National Agric Fair Reveals The Power Of GASIP
Farmers and other agricultural value chain actors assisted by GASIP made a strong showing at an agricultural fair held at Koforidua in the Eastern region of Ghana. Charlotte Tay from Dzodze in the Volta region presented neatly packaged items made of tuber crops such as potatoes and cassava. She was straightforward in her indication that turning the raw materials around had improved sales and earnings.
Josephine Dzaka from the Krachi district in Oti region struck a deeper tone of innovation as she told this reporter that she had formulated a coconut-based gari, attractively packaged.
Not to lay a sales pitch for her because she only gave the company name to protect her identity, this woman expressed profound gratitude to the benefactor which continues to lubricate her small business. The lean farming seasons present her the opportunity to process farm produce for sale. To her, the progress made so far on this tangent is a source of relief to her husband because she brings additional income.
Rahamaya Yahaya who resides in Nkawie in Ashanti region said, she was originally receiving training under the Women In Agricultural Development, WIAD, but then when GASIP came into the picture things got up to greater speed. She is now a trainer of trainers.
The Climate Officer of GASIP, Dr. Fred Kyei Akoto-Danso was optimistic about the future of GASIP mentees and beneficiaries. He mentioned these to be the provision of inputs such as tractors, fertilizers, improved seeds, and expansion in women’s participation in the agricultural value chain. Inputs are delivered at production fields on a timely basis at subsidized rates. Quality of inputs is guaranteed, it is climate-smart, with early maturity, and high yield.
A key punchline is a two-fold increase in profits on the back of GASIP deployment which accounts for 30 percent of production. Dr. Akoto-Danso noted that the cascading effects of increased production which lift farmers from subsistence into surpluses, call for new marketing strategies which include processing to reduce or neutralize perishability and then packaging attractively, of course, subject to quality control approvals by relevant agencies.
Launching deeper into the system, it came to notice that GASIP has been doing more than meet the eye. The National Coordinator of GASIP, Mr. Klutse Kudomor explained to journalists the corollaries of the interventions that are running. He said help is going to a targeted audience, not in the touch-and-go fashion which often leaves so-called beneficiaries in limbo once the program is over but GASIP trainees are being taught how to catch the fish by themselves. Capacity-building does not only take place in Ghana but outside the shores of Ghana as well. He said Brazil is a place where the youth are sent to learn cassava processing. The added advantage is the apprenticeship that goes with it under the Brazilian dispensation.
The exhibition at Koforidua was most revealing. A new slogan was thrown out there by Mr. Kudomor that set everybody thinking. It was not necessarily new but one that is craftily couched to get actors to troop in that direction. ”Food is not only just for hunger” and explaining this, Mr.Kudomor said, foods ought to be grounded in good cultural practices to build the health of consumers and not just to fill stomachs.
This is actuated by mainstreaming gender and youth roles in Farmer-Based Organisations for development and nutrition. They are supported to address their livelihood challenges, particularly agro-processing, nutrition, and financial services needs by promoting nutritionally adequate and safe diets. GASIP also provides access to short and long-term financing for FBOs using matching grants to leverage finance for on-farm working capital and productive assets to support their operations.
GASIP is the Ghana Agricultural Sector Investment Programme being financed by an IFAD loan of 36 million US dollars out of the approved 71.6 million dollars and adaptation for smallholder agriculture program. The implementing agency is the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The goal and objective of GASIP are to sustainably reduce poverty in rural Ghana by increasing profitability and resilience to climate change of agribusiness and smallholder farmers. The program is implemented in three components, including Value Chain Development, Rural Value Chain Infrastructure, Knowledge Management, Policy Support, and Coordination.
Coming back to introductory remarks about women beneficiaries of GASIP who were featured at Koforidua, there are some compelling statistics to back the claims. In agribusiness linkage development, 80 agribusinesses 1,200 Farmer Based Organisations, and 154,744 Smallholder Farmers were linked to inputs and output markets. 65,802 acres of land comprising 44,592 acres of maize, 3,866 acres of rice, and 17, 344 acres of soya-cultivated inputs support.
Over 59,000 youth and 56,000 women have been supported with production inputs, 40,000 farmers trained in climate-smart agriculture, a 50 percent increase in maize yields, and over 15,000 women trained in agro-processing. including capacities of 600 women built-in agribusiness leadership.
Pictured here is Charlotte Tay
Once the media learned the foregoing, they understood why GASIP and a bank like the Agricultural Development Bank of Ghana were headline sponsors of a farmers’ forum that preceded the 38th National Farmers Day held at Koforidua, the Ghanaian city in the mountains shaded by the greens.