The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations and the European Union (EU) are rolling out a series of interventions to address food insecurity and support agricultural recovery in northern Ghana.
The interventions include Training of Trainers (TOT) sessions on improved grain storage technologies to enhance the capacities of value chain actors with focus on seed and grain producers.
A statement issued by the FAO and EU in Accra yesterday stated that the trainings would provide knowledge on post-har
vest handling of grains such as maize and millet towards reducing food loss at the farm and at storage centres.
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"The project will promote dry-season vegetable production by providing capacity development on climate-adapted farming practices and inputs, including vegetable seeds (tomato, leafy greens, and others) to smallholder farmers in the six target districts", it disclosed .
The statement also said the interventions aim to build the capacities of 12,600 farmers in six districts comprising North East Gonja, North Gonja, Central Gonja, Bongo, Kasena Nankana West, and Bunkpurugu Nakpanduri.
It is in response to the prolonged dry spell affecting thousands of farmers in the areas and while the off-season vegetable cultivation intervention was underway, other interventions are slated for the next planting season.
It further indicated that the interventions were under the EU Food Security Response in Northern Ghana, in partnership with the government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
It revealed that the intervention aims to support the farmers to mitigate the immediate impacts of the prolonged dry spell while laying the groundwork for long-term resilience in affected communities.
Moreover, the statement said the initiative would diversify and increase income sources for farmers while improving household nutrition and contributing to sustainable agricultural production
Commenting on the intervention, the EU Ambassador to Ghana, Irchad Razaaly, said: "The EU's collaborative efforts with FAO and the Government of Ghana reflect our commitment to strengthening food security and supporting sustainable agriculture in Ghana.
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"Our goal is to ensure that farmers, especially those most affected by the drought, receive the support they need to rebuild their livelihoods and contribute to a more food-secure future."
The statement said FAO's future efforts would include interventions on livestock and poultry production, pest control, and providing alternative livelihoods to mitigate the impact of the crisis on vulnerable smallholders.
These interventions, it noted, would ensure that farmers and vulnerable groups, such as women and people living with disabilities
were equipped to recover and build resilience against future climate shocks, ultimately improving food security.
The FAO Ghana Representative, Priya Gujadhur, stated that this collaborative effort with the EU ensures that vulnerable farmers can recover from the "dry spell, restoring food security and strengthening their capacity" to withstand future shocks.
Earlier this year, FAO and the EU delivered 118,000 kilogrammes kg of maize seeds, 3,000 kilogrammes of sorghum foundation seeds, and 540 kg of millet foundation seeds to support 12,600 smallholder farmers.
This also included 1,560,000 kg of NPK fertilizer and 700,000 kg of urea fertilizers in order to boost the productivity of their yields.
