He is excited at the prospects of his farm to improve
his family’s livelihood. He has however come to understand that access to
agro-inputs could impede the quest to establish sustainable farms that drive
the youth to the sector.
“All what we need is the inputs because we don’t have
the money to purchase all those things; so when government comes to our aid
through the inputs we can make it and then we can also encourage the youth to
take part in the farming,” he said.
Hubert is among farmers targeted under the Cocoa
Eco-Project, initiated by SNV Ghana in collaboration with the International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union (KKFU).
The project has been piloted in ten selected cocoa
growing districts in the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central and Western regions
within the past two years.
SNV Ghana, Project Manager on Cocoa Eco, Charles
Brefo-Nimo, says there has been an impact on productivity and improvement of
the ecosystem services, which has been achieved through the provision of
technical and financial support for cocoa sustainable intensification.
“Intensification strategy has been one of the main
focus; what we’re saying is that farmers can use the same size of their land to
increase productivity,” he stated.
SNV since the inception of the cocoa project has
supported the mapping of farms and distribution of 265,000 cocoa hybrid
seedlings to 265 farmers.
SNV Ghana is investing Gh621,321 in 2015 for its
activities, including a contract with two local capacity builders to train 600
lead farmers in good agricultural practices, integrated pest management, child
labour and cocoa certification.
Meanwhile, the organization has presented agro-inputs
worth over Gh27,000 to host farmers of 20 young and mature demonstration farms.
The inputs include fertilizers, fungicides, insecticides, personal protective
equipment, intelligent and motorized spraying machines.
“The presentation is to ensure that the host farmers
have timely access to the requisite tools and inputs to enhance the
sustainability of the demo farms,” said Mr. Brefo-Nimo. “It is expected that
the demo farms will become the model of excellence to train farmers within the
catchment area”.
Executive Secretary of Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union, Appau
Abrampah-Mensah, says the package will enhance the activities of the Farmer
Field School (FFS) approach where farmers learn good practices from their
peers.
Under the Cocoa Eco Project, SNV Ghana is supporting
Kuapa Kokoo to strengthen the Business Development Centres in the 10 cocoa
districts to make it a functional service centers for farmers to access wide
range of farmer services.
Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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