ZEFP Support Communities Susceptible To Climate Change Effects

The Zasilari Ecological Farms Project (ZEFP), a non-governmental organization based in Walewale in the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region of Ghana, has provided alternative livelihood support to five communities that are prone to climate change vulnerability effects.

The support was part of the implementation of a 15-month project dubbed “Expanding Climate Change Resilience in Northern Ghana Project (ECCRING)” and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Canadian Hunger Foundation (CHF) and implemented in partnership with Northern Ghana’s Association of Church-Based Development NGOs (ACDEP).

ZEFP, an implementing partner of the ECCRING in the West Mamprusi District is currently supporting 1000 individual smallholder farmers; 200 people from each of the five communities namely Sayoo, Zangum, Nayoku, Guakudow and Guabuliga with climate change resilient livestock breed and technology, Project Coordinator Issifu Sulemana Jobila told Savannahnews in an interview. 

According to him, a total of 2080 goats of local breed  and improved sahelian male goats had been given to the five communities to enable them adapt to climate change effects. Adding, he said each community had been given 80 Sahelian goats to take care of them, so that they could proliferate and enable them and their families to stay off the natural vegetation as a source of livelihood that often comes in the form of hunting, charcoal production, tree felling and among others. 

Mr. Jobila also explained that, the selection criterion was based on individuals, whose livelihoods were being destroyed by climate change impacts, adding that farmyard manure particularly from the livestock support would boost an organic agriculture programme introduced alongside the ECCRING project.

ZEFP provides support to Women and Farmer Associations with the aim of complementing the nation’s efforts in fighting rural poverty in Northern Ghana. The principal objective of ZEFP is to upscale environmentally friendly innovative approach in food production to improving livelihoods of the rural poor. 

The ECCRING project was announced early this year by the CHF in the lead up to the 2013 International Women's Day and is expected to support women and other vulnerable farmers in Northern Ghana to adapt to increasingly erratic rainfall and rising temperatures in the region.  The project sought to build on earlier successes in the region by expanding into 18 new rural communities to increase harvests and augment incomes amongst families.

"Rising temperatures, less predictable rainfall and shorter growing seasons are all making it harder for farmers— especially women —to support their families in Northern Ghana," said Garry Comber, President and CEO of the Canadian Hunger Foundation in his address when he announced the package for the project in March 2013. 

Adding, he said: "Women are disproportionally affected by the challenges of a changing climate. This means a core part of our work must be to strengthen their efforts with tools, seeds, livestock, new farming techniques and other inputs, but also to develop their capacity to claim their role in shaping their communities."

The ECCRING project would raise awareness of the negative impacts of climate change and how they could be reduced, and would build the capacity of regional organizations, districts, communities and beneficiaries to address climate change and manage natural disasters. 

New farming techniques and technologies would also be introduced to increase the use of drought-tolerant crops and improve livestock production methods. Protecting and enhancing natural resources would also be a focus, including growing more trees and controlling bushfires.

Although both women and men would participate in the project, some activities, such as provision of small livestock, fuel-efficient stoves and other income-generating activities, would specifically target women more than men, increasing their control over resources, or reducing their time constraints. Women's increased participation and leadership in community organizations would also be promoted in order to give them a greater voice in decisions that affect them and their families.

10,000 vulnerable rural women and men in the 18 communities including the ones mentioned above would receive direct support, and the project is expected to benefit approximately 50,000 people in total. Household food security and income are both expected to increase by 35% over the 15 months of the project.

Chiefs Cited for Youth Violence Over Nomination of MMDCEs

N/R Minister

Some Chiefs and traditional rulers have been cited for the lead roles in the violent agitations against the nominations of some District Chief Executives (DCEs) in the Northern Region. They have therefore been reminded that their offices bar them from engaging in such acts which tends to cast a slur on their reputation and the office they hold.

 

The Northern Regional Minister, Bede Ziedeng who made the observation indicated that key traditional rulers in the region were said to be compromising their integrity and respect, by leading riot youth to violently reject nominations and confirmations of some DCEs for their parochial interests. 

According to the Minister, even though the constitution provided for freedom of expression and democracy, it was completely unacceptable for traditional rulers who were entrusted by the same Constitution as the custodians of the land, to instigate young people to destroy state properties in protest against people who are nominated by the President as DCEs.

Speaking at the 2^nd Ordinary Meeting of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs in Tamale, Lawyer Bede Zeideng cautioned the chiefs to stop meddling in political matters which he indicated expose them to public derision and mistrust. 

“Nomination and confirmation of District Chief Executives are political matters and it is safer for the Chiefs to be out of them. Even though as citizens and people who are part of the local governance system, they are also entitled to express their opinions or views but they can only do so through lobbying and not to incite people to cause destructions”. 

In the last few months, the ruling government has had it very tough to win the support or backing of some community leaders and youth groups, who somewhat hold the view that they were not consulted before some of the nominations were done. 

However, the Northern Regional Minister was of the view that using violence instead of dialogue and negotiation, would affect the smooth development of the region, since development he noted, could not strive in the midst of violence. 

According to Mr. Bede Zeideng, the region had already suffered serious socio-economic setback and appealed to the chiefs and people to cooperate with government to put up the necessary structures at the assembly level to facilitate development. 

On the other hand, the Minister also descended heavily on the traditional leaders in the Northern region for engaging themselves in multiple sales of land to local and foreign developers, thereby creating tension and unhealthy litigation in the region.

He lamented what could best be termed as “the selfish conduct” of some of the chiefs who are bent on selling almost every piece of land in their localities.

He further lamented that “lands belonging schools, hospitals, state institutions and even those reserved for roads, markets, recreational and industrial purposes are being sold by some of our chiefs because they want to satisfy their parochial interest”.

The Northern Regional Minister who commended the Chiefs in the region for their unflinching support to his administration, requested from them, to control their subjects especially the youth to behave peacefully during and after the Supreme Court verdict on the 2012 election petition.

The President of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs, Nayiri-Naa Abdulai Mahami Sheriga who is also the King of Mamprugu Traditional Area commended the ruling government for the numerous development interventions especially the ongoing construction of the Buipe-Tamale trunk road and Fufulso-Damango-Sawla-Wa road. But appealed for the construction of the Tamale-Salaga-Makango road, Yendi-Bimbilla, Walewale-Bunkpurug and Tamale-Kumbungu roads. 

He also called for the division of the Northern region into two separate regions to fast truck development.

The Overlord of the Mamprugu Kingdom added his voice to the call for peace in Ghana during and after the Supreme Court verdict on 29^th August 2013.

Alhaji A.B.A Sympathises With Ghanaian Journalists

Alhaji A.B.A.Fuseini

The Deputy Northern Regional Minister Alhaji A.B.A. Fuseini has observed that, the Ghanaian media is among few categories of professions where professionals are given very little in terms of remuneration yet the public expect much from them.

According to the former Night Editor of the state-owned newspaper, The Daily Graphic, conditions of service of majority of journalists and other media practitioners in the country was nothing good to write home about, yet professionals were faced with a lot of challenges such as lack of working tools and interference in their duties by media owners and other persons as well as state and private corporations.

This situation, he said, was making it impossible for many journalists and media practitioners to deliver to their utmost best as they were susceptible to all kinds of inducement that could influence their professional sense of judgment in the discharge of their duties.

Speaking at a media forum in Tamale, the minister who is also the legislator for the Sagnarigu Constituency, thus commended Ghanaian journalists and media practitioners for being able to discharge their duties successfully despite the numerous challenges they were confronted with on a daily bases.

Alhaji Fuseini encouraged participants to continue to be circumspect in their reportage and programming and also respect the tenets of the profession in order to safeguard their personal integrity and the media houses they worked with.

The forum, under the theme “Towards A Responsible and Peaceful Media Reportage on The Supreme Court Verdict”, was organized by the Northern Regional branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in collaboration with the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) and the Northern Sector Action on Awareness Centre (NORSAAC).

It was intended to sensitise journalists and media practitioners on the need to exercise greatest circumspection in their reportage and on-air discussions before, during and after the final verdict of the Supreme Court on the case of the 2012 presidential election results that was being challenged by some leading members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The Deputy Northern Regional Commander of the Ghana Police Service ACP Kojo Appiah-agyei in a statement assured the public that men and women of the service were steadfast to ensuring that there was no breach of peace on the day of the Supreme Court’s verdict.

He noted that the police had been sufficiently equipped to take control of any untoward situation that might arise after the court’s ruling and called on the public to support them in the discharge of their duties.

ACP Appiah-agyei also appealed to the public particularly those who intend to foment trouble to advice themselves or face the full rigours of the law when caught in any act of unlawfulness.

Meanwhile, the Northern Regional Chairman of the GJA Mr. Caesar Abagale in comparing the 2004 and 2008 electioneering years, said that of the 2012 was the best when it came to good reportage by journalists in the region.

He commended journalists for their good sense of professionalism and urged them to show similar traits now and forevermore. 

Participants were taken through a thorough discussion of chapter twelve of the 1992 Republican Constitution of Ghana that talked about the Freedom and Independence of the Ghanaian media as well as the GJA Code of Ethics, seeking to refresh their minds on the dos and don’ts of journalism.

 

Girls In Nanumba District More Confident To Report Abuses To Police

Girls in the Nanumba North and South Districts of the Northern Region of Ghana can now confidently report any form of violence or abuse of their basic human rights to a structure put in place by ActionAid-Ghana and recognized local Civil  Society Organisations in the area to ensure that the rights of the girl-child are protected.

The Nanumba Districts are noted for their high rate of violence against young girls mostly perpetrated by men. These abuses range from defilement to force marriage, betrothal, rape and among others, with perpetrators often walking away free after the act.

The phenomenon over the years had affected female education in the area as many girls were often given out for marriage sometimes even before they turned age 18. There had even been instances whereby some of those girls ran to the Southern part of the country because they were forced to marry men older enough to be their fathers.

Fourteen year old primary six pupil Shakirah Mohammed told Savannahnews in an interview that, following several sensitization programmes carried out by ActionAid and Songtaba, most pupils were now very confident to report cases of abuse to a well established structure made up of the police, Community Advocacy Teams [CATs], head-teachers, teachers and Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) among others.

We have learned how to say no to sex to a man, she said, adding “if a man forces you to have an affair with him or rape you, you report it to the police, CATs, your head teacher, mentees or CHRAJ”.

CATs in the Massaka and Alurani communities, both suburbs of the Nanumba North District capital, Bimbilla, disclosed to this blogger that six cases of defilement were reported to the police in 2012 and the culprits were prosecuted and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. 

Mr. Haruna Zakaria Chikaba, a 32 year old farmer in Alurani also noted that, violence against girls was a norm of the people in the community, but since the intervention of ActionAid and Songtaba for about eight years now, the situation had changed. He disclosed that in 2012, three people were prosecuted and sentenced to prison for defilement and since then, no case had been recorded.

Speaking to the officer in charge of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service in the Nanumba North District, Lance Corporal Augustina Mahama, confirmed the figures and admitted that issues of domestic violence and violence against girls in the area reached alarming levels eight years ago, but since the intervention by ActionAid and its partners, the situation had improved significantly.                                                             

Moreover, a visit by this blogger to some communities in the two districts uncovered that there had also been significant improvement in the retention of girls in schools and this contributed enormously to bridging the huge gender disparities that once existed in the districts and for that matter, the whole region.

For instance, in the 2008/2009 academic year the number of girls enrolled was 195 against 182 boys whereas in the 2009/2010 academic year, the number increased to 219 against a marginally increased figure of 211 boys. In 2012/2013, the number of girls further increased to 234 against 227 boys.