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On a small but thriving farm in Awaradone, a farming community in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region, Madam Asaamah Akurigo tends to her crops with quiet determination.
At 36 years old, the hardworking mother of two has built a life around the land, growing kenaf, okra, onions, pepper, and other nutrient-rich vegetables.
For years, life as a farmer was uncertain. The erratic rainfall meant poor harvests, and when the dry season arrived, she had no choice but to leave her children behind and journey to southern Ghana in search of work, thus, washing bowls in chop bars just to make ends meet.
“It was tough,” she recalls. “Leaving my children, working long hours under difficult conditions and returning home only to start the cycle again. But I had no choice.”
That changed when a solar-powered mechanized borehole was installed in her community.
Now, Madam Akurigo no longer has to leave home in search of temporary work.
The reliable water supply allows her to grow vegetables all year round, even during the long, dry months.
“Now, I stay here with my children, take care of them, and still make a good living from my farm,” she says with a smile. “It’s much better than traveling down south to struggle.”
Irrigation supporting dry season farming
Madam A-ankeli Adugbila, another 38-year-old smallholder from the Awaredoone community has now found stability through dry-season farming, made possible by the solar-powered irrigation system.
She grows okra, onions, and kenaf, not just for food, but for a better future.
“Before, it was difficult,” she shares. “We couldn’t always afford fresh vegetables for our meals, and money was difficult to come by. But now, things have changed.”
Madam Adugbila’s family now enjoys a more balanced diet, and the surplus harvest brings in much-needed income. Last year alone, she made around GH₵1,000 from selling her vegetables.
“That money is helping me save for my daughter’s education,” she says. “She got into a tertiary institution last year but couldn’t go because we didn’t have enough funds. Now, I am determined to support her dreams.”
Beyond the financial benefits, the irrigation facility has also brought peace to her home.
“I can now contribute to the family’s upkeep, and I no longer have to rely on my husband for everything, that has made our home happier.”
Madam Akurigo and Madam Adugbila are not alone. They are part of more than 780 smallholder farmers from eight communities across the Upper East and Upper West regions benefiting from solar powered irrigation systems and engaging in all year vegetable production.
These smallholder farmers, once vulnerable to the changing climate, are now leading the way in dry-season vegetable farming, securing food for their families and earning steady incomes.
IUCN project intervention
The support is part of the Creating Lands of Opportunity: Transforming Livelihoods through Landscape Restoration in the Sahel, a three-year project being implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a Non-Governmental Organization.
The overall objective of the project is to make a significant and sustainable contribution towards landscape restoration in the Sahel while creating income generating activities for local communities in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Niger.
The project was funded by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)-Global Mechanism (GM) through the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea (IMELS) for a period of three years (2020-2022).
IUCN and the Global Mechanism (GM) implemented the project in collaboration with the UNCCD National Focal Points, relevant National Institutions, Local Communities and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), as well as the members of the Project National Steering Committee and Global Steering Committee.
In Ghana, it was implemented in partnership with the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI), Environmental Protection Agency, A Rocha Ghana, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Forestry Commission and Water Resources Commission.
The beneficiary communities in Ghana are Awaradone and Yameriga in the Talensi District, Gbango and Tarikom in the Bawku West District, Dalaasa and Naadema in the Builsa South District, all in the Upper East Region, as well as Nanchala and Sakalu in the Sisaala East District of the Upper West Region.
Climate change
Dr Asher Nkegbe, Ghana’s UNCCD National Focal Point said the UNCCD/GM project was an initiative of the Government of Ghana and UNCCD through the Italian government to strengthen the Sustainable Land and Water Management Project, funded since 2010 by the World Bank and implemented in Northern Ghana using integrated landscape management approach.
He said the project was aimed at strengthening resilience of communities to food security through diversification of smallholder production systems, creating income generating activities through leveraging land-based investment.
He said adverse effects of climate change and the continuous degradation of the environment threatened food and nutrient security and underscored the need for more climate-smart approaches and other sustainable solutions to enhance land restoration and agriculture production.
Achievements
The Ghana’s UNCCD National Focal Point explained that the project had reached a total of 82,876 beneficiaries with various interventions including capacity building and provision of agriculture inputs, water systems, agro-processing and improved energy cookstoves among others.
Through the project, he noted that the four solar powered mechanized boreholes had been installed in Awaradone, Tarikom, Naadema and Sakalu communities and the intervention was not only helping to provide improved clean drinking water to the communities but was helping members of the communities to engage in dry season vegetable farming.
“Currently, a total of 112 women are producing vegetables including tomatoes, onions, cabbage, alefu, kenaf, okro among others as additional livelihoods and it is benefitting 784 household members.
“Testimonies from the women indicate that, they are able to earn between GH₡ 300-600 per week from the sale of the vegetables”, he said.
Dr Nkegbe said the project provided agricultural equipment to the smallholder farmers such as 16 roller planters benefitting 3,200 beneficiaries, eight 150 kg weighing scales, eight tarpaulins, 1,200 PICs sacks and one Multipurpose thresher for the Bawku West District.
Through the project, he said a seedling nursery each had been established in Sakalu and Nanchalla and 10,800 seedlings of three species, namely 8,500 cassia, 1,500 red seeds and 800 cashews were produced.
He said the move had helped to restore 1,700 hectares of degraded lands across the eight beneficiary communities.
Apart from that, Dr Nkegbe said a total of 120 smallholder farmers had their capacities built in beekeeping and were producing quality honey as additional livelihood intervention.
“The project has also provided 2,500 improved cookstoves to 2,500 households in all eight communities from October 2022 to January 2023 and it is benefiting 12,285 household members”, he said.
Dr Nkegbe said 203 community members were trained to produce grass briquette as energy for cooking and a means of reducing cost associated with energy and ensure protection of the environment.
He said innovation platforms were also established in Talensi and Sissala East districts to link actors along the sustainable value chain of dry land products including maize, soya, shea, cowpea, rice and millet and created market opportunities for the products.
Source: GNA
