The Gender Family Module (GMF) is an aspect of the GROW2 project that deals directly with couples within the Project’s Zone of Influence. The Module focuses on raising awareness about gender equity within households, promoting women’s participation in decision-making, improving well-being, and other ways of promoting positive development within households and the community at large. Although the module deals with couples, its primary focus is creating a conducive environment for couples and improving the well-being of the children.

The GMF has successfully been implemented in the Nanton district within the Northern Region, and some of these couples were able to share the impact of the programme on their households during the official launch of the GROW2 project in July.

Following the successful implementation of the GMF in the Nanton district, and the impact it has had on several couples and households, there was a need to expand to other districts. For this reason, the GMF concept is currently being implemented in two communities within the Central Gonja District; Sankupe and Tidrope, with about 41 couples and 53 couples trained on the concept, respectively.

During the implementation, couples were taken through the Triple Role, which includes the Reproductive, Productive and Community Management Roles which was facilitated by the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Coordinator, Madam Nimatu Siisu, and the GROW2 Project Officer, Mr. Ibrahim Abdallah, for Central Gonja District. A great number of additional couples showed interest and were asked to be registered with the Assembly Men, who act as the Village Agents for the communities. 

The need to reduce violence between spouses and increase codependency amongst them is as significant as supporting the clients of the project in terms of their businesses and farming activities. As much as the project intends to build economic freedom for WSHFs, it also takes into consideration the environment in which they live and the kind they raise their children in. For the rest of the period of GROW2 project implementation, more communities within the Zones of Influence will be scouted to ensure they benefit from the GMF.

In order to ensure efficiency and an increase in yield, the GROW2 project has devised ways to determine the germination strength of seeds as a way of supporting farmers with the expertise for innovative farming, improving crop health, and increasing production. Various seeds within the food value chain that the project is working on are being experimented with to measure the rate at which they can be produced with or without the use of environmentally friendly agricultural amendments.

 A field within the project areas of GROW2 under the supervision of Urbanet Ghana was selected and prepared for the demonstration of groundnut seeds with inoculants. This was necessary to evaluate the impact of inoculants on the seed as well as the soil. As an advocate for safe agricultural practises and the development of farmers within the Region, Urbanet encourages the use of soil and plant boosters that provide nutrients to and support plant growth and soil fertility in a sustainable way without destroying the environment or reducing the health benefits of the plants. The demonstration field was divided into two parts, some seeds were planted with inoculants and others were planted without, in order to measure the impact on the plant’s maturity.

To ensure that progress is being made, the Executive Director of Urbanet Ghana, Mr. Basit Mohammed Jibreel, together with the Project Coordinator, Mr. Rashid Alhassan, and other project officers, paid a visit to one of the demonstration fields within the East Gonja district to monitor the growth of the plants so far. This was done in order to determine when and where it was necessary to use these inoculants and also to provide the needed support for farmers.

Most communities with clients under the GROW2 project have various demonstration farms for this purpose, and with consultation from experts, Urbanet will be able to support areas that face difficulties with regard to low soil fertility and crop health.

Many farmers in Northern Ghana, especially Women Small Holder Farmers (WSHFs) have been known to use grains or “farm-saved seed” from their previous harvest as seed for subsequent seasons. This has led to a significant reduction in yields due to low plant vigour, low germination, and even rampant disease infestations. The dwindling yields from farms as a result of the use of grains have ultimately led to low incomes for these farmers.
The use of #Certified(Quality) seeds, on the other hand, has immense benefits for farmers, including ensuring genetic and physical purity of the crops, ensuring more vigorous, fast-growing and pest and disease resistance conditions to a certain extent, and also ensuring uniform growth and maturity of crops. The use of #Certified seed has been shown to boost yields by up to 10–30%.
As the 2023 production season sets in fully, #URBANET, in collaboration with #MEDA under the GROW2 project and some selected market actors in the seed industry, is facilitating access to #Quality #Certified seeds (soybeans and groundnuts) for our #Clients in 7 districts of the Northern and Savannah regions through a Direct Price Discount Mechanism. This will hopefully boost the yields of our #Clients. The GROW2 project is funded by Global Affair Canada.

The WISE project is having a 3-day mentorship learning event for 50 entrepreneurs across the project’s 5 districts at Sheila’s Executive Hotel, Sunyani. These entrepreneurs were selected, trained, and supported to establish green businesses (Mushroom, Snail, beekeeping, and Soybean production).

With the support of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), through its practical coaching and mentoring, the project has, over the past 12 months, developed the entrepreneurial skills of these entrepreneurs. The period also saw growth in relationships and networks among entrepreneurs.

The WISE project is facilitating a comprehensive suite of gender-responsive business services in five districts of the Northern, Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo regions ( Tolon, Kumbungu, Tano North, Sunyani, and Techiman districts).