban migration and high youth unemployment.

Find audio report…

http://developmentarena.podbean.com/2013/12/23/ghana%E2%80%99s-emerging-billion-dollar-bamboo-industry/

Prestige Capital records almost 8,000 percent in funds mobilization

Prestige Capital Limited, a funds management and investment advisory company, has recorded close to 8,000 percent increase in funds mobilization, barely a year into operations.

The company’s funds under management of Gh₵500,000, at take off period in December 2012, have grown in excess of Gh₵40million.

Chief Executive Officer, Prince Kweku Acheampong, describes the performance within the period as good, though experienced low deposits in the month of September.

“The funds management industry is an alternative to financing institution to the banks because there are certain transactions that the banks don’t undertake. Basically we deal with the corporate [institutions] and our financing is long term,” he noted.

Prestige Capital is the third investment advisory firm to be headquartered in Kumasi. An additional branch will be opened in February 2014.

“Our strategic plan is to have a bank subsidiary,” Mr. Acheampong told Luv Biz Report, projecting the target should be achieved in its 8^th year of operations.

“We’ll continue doing funds management and investment advisory but then we’ll evolve and have a subsidiary which will take care of our banking needs and the banking needs of people in the areas that we operate,” he said.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Researchers successfully grow “seed yams in the air”

Researchers at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have successfully grown seed yams in the air using aeroponics technology, raising hopes and more options for the propagation of virus- and disease-free planting materials.

In preliminary trials, Dr Norbert Maroya, Project Manager for the Yam Improvement for Incomes and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA) project at IITA, together with a team of scientists successfully propagated yam by directly planting vine cuttings in Aeroponics System (AS) boxes to produce mini-tubers in the air.

Aeroponics System is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium. The technology is widely used by commercial potato seed producers in eastern and southern Africa but successfully growing yam on aeroponics is a novelty for rapidly multiplying the much needed clean seed yam tubers in large quantities.

“With this approach we are optimistic that farmers will begin to have clean seed yams for better harvest,” Dr Maroya said.

Preliminary results showed that vine rooting in Aeroponics System had at least 95% success rate compared to vine rooting in carbonized rice husk with a maximum rate of 70%. Rooting time was much shorter in aeroponics.

Aeroponics is coming at an opportune time for African farmers. Traditionally, seed yam production is expensive and inefficient. Farmers save about 25 to 30% of their harvest for planting the same area in the following season, meaning less money in their pockets.

Moreover, these saved seeds are often infested with pathogens that significantly reduce farmers’ yield year after year.

However with an established Aeroponics System for seed yam propagation at the premises of an interested private investor, seed company or humanitarian nongovernmental organization; yam producers can have access to clean seed yams.

The soilless yam propagation system will increase the productivity of seed and ware yam and effectively reduce diseases and pests incidence and severity (no soilborne or vector-transmitted pests and diseases during the vegetative phase).

Dr Robert Asiedu, IITA Director for Western Africa described the results as “impressive.”

“Yam is an important crop in Africa and addressing the seeds’ constraint will go a long way in improving the livelihoods of farmers who depend on the crop for their livelihood,” he added.

In conducting the aeroponics trial, a special structure was built in an existing screen house with Dixon shelf frames using perforated styrofoam box, as support for plant vines, while the developing roots of the plants in the air were enclosed in conditions of total darkness to simulate the situation of soil to the roots.

For the plant and tuber to develop, an automated power house system was established for atomizing periodically nutrient enriched water solution in the form of mist to feed the plants.

Noble Dream evolves into Savings and Loans operations in 2014

Noble Dream Microfinance Limited has concluded arrangements to evolve the company into savings and loans operations by the first quarter of 2014.

Chief Executive Officer, Ezekiel Owusu Afriyie, says the decision is in line with the company’s ten year progression plan to attain universal banking status.

“We’ve been able to provide all the necessary requirements as far as Bank of Ghana requirement is actually concerned; the certificate is actually awarded, we can’t actually earn it so it’s in the hand of the Bank of Ghana to ensure that they push us there and for us we are ready for that,” he stated.

Noble Dream has opened 26 branches across the country within four years of operations, steering as the fastest growing in Ghana’s microfinance business.

The firm has, within period, employed more than one thousand and advanced Gh₵48 million in loans to over five thousand clients.

Mr. Owusu Afriyie tells Luv Biz the company’s focus is to grow along with its 500,000 customers.

“When you move up there then you can do a bigger business; we’ve been able to grow the capacity of our customers to a certain level and we should be able to take them up. For that matter, we want to move to the savings and loans to be able to build up and try as much as possible to grow along with these customers,” he said.

Mr. Owusu Afriyie says the company will also branch into insurance and other financial services of benefit to its customers.

Noble Dream is headquartered in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Ghana joins forces with world’s largest partnership to stop frog extinction

SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana has formed an alliance with the world’s largest partnership for amphibian conservation, US-based Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) to prevent the extinction of frogs.

With the new alliance, SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana is now well positioned to launch into a continual massive campaign and conservation programmes to reverse Ghana’s environmental issues that threaten the survival of the country’s frogs.

Ghana’s frogs have been rapidly disappearing to a point that now one out of three are in danger of extinction. The frogs are threatened by habitat destruction through farming, mining and logging, the use of lethal chemicals such as Atrazine and over harvesting for consumption.

Gilbert Adum, Executive Director of SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana says that “the situation is made worse as there is a general lack of interest in frog conservation among the general Ghanaian public”.  

He adds that as a result “we are now losing time in saving the frogs but we are sure our partnership with ASA can turn back the hands of time.”

ASA’s Communications Director, Candace Hansen says “it is fantastic to have SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana on board! We know about their work and through this partnership, we will support them to achieve even more.”

SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana is calling for collaboration with Ghanaian organizations and individuals to help save Ghana’s frogs.

Network advocates creative content in basic education curriculum

The Sharper Generation Network (SGN), a personal development organization, has launched the Ghana Imaginative Creative Thinking (Ghana-iCT) project with the objective of mentoring and empowering basic school pupils with critical thinking tools.

The Network has also introduced basic school motivational series on Inventions and Good Habits to mentor and empower pupils at the basic level of education with critical tools for building the next generation of thinkers.

“At the end of the day, education should lay a foundation to be able to invent solution for societal problems,” stated Nyaaba-Aweeba Azongo, Country Director of the Network.

According to him, “a morally corrupt intellectual is worse to a country’s development than a first-class illiterate,” hence the need to build creative minds with good moral habits.

Deputy Minister of Youth & Sports, Joseph Yammin, who launched the initiative, is advocating Ghana’s Ministry of Education considers a review of basic educational curricula to reflect the current global trend which focuses on building a creative content to inspire inventions.

He notes that the basic education level constitutes the formative age to foster creative imaginative attitudes as the benchmark of educational success.

“Ghana have achieved a quantum jump in literacy rates since independence yet we all attest to the reality that we were better solvers of our problems in the Nkrumah era, when the rate of literacy was nothing to write home about, than now,” he argued.

This, he says, shows that the creative thinking content of education and societal literacy matters go beyond the ideologies of ‘Oxford’ literacy and numeracy where degrees and certificates appears to have more value than deeds and creative imagination.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

New aircraft landing navigation system for Kumasi Airport

A new aircraft navigation system is being installed at the Kumasi Airport to curtail incidents of flight delays and cancellations due to poor weather conditions.

The €750,000 Instrument Landing System (ILS) will aid pilots for smooth landing. The ILS consist three components – localizer, glide path and distance measuring equipment – which transmit signals for aircrafts to pick.

According to the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the System is to preserve the safety of aircrafts and passengers, whilst positioning the facility for future increase in air traffic.

It is also part of the GCAA’s drive to upgrade the Kumasi Airport to international standards.

Barnaby Matteer, Acting Deputy Director of Engineering at the Authority, says the system installation is 80 percent complete.

“The main purpose of this equipment is to guide aircrafts in their finals when they are coming in to land; to get them to the centre line of the runway, even in very bad weather conditions,” he explained.

German firm, Thalis Air Systems, is undertaking the project.

The company’s Commercial Engineer, Lubomir Haviar, is confident the instrument should become operational by February 2014 after flight calibration.

The Kumasi Airport is presently carrying 40,000 passengers per month.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Breeders make progress with confined field trials of GM Rice in Ghana

Commercialization of genetically modified rice in Ghana will not happen within the next five years, based on projections of breeders at the Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Trials of the Nitrogen Use Efficient (NUE) Rice – the first-ever genetically modified (GM) crop to be planted in Ghana – took off on confined fields in the Ashanti region early 2013.

“Here we are dealing with nitrogen use efficiency because the farmers cannot apply the recommended rates of nitrogen; we are trying various events (i.e. rice lines) which have been modified to make good use of the little nitrogen in the soil.  If we have an event which is good, we can release it as a variety per se or cross it with an adapted variety,” explained Plant Breeder, Dr. Maxwell Darko Asante.

It has taken 120 days to harvest the royalty-free rice seeds from the confined fields.

“We have to winnow it, dry it and weigh it before we can draw a conclusion,” says Dr. Kofi Dartey, who is leading the GM Rice project.

 

He is hopeful the analysis of the harvested rice seeds would be completed before end of year, but says it will take between 3-5 year before the produce leaves the confined fields.

The objective of the trials is to look at how farmers can maximize yields per bag of applied fertilizer to enhance Ghana’s food production.

“It’s very important because our farmers are not able to buy fertilizer, so if you have rice which is able to use nitrogen more efficiently, it’s going to give them higher yields,” Dr. Darko Asante noted.

The next trial, he stated, will combine genes for three traits – nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency and salt tolerance. This could help farmers spread rice cultivation to marginal areas.

“Once we identify the best events, we either go through the normal varietal release procedures to release that as a variety or we cross them with our adapted variety to introduce the genes into a variety like Jasmine which is already popular,” said the rice breeder.

There is growing controversy between some food experts and civil society organisations over the introduction of genetically modified (GM) food into Ghana.

Dr. Darko Asante however says the safety of GMOs cannot be compromised due to the strict legal regime.

“You have to go strictly by the bio-safety law… so for me they are even safer than the conventional because for the conventional we cross anything and nobody controls us but for GM you have to go through lots of strict controls, so any variety that is passed by the regulatory authorities for release is safe,” he stressed.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Matters arising in health insurance implementation in Ashanti

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has activated a Claims Processing Centre (CPC) in the Ashanti region to ease delays in vetting claims for re-imbursement submitted by health service providers.

The Authority has also introduced the e-claims service, an electronic payment system, to reduce the length of time for receipt of payment by providers.

Some health service providers in the region have not been enthused with the delayed payment of claims. Administrator of the Brodekwamo Methodist Clinic, Kwasi Odame, says delayed payment and mounting arrears in health insurance claims is one of the major challenges hampering service delivery.

“It is an institution that gets support from the government, so at the end of the day we request for funds and if the funds do not come in early, it will delay the payment,” acknowledged Bawa Nurudeen, Ashanti Regional Manager of the NHIA.

He is however optimistic the claims processing centre will be one of the interventions to address the challenge in vetting of claims.

“With effect from 1^st December 2013, all providers who are under the sub-metro schemes – Asokwa, Subin, Manhyia, Bantama and Ejisu – are supposed to submit claims to the CPC. It will speed up the turnaround time with which we use to process claims and also ensure prompt payment,” stated Mr. Nurudeen.

He has also debunked assertions that the implementation of the health capitation is responsible for increase in maternal and infant mortality in the region.

“Everything about maternal services is not part of capitation, and so if a pregnant woman goes to a facility and the facility fails to provide certain medication – remember the medication is also paid for by the health insurance – capitation has nothing to do with drugs and so if drugs are not dispensed, we should not blame capitation,” he stressed.

There are presently over 400 health facilities under the health capitation in Ashanti. Some of these facilities and other interest groups have expressed disapproval in the pilot implementation of the scheme in Ashanti since it was introduced in January 2012.

Meanwhile, the Health Insurance Providers Association of Ghana (HISPAG) has opined that delinking the National Health Insurance Authority from government control would improve efficiency in service delivery.

Frank Richard Togblo, Chief Executive of HISPAG believes such autonomy would protect the health scheme from political manipulation “so that it will not be an issue that tomorrow when another government comes, he changes the direction and focus of the NHIA.”  

“Once it is established by law, there is nothing that can change it, unless they have to go back to parliament to scrap it off. Just as we have SSNIT and Ghana Revenue Authority, which are completely delinked from the government, so it should be as far as the NHIA is concerned,” he asserted.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

What Nelson Mandela taught us!

Of the million’s of tributes paid to Nelson Mandela, I choose to share in the thoughts of former UN chief, Kofi Annan, who wrote:

Dear friends,

I last met with Nelson Mandela, together with my fellow Elders, three years ago in Johannesburg. This week we returned to South Africa to say farewell to our founder, dear friend and guiding voice.

Many of you have offered moving tributes to Madiba’s courage and humanity, describing how he has influenced and inspired you. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts and messages with us.

For me, his most important lesson was that he never sought power for the sake of power. Time and again, he invested his authority in strong, democratic institutions that would actually outlast any individual leader. Even founding The Elders was an expression of his belief in an idea that was larger than himself.

I believe that we can honour him best not by searching for ‘the new Mandela’, but by realising our own potential – as men, as women, as citizens – to build the just, equal societies that he fought for.

Best wishes,

Kofi Annan

What does Nelson Mandela mean to me?

The world indeed celebrates the Madiba! But never should we forget that Nelson Mandela was a radical youth in fighting apartheid.

He inspired the his country’s young population to fight for equal rights and justice; evident in the 1976 Soweto uprising – the iconic image of a dying 13-year old Hector Pieterson being carried by another student while his sister ran next to them, symbolizes resistance to oppression.

Don’t sit aloof in the face of injustice! That is what Mandela taught me!!!

Plant Breeders Right will give farmers choice over crop varieties, says scientist

Ghana’s research scientists are anxious to see parliament pass the Plant Breeders Right Bill before end of year.

The Bill, they argue, is a positive development which seeks to address the interests of plant breeders in the private and public sectors to promote agricultural productivity.

Advocacy group, Food Sovereignty Ghana, is however prevailing on the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to object to the Bill in its current form.

The group is of the view that some clauses in the Bill are not coherent with other legislation and national interests such as the protection of environment, health, prevention of misappropriation of genetic resources.

But Dr. Hans Adu-Dapaah, Director of the Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), says the economic benefits of improved plant varieties are enormous.

“The Bill promotes the breeding of new varieties of plants aimed at improving the quantity, quality and cost of food, fuel, fibre and raw materials for industry,” he stated.

 

According to him, consumers will benefit economically as an increased productivity will lead to reduction in price of end-products and improved quality will lead to higher value products.

There are also health benefits in the form of improved nutritional content of food crops in the prevention of certain diseases as well as environmental benefits, such as developing varieties with abiotic stress resistance to mitigate the impact of climate change and variability.

Food Sovereignty Ghana also fears the Bill will compromise farmers’ rights whilst the rights of foreign corporate plant breeders are placed above national interest.

Dr. Adu-Dapaah however notes that “nobody will force any farmer to grow any variety; we’ll demonstrate the quality of the varieties to you to make your choice.”

He says scientists need to provide the best of varieties to the Ghanaian populace “and a farmer can even come up with a variety and have it protected.”

The Ghanaian scientific community has developed diverse genetic materials and technologies for adoption by farmers and other end-users.

The development of new crop varieties for specific needs of the country is vital for increased agricultural productivity.

However, the researchers are unhappy users of these varieties fail to recognise the investment and the efforts of the breeders and the need to pay the necessary royalties.

Dr. Stephen Amoah, research scientist in breeding and molecular biology, says researchers need to be protected against the physical multiplication of genetic plants without recourse to “the person who sat down to do the crosses, the biology and the genetics”.

The objective of the Plant Breeders Rights is to establish a legal framework to acknowledge the achievements of breeders of new varieties and to protect their intellectual property.

Most biological materials developed in Ghana presently do not fit appropriately under the existing intellectual property rights – including the Patents, Trade Marks, Designs and Copyright.

The PBR allows the breeder to choose to become the exclusive marketer of the variety, or to license the variety to others. This essentially will enable the plant breeders, for instance, to enter into arrangements with seed companies to earn income from research.

“It’s a way of motivating the scientists and creating competition among the institutions and also the scientists and that is one way of improving the quality of research”, stated Dr. Amoah.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

When production soils run dry – a tale of farmers in two economies

The rains have come down heavy in the month of November. But Nina Bawa, a farmer at Ahoto in the Atebubu-Amantin Municipality of Ghana’s Brong Ahafo region had expected the downpour months earlier.

On her farm this boiling afternoon, Nina has the support of her four children in harvesting groundnuts.

“She is doing groundnut because she feels it’s a cash crop and it takes shorter duration, so that after harvest she can also use the field for minor season; either they repeat the groundnut or maize,” says extension officer, Seidu Jambara, who supports farmers in this community.

On a typical harvest day, Nina would uproot the groundnuts with her bare hands. But not today; she is rather using hoe in digging the produce because the soil is unusually dry and hard.

“Every year by this time we are at the peak of the raining season but because of the drought that has occurred since July, the harvesting has become a problem,” explained Seidu.

Ghanaian farmers, like most others in Africa, rely heavily on the rains to till their lands, plant and grow their crops – food production is hampered when the seasons fail.

In recent times, the drought period has become frequent in parts of the country and it is increasingly becoming challenging to predict the weather.

Rice production in northern Ghana, for instance, could not do well in 2013 due to the drought.

Farmers therefore need more than the services of the weatherman to go into crop cultivation.

Integrated crop-small ruminant production

Women like Nina are targets of an integrated crop and livestock production system introduced to farmers in dry areas of the Northern and Brong Ahafo regions of Ghana.

Droppings from the animals help in fertilizing the soils whilst some of the fodder crops help prevent erosion and water transmission from the soil to aid the production of cowpea and groundnut.

“We believe that this is a strategy that can quickly increase food security and also reduce poverty among our farmers,” says Dr. Stella Ennin at Ghana’s Crops Research Institute (CRI).

She however notes that interventions under the project, including soil moisture monitoring activities, are not complete without irrigation facilities for the farmers.

“Irrigation is something that we cannot ignore, especially in seed production and also in the very profitable ventures; we encourage farmers to go for irrigation so that they can be sure that at certain critical times when the water is not coming and it’s critical for the growth and yield of the crop, they irrigate and it will be profitable,” Dr. Ennin stated.

An estimated 1.6 percent of the country’s crops is harvested from irrigational farming, suggesting there is no shift from the high dependency in rain fed agriculture.

For the majority of Ghanaian smallholder farmers, access to irrigation facilities and water harvesting techniques is a luxury.

Rainwater harvesting in Kenya

In the Katumani community in Machakos County in Eastern Kenya, farmers have smiles on their faces. This follows the introduction of a new technology to improve on their farming activities, which has greatly impacted positively on their livelihoods.

“The challenge has been how do farmers make the most out of the little rain that they get,” says Dr. Kizito Kwena of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). “As a project we decided that the best way out is to make sure that they terrace their land, they construct pits and choose the correct crops to plant and most importantly is to base their decision on the type of season to expect.”

The Katumani community scenery is filled with dry vegetation, a sign that farming would be difficult to blossom in this area. Farmers produce maize, corn, tomatoes, pumpkins and beans among others.

In the past, farming was left to men as women remained at home to take care of the household. However, women are now actively involved in production.

Fifty year old Willington Ngei explains this rainwater harvest technology has made farming easier for his family and contributed to the increase of their production.

“It’s the way all the weather has changed that is why we have changed our farming through this technology; it has helped me a lot, I try to use only the rain water which is in my shamba. If there is no rain, I think I can survive through that hardness,” an excited Ngei laughed out in excitement at the intervention.

Food researchers in Ghana are developing early maturing and drought resistant crop varieties for adoption by farmers.

It is however evident in the community of Katumani that sustainable water management is possible if local farmers like Nina Bawa can access such water harvesting technologies to mitigate the challenges of the changing climate.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh