ACDEP Project Benefit 15,000 Households In The North

The evaluation of an agriculture project implemented by the Association of Church-Based Development Non-Governmental Organisations (ACDEP) in Northern Ghana eight years ago, has revealed that productivity of target beneficiaries went up by 61 percent and acreages cultivated increased by more than 100 percent against target figures of 33 and 50 percent.

The Farmers’ Agricultural Production and Marketing (FAMAR) project significantly improved the living standards of some 15,000 rural households in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions at the end of the project period.

Making a presentation on the overview of the US$1.2 million project at a conference in Tamale, Cornelius Kuukaraa, Value Chain Programme Manager of the project, attributed the successes to sustained and conscientious activities such as extension training for staff of Ministry of Food and Agriculture; training of 1, 926 farmers; establishment of demonstration farms; linking farmers to financial institutions to access production credit and among others.

According to him, produce supplied by farmers to Savannah Farmers’ and Marketing Company, a registered private company established by the project, also increased from an initial volume of 957 metric tonnes in 2007 to over 3,000 metric tonnes in 2012.

With the vision to reduce rural poverty through market linkages and the development of effective farmer based organizations, the FAMAR project was the result of a number of feasibility studies conducted by ACDEP and ICCO, a Netherland’s based development organization on the possibility of creating market access for rural farmers in Northern Ghana.

Based on the findings of these studies, the partners agreed to initiate the FAMAR project with funding from ICCO and PSO and ACDEP as the implementing organization.

The FAMAR project which was one of the many projects of ACDEP, sought to establish a transparent and independent production and marketing chain that was beneficial to rural farmers in Northern Ghana and other actors involved. 

The SFMC was intended to secure an attractive fair market price for northern-based crops (sorghum, maize, groundnuts, soybeans, cashew and sheanuts) and also contract farmers to produce and supply to customers according to their quality standards through the company. 

The reason for the action of FAMAR was the seemingly insurmountable problem of marketing of farm produce in the three regions. Projects initiated hitherto, and promoted by both government and NGOs concentrated on production and productivity. The fate of produce after harvest was left to the farmers to handle. This situation saddled the farmers with produce they could not get market to sell to get the cash they so much needed to solve non-food problems.

A survey conducted by ACDEP confirmed the fact that increases in productivity and production alone without a fair and reliable market could not pull the northern farmer out of poverty. For farmers to increase income from farming activities, increase in productivity and production must go hand in hand with access to market that is not only reliable but fair as well. 

Mr. Cornelius Kuuaraa

It was also realized that farmers operated as individuals but not as a group with strong voice and bargaining power, thus the creation of the FAMAR project to address these problems.

The first phase of the project started in 2005 and ended in December 2007 whereas the second phase started in January 2008 and ended in December 2012 with funding from ICCO and the European Union.

However, at the Tamale conference it emerged that, the continued availability of a market for farm produce was the single most important sustainability factor of the FAMAR project.

Some participants complained bitterly about the fact that, they had in stock hundreds of bags of cereals but due to unfavourable market prices currently prevailing, they could not sell them or release them to SFMC for sale.

Participants also agreed that, low capitalization or funding of SFMC had posed a major challenge to its profitability as the company had to rely on expensive commercial loans in order to buy produce from farmers.

Therefore, they appealed to government to be forthcoming by buying their produce at realistic prices so that they would be encouraged to increase their production.

The participants also called on government to consider allowing foreign buyers who were interested in their produce to come into the country and buy them rather than preventing such buyers because of fears of food shortage.

Generally, most of the participants at the two-day conference agreed that the initiative by ACDEP had helped to alleviate rural poverty among a section of smallholder farmers and urged government to support farmers in Northern Ghana to gain sufficient access to markets in and outside the country with their produce. 

In their estimation, the era of farmers only farming to feed their families was no longer feasible especially when they need to meet other domestic expenses. 

Meanwhile, ACDEP, a network of forty church-based NGOs in the three regions of the North of Ghana with a secretariat in Tamale was formed in 1977. The intervention programmes of the forty NGOs are agriculture, natural resources management, water and sanitation, primary healthcare, rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, economic empowerment of women and the provision of rural infrastructure.

The sponsoring churches of these development programmes are; the Catholic Diocese of Wa, Yendi, Damongo, Navrongo-Bolgatanga, the Archdiocese of Tamale, the Anglican Diocese of Tamale, the Methodist Diocese of Tamale, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, E.P Church of Ghana and the Assemblies of God Church of Ghana.

Northern Region To Benefit From USAID Anti-Poverty Initiative

More than 326,000 people in the Northern Region of Ghana are to benefit from a five-year US$60 million USAID-supported initiative to improve the livelihoods and nutritional status of the poorest households, with emphasis on pregnant and lactating women as well as children under five years of age.

Dubbed the “Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING)” project, it would help increase food security, improve consumption of diverse quality food and enhance nutrition –and hygiene-related behaviours to improve the health and resiliency of families.

For instance, RING would increase the resiliency of vulnerable families by addressing key constraints to improved livelihoods and nutritional wellbeing through three complementary project components, that is; increasing the consumption of diverse quality food by diversifying and smoothing out household income streams; improving behaviours related to nutrition of women and young children by strengthening nutrition outreach and education; and strengthening local government, communities and support networks through technical and financial assistance.

The project would also provide support to vulnerable families for a range of activities including, raising small ruminants or fowls; skills training and inputs regarding dry season farming; strengthening local storage and processing capacity; improving community water, hygiene and sanitation; educating about nutrition, particularly feeding children. 

A signed press release by the Head of Public Affairs of the Embassy of the United States of America, Ghana, Ms. Sarah Stryker copied to this blogger, said the USAID project would focus on vulnerable families, helping to improve the health status of families and enabling them to better resist unforeseeable shocks such as droughts, floods and fluctuating food prices.

According to the release, the initiative would be implemented in 17 districts in the Northern Region, which USAID and its partners at the District Assemblies and the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC), had identified through an assessment process.

The American people would provide up to US$28 million of RING’s funds directly to the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Finance for disbursement to the 17 targeted District Assemblies and the RCC, the release explained.

It also said, the funds would enable the District Assemblies and the NRCC to implement activities that improve nutrition and hygiene, and strengthen the resiliency of poor families. “In addition, the American people will provide technical assistance and capacity building support to District Assemblies and the NRCC for planning, implementing and coordinating activities that improve the livelihoods and nutritional status of vulnerable families”, the statement added.  

The statement further expatiated that, in a joint planning exercise with the NRCC and USAID, District Assemblies would select planned interventions from their Medium Term Development Plans and Community Action Plans to develop RING work plans and budgets. “USAID funding can also be used to provide sub-grants to local NGOs and CBOs to support livelihood and nutrition interventions, expand monitoring and evaluation, and strengthen service delivery”, it stressed.

To this effect, the United States government, through USAID and the government of Ghana as well as officials of four District Assemblies in the Northern Region, on Tuesday July 29, 2013 at the NRCC signed four Project Implementation Letters for an initial tranche of US$11 million.

The beneficiary districts included Nanumba North, Nanumba South, Central Gonja and East Mamprusi. They add up to a list of two other districts (Chereponi and Saboba) which were the first to benefit from the project.

These four new agreements with District Assemblies in the Northern Region which was witnessed by the outgoing USAID Mission Director in Ghana Ms. Cheryl Anderson, NRCC Chief Director Alhaji Issahaku Alhassan and District Coordinating Directors as well as Chief Executives, demonstrated the commitment of President Barack Obama and Secretary John Kerry to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the Accra Agenda for Action, and the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation.

Meanwhile, Ms. Aderson pledged the total commitment of the US government to the project and urged the government of Ghana particularly the beneficiary districts to also show commitment to its implementation so that the results could impact positively on the lives of the people.

The Alhaji Issahaku on the other hand also thanked the US government for its continuous support to the people of Ghana especially in poverty eradication and other livelihood improvement programmes.

Northern Smallholder Farmers Now Better Off, But......…..

One of the most cardinal strategies government could seriously consider in its attempt to eliminate extreme poverty in rural Northern Ghana, is to consciously ensure the availability of ready markets for smallholder or peasant farmers who through several governmental and private sector support initiatives, have increased the production of cereals in recent years.

In the past, most smallholder farmers in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions of Ghana, could only produce to feed their families and even if there was enough for farmers to sell for income, the produce were mostly sold at cheaper prices and in worst situations, farmers did not have access to ready markets at all.

However, in the last few years some government and private sector led initiatives such as the Northern Rural Growth Project (NRGP), IFDC’s Farm to Market (FTM) project and the Farmers’ Agricultural Production and Marketing (FAMAR) project by the Association of Church-Based Development NGOs (ACDEP) in the three regions, have yielded enormous benefits to more than half a million households.

With the vision to reduce rural poverty through market linkages and the development of effective farmer based organizations [FBOs], the FAMAR project was the result of a number of feasibility studies conducted by ACDEP, a network organization of Church-based NGOs and ICCO, a Netherland’s based development organization on the possibility of creating market access for rural farmers in Northern Ghana.

Based on the findings of these studies, the partners agreed to initiate the FAMAR project [8 years comprising of phase I and phase II] with funding from ICCO and PSO and ACDEP as the implementing organization.

The FAMAR project which was one of the many projects of ACDEP, sought to establish a transparent and independent production and marketing chain that was beneficial to rural farmers in Northern Ghana and other actors involved. The first phase of the project ended in December 2007 and the second phase started in January 2008 and ended in December 2012 with funding from ICCO and the European Union.

Core Objectives of The FAMAR Project

·         To build strong FBOs that are capable of stimulating production and bargain with various partners in the interest of farmers in Northern Ghana.

·         To build the capacity of individual farmers to increase their crop yields and also to see farming as a business.

·         To network and build coalitions with other Civil Society Organisations to advocate and lobby policy makers to improve access to credit, inputs and marketing opportunities for small rural farmers.

·         Provide a secured market for small-scale farmers to sell their crops.

Savanna Farmers Marketing Company [SFMC] which is a brainchild of the FAMAR project is a registered private limited liability company envisaged to be a farmer owned company in future. 

The modus operandi of SFMC was first; to secure an attractive fair market price for Northern-based crops and second, contract farmers to produce and supply to customers according to their quality standards through the company.

The initial equity for the establishment of SFMC came from ICCO with ACDEP as the sole shareholder, holding shares in trust for the FBOs that were being developed.

SFMC has since established supply chains for sorghum, soybeans, groundnuts, cashew and sheanuts which the farmers were asked to produce. At one end of each supply chain were FBOs from 11 ACDEP stations and other local NGOs. The FBOs were contracted and supported with production credit [seed and land preparation] by SFMC and some financial institutions for the production and supply of produce.

At the other end of the chain, SFMC signed yearly supply contracts with her customers. They included Guinness Ghana Brewery Limited [Sorghum], Ghana Nuts, Vester Oil Mills, Golden Web [soybeans and groundnuts] and Global Trading of Netherland Industries [cashew].

FAMAR Sustainability Principles   

Sustainability was central to the project. Thus, the project applied the following principles.

• Economic sustainability: Paying farmers a fair price for the produce and charging customers a competitive price in order to ensure a win-win situation for all actors; and building a solid foundation for the FBOs and SFMC to enable them operate as separate legal, self-financing and independent entities especially in the long-run.
•  
• Environmental sustainability: Encouraging sustainable agricultural methods such as LEISA, IPM and organic farming where possible.
•  
• Social sustainability: Ensuring that the project was accessible to all interested persons irrespective of sex, age, creed and tribe; discouraging child labour and marginalization of women; and building the capacity of individual farmers and farmer groups to hold their leaders accountable.  

  

  Farmers carting produce to buyer

Benefits of the FAMAR Project

Productivity of target farmers under the FAMAR project went up by 61 percent and acreage cultivated increased by more than 100 percent against target figures of 33 percent and 50 percent respectively. These achievements were the product of sustained and conscientious activities such as extension training for station and Ministry of Food and Agriculture staff; training of 1, 926 [1,310 males and 616 females; peer extension teachers; establishment of demonstration farms; linking farmers to financial institutions to access production credit to acquire necessary agro-inputs [fertilizers, seed, herbicides, etc]; fields days; agro-inputs days; collaboration with research institutions like Savannah Agricultural Research Institute for guidance in best agro-practices; promotion of women’s access to fertile land; and effective production monitoring visits. 

Also, another focus of the FAMAR project was to mobilize target farmers into viable three-tier gender balanced FBO system –Primary/community FBOs [PFBO], Secondary/district FBOs [SFBOs] and Tertiary/regional FBOs [TFBOs]. At present, the three-tier structure is firmly in place; each level is functioning well, with the secondary level playing pivotal roles as expected. 

The FAMAR project reached 14,438 beneficiaries [49 percent female] against a target of 10,000. These farmers had been organized into 1,003 PFBOs against 600. 304 of these FBOs are legally registered with the Department of Cooperatives [DoC] with certificates for commencement of business.

There were 12 SFBOs that had also been registered as legal entities to do business in the Republic of Ghana. The SFBOs coordinated all the business and production activities of the PFBOs like arranging for production credit and agro-inputs; arranging for market produce and mobilization of produce for marketing [produce supplied to SFMC increased from an initial volume of 957 metric tonnes in 2007 to over 3,000 metric tonnes in 2012]; arranging for training programmes for the PFBOs, etc. The SFBOs acquired offices with office managers. There were 2 in the Upper East Region, 6 in Northern Region and 4 in the Upper West Region. 

The SFBOs were the kingpins of the FBO structure directing the business engagements of the PFBOs and linking them to the TFBOs. There were 3 TFBOs, one in each region. These played advocacy roles for the FBOs. 

Thanks to the FAMAR project, rural banks could comfortably participate in agricultural value chains as lenders to smallholder farmers and aggregators, because they were sure of payback. For instance, credit provided by rural banks to farmers increased by 2,345 percent from GH¢57,251 in 2007 to GH¢1.4 million in 2012. 

Besides, the FAMAR project brought the ACDEP stations [agric service centres] closer to farmers by enabling them address their core needs of marketing, credit and productivity. Standards of living of some 15,000 rural households in the three regions increased significantly at the end of the project period.

Net income from crop production of targeted farmers increased averagely by 10 percent per year during the period the project was rolled out, mainly through the establishment of a transparent and sustainable production and marketing chain.

Woman winnowing cereals

 

Challenges/Frustrations

The continued availability of a market for farm produce is the single most important sustainability factor of the FAMAR project, according to an evaluation conference held in Tamale for a selected number of representatives from the various FBOs, ACDEP, donors and other stakeholders.

Some farmers at the conference complained bitterly about the fact that, they had in stock hundreds of bags of cereals but due to unfavourable market prices currently prevailing, they could not sell them or release them to SFMC for sale.

It also emerged that, low capitalization or funding of SFMC had posed a major challenge to its profitability as the company had to rely on expensive commercial loans in order to buy produce from farmers.

Therefore, they appealed to government to be forthcoming by buying their produce at realistic prices so that they would be encouraged to increase their production.

The farmers also called on government to consider allowing foreign buyers who were interested in their produce to come into the country and buy them rather than preventing such buyers because of fears of food shortage.

Generally, most of the participants at the two-day conference agreed that the initiative by ACDEP had helped to alleviate rural poverty among a section of smallholder farmers and urged government to support farmers in Northern Ghana to gain sufficient access to markets in and outside the country with their produce. In their estimation, the era of farmers only farming to feed their families was no longer feasible especially when they need to meet other domestic expenses. 

ACDEP was formed in 1997. It is a network of forty church-based NGOs in the three regions of the North of Ghana with a secretariat in Tamale. The intervention programmes of the forty NGOs are agriculture, natural resources management, water and sanitation, primary healthcare, rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, economic empowerment of women and the provision of rural infrastructure.