VILLAGE HEROES LEADING CHANGE

In an exciting step towards making rural communities better places and giving the people the opportunity to take charge, Urbanet is organising a special training for 110 selected Village Agents (VAs) to ignite their passion for change and progress, ensuring the success and sustainability of the GROW2 project. The number cuts across the seven districts of Urbanet’s operation within the Northern and Savannah Regions and is led by Project Coordinators and Officers.

The primary focus of this training was to educate them on the purpose of the project and equip them with the necessary skills and capabilities to assist Women Smallholder Farmers (WSHFs) to improve their livelihoods. Other aspects of the training included taking them through their roles as VAs, knowing the core mandates of the project and what it seeks to achieve, education on Village Savings and Loans (VSLAs), and other modules of the GROW2 Project. Village Agents are also to serve as leaders of the GROW2 project at the community level, taking charge of representing clients and assisting project officers in contacting and providing the needed support to the clients.

Urbanet’s Project Officers that led the training emphasised the need for VAs to support WSHFs, perform their roles as expected, and seek assistance from project officers when facing problems. They encouraged VAs to take up the mantle and ensure that the impacts of the project are sustained. They added that it was important for them to ensure that the WSHFs received the necessary support by representing them well and keeping in touch with project officers.

The recruitment and training of VAs commenced earlier this month, and most communities have been covered already. This is to ensure that clients of the project have leaders within their communities who will serve as their representatives and also a link between them and their respective project officers to maximise success for both parties. The selected and trained agents so far have shown great enthusiasm for the new role and are willing to support their Project Officers in their own ways.

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.

Empowering women is integral to the development of every setting, whether local or international. Ensuring that women are empowered and own their narratives is one of the core mandates of URBANET Ghana. Through the GROW2 Project, URBANET has supported Women Smallholder Farmers (WSHFs) with labour-saving tools to help reduce the time spent on farms as well as increase production. This is through the direct Price Discount support to WHSFs. Under the scheme, the Client (WHSFs) pays fifty per cent (50%) of the Cost (Ghc1250.00) to the supplier and then MEDA GROW2 the other fifty percent (50%) as well.

Among the communities that benefited from this initiative were a few within the East Gonja, North East Gonja, Central Gonja, Tamale Metro, Savelugu and Nanton districts in the Northern Region. Earlier this year, some women could purchase Roller Planters with the support of Urbanet’s GROW2 Project Officers and the fifty per cent support from the project, enabling them to increase yield within the shortest time using innovative methods. Most of these women have been able to not only plant their seeds within the shortest time as compared to previous farming seasons but have also been able to use them as a source of income.

Mariam, a client of GROW2 in the Nanton district who owns the Roller Planter, has been able to use the machine for her planting this season and has commercialised it as well. She offers services to people within and around her community with her roller planter for a fee. She mentioned during an interaction with the Project officer that she has been able to make about two thousand Ghana Cedis (GHc2000.00) from renting out her Roller Planter to other farmers. She added, “Using the Roller Planter has made planting easy and time efficient. With this tool, I’m able to plant three acres of land in a day, compared to the one acre I used to plant in previous seasons without the roller planter. I intend to buy an additional Roller Planter to increase the services I render and the benefit therein.”

The Roller planters, among other farm implements, have enabled innovative farming for the farmers that acquired them and those around them. These farmers are transforming their methods and those around them, creating a ripple effect across the communities. Through this project, and guidance from URBANET’s project coordinator and his team, efforts are made to increase impact in other aspects of people’s lives while ensuring its sustainability. Mariam is one of many people who are benefiting from the GROW2 project, and URBANET is looking beyond developing the lives of the selected clients. It aims to ensure that the benefit of the project transcends everyone.

Through sponsorship from Global Affairs Canada (GAC), UBANET Ghana has been able to support Women Smallholder Farmers (WSHFs) receive financial support to purchase farm machinery to ensure less time spent on farms by famers, as well as facilitate efficient farming to increase productive yield. As a Key Facilitating Partner under the GROW2 project, URBANET organizes training on environmentally sustainable agricultural practices as well as Business Development Services (BDS) that are designed upon consultation to support clients. Part of these agricultural practices includes safe and innovative ways of preparing farmlands, planting, harvesting and post-harvest.

The Project Coordinator from URBANET, Mr. Abdul Rashid Alhassan and other field officers of the URBANET’s project zone assisted WSHFs to identify farm equipment and machines needed to ease their daily work on the farms, as well as how to raise the resources to purchase them. WSHFs who were able to identify their preferred machines were led by Mr. Abdul Rashid and his team to acquire them from the Private Sector Partner under the project, Crop Doctor, a farm machinery manufacturing company.

Amongst the machines selected was a Roller Planter for easy planting of seeds of different varieties. Ten WSHFs from different communities within the project zones were provided with these at the Crop Doctor warehouse. However, they were not only, they were accompanied by their husbands and other male champions to receive the roller planters as well as learn how to assemble them. As a result of the Gender Module Family (GMF) element of the GROW2 Project, men within the project zones have been educated on the significance of supporting women, especially their wives.

Agents of Crop Doctor took them through the process of assembling the machine and also educated them on the usage and maintenance of the machine. He encouraged them to call for assistance in case of any difficulty and to monitor the usage and maintenance in order to ensure the longevity of the machine and to get the best out of it. however, project officers will monitor these farmers and provide the needed assistance to ensure they are well acquainted with the new machine.

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.

Access to information and practical knowledge on Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) and Farm Business Management (FBM) practices is very critical for sustainable and inclusive development in agriculture, especially for Women Small Holder Farmers (WSHFs) who form the majority of farmers in Northern Ghana.
To address this constraint and boost productivity of WSHFs in Northern Ghana, GROWII Project conducted a two-day ToT for some selected Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) on Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) and Farm Business Management (FBM) in 7 MMDAs under URBANET’s ZOI. The two-day training improved Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) knowledge on #Soybean and #Groundnut production and general Farm Business Management. A total 49 AEAs who received the ToT then cascaded the training to #203 Savings and Loan Groups (SLGs) comprised of a total of #5,075 clients (WSHFs).
GROWII is funded by the Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and implemented by MEDA in partnership with URBANET.

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).

The third outcome of the Greater Rural Opportunities for Women II project (GROWII) seeks to ensure; Gender equitable participation of women in decision-making within their households and the communities. To ensure gender equity amongst women and men and to ultimately achieve gender equality at the community level, URBANET (As a KFP), in partnership with the Mennonite Economic Development Association (MEDA), is implementing the Gender Model Family (GMF) program in Zoggu and Jegun Communities in the Nanton District.

As part of the initial processes towards full implementation of the GMF program, URBANET/MEDA did a community entry and sensitization in the two (2) communities (Zoggu|Jegun) to seek the community buy-in and also ensure ownership and sustainability of the program.

Gender Model Family (GMF) is a program that encourages and gives husbands the knowledge and tools to live equitably/equally with their wives and to ensure that their boys and girls are given the same opportunities to develop their potential. It influences how couples/partners share household chores, how family members communicate and how parents interact with their children. One of the key benefits of this program is that it builds trust, fosters mutual respect and peaceful co-existence, which are vital in building and ensuring sustainable community development.

#GenderModelFamily

#GenderEquity

#GenderEquality

#WomenInDecisionMaking

#SustainableCommunityDevelopment

#URBANETGhana

As the year draws to a close, the Board of URBANET is visiting our communities to engage beneficiaries of our interventions. The visits also afford them the opportunity to engage other key stakeholders including the District Assemblies and their decentralized departments. It is expected that members will gather relevant information to support oversight role.

The Hub shall serve as a ‘one-stop shop’ for women to access gender-responsive Business Development Services (BDS) to start and grow small enterprises, would be operated out of existing district-level Business Advisory Centers (BACs) operated by the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA). The Rural Solar Hub established in Voggu in the Kumbungu District in Northern Region Ghana will serve women in both Tolon and the Kumbungu district by providing them information relevant to their businesses.

The Hub will support businesswomen in five main service areas; Entrepreneurship and Business Management, Green Value Chain Development, Green Business, Buyers, Marketing and Outreach, and Financial Inclusion. It is the intention of the Project to facilitate the feminization of services under these identified areas as well as improving linkages between service providers and project beneficiaries.

VILLAGE HEROES LEADING CHANGE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF URBANET GHANA PAYS WORK VISIT TO DEMONSTRATION FIELD

CLIENT UNDER GROW2 PROJECT COMMERCIALIZES ROLLER PLANTER TO SUPPORT OTHER FARMERS

WOMEN SMALLHOLDER FARMERS UNDER URBANET’S GROW2 PROJECT RECEIVED ROLLER PLANTERS

Urbanet Facilitate Linkages For Farmers To Get Improved Seeds

Urbanet trains Agric Extension officers on Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) and Farm Business Management (FBM)

Urbanet held a 3-day mentorship learning event for 50 entrepreneurs selected across the WISE project Districts

Urbanet implements the Gender model family concept in some communities in the Nanton District of Northern Ghana

URBANET BOARD VISITS PROJECT COMMUNITIES

URBANET AND PLAN INTERNATIONAL GHANA LAUNCHES WOMEN FRIENDLY SOLAR HUB.

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