GHANA

In Ghana, the Ghana Federation of Forest and Farm Producers (GhaFFaP), Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Tele-Bere Village Savings and Loans Association (Tele-bere), Zuuri Organic Farmers Association (ZOVFA), Community Action in Development and Research (CADER), Kookoo Pa Farmers Association (KKFA), Kattetaah Maali Lanbuure (KAMALA), have faced some challenges and implemented the following activities.

Ghana Federation of Forest and Farm Producers (GhaFFaP)

Challenges

• COVID-19 has no doubt affected several around the world and portends to have major distortions to economic activities and livelihoods especially of the lower income earning populations. FFPOs activities, businesses and social lives has been significantly disrupted over the last month in view of the Government of Ghana’s social distancing guidelines in response to COVID-19.
• The uncertainties surrounding the pandemic coupled with the ineffective information delivery to forest and farm producers is having a heavy impact on their lives. These are certainly not normal times and women and children will be the hardest hit.
• In many of the hotspots in Ghana, closure of markets and business centres have been enforced that implies that farmers will face food crisis for their domestic needs and also loose income from their businesses as their products are locked up.

Linking small farmers with governments and supporting vulnerable to prevent COVID-19

• GhaFFaP has already issued press release on the International Day of the Forest and highlighted covid-19.
• GhaFFaP also joined a group of CSOs and farmer organizations in Ghana to issue a press release highlighting the risk factors and proposing to partner government.
• GhaFFaP will partner government to ensure FFPOs benefit from the stimulus packages government has introduced to support SME.

Implementation of resilience plans

• GhaFFaP under the coordination of PFAG will undertake a food needs assessment of forest and farm producers focusing more on GhaFFaP members across the 3 ecological zones.
• GhaFFaP under the coordination of PFAG will undertake an assessment of locked up products of members and partner with government to aggregate and supply to the Ghana buffer stock.

Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) Covid-19 Response

Linking small farmers with governments and supporting vulnerable to prevent COVID-19

• PFAG have developed jingles on WHO protocols in 9 local languages to be played at various regions with key concentration on forest and farm Producers. PFAG have already shortlisted FM and Community information centers to play those jingles.
• PFAG have developed proposal to be sent to Government to allocate support from the Covid 19 trust fund to farmers to increase investment at the farming level.

Implementation of resilience plans

• PFAG have developed proposals to donors to support district clinics/hospitals with PPEs whiles working along with the district hospitals to sensitize the farmers.
• PFAG have developed a plan to link up with MoFA in building the capacity of Extension officers on covid-19 and deliver extension through alternative means such as radio.
• PFAG is planning to support poor and vulnerable households with food items and other resources especially the lockdown areas.

Tele-Bere Village Savings and Loans Association (Tele-bere) Response to COVID -19

Adaptation plans to continue with their business as usual

• To conduct awareness raising among Tele-Bere members on Ghana Centre for Distance Learning and Open Schooling ( CENDLOS)
• The Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service recently Launched the Ghana Learning Platform currently being run on Ghana Television and a number of Radio Platforms
• Aware that now all our members are aware of this programme, Tele-Bere Leadership plan to provide information to our members through our zonal structures so members can quickly take advantage for their children – this will largely be achieved through our whatsAp platforms and Phone Calls as we observe social distancing at this time.

 

 

Linking small farmers with governments and supporting vulnerable to prevent COVID-19

• Provided information to Zonal level Structure on symptoms of COVID -19 ( fever, dry cough, sneezing, loss of taste etc.) to be passed on to groups at the various zones
• Used Social Media – particularly WhatsApp to provide further information through our zonal and district executive platforms
• Informed members on the need to strictly observe social distancing guidelines as provided by the Ghana Health Service – also the need for regular hand washing, the use of face masks and hand sanitizers where possible ) – Emphasizing the need to dispel certain Myths regarding COVID-19
• Largely suspend physically meeting in large groups to undertake savings while adopting of getting savings through executives

Implementation of resilience plans

• Plans to Develop an Internal Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) Plan for Tele-Bere – The emergence of the COVID-19 Global pandemic has indeed brought to the fore the critical need for Tele-Bere to develop an internal emergency preparedness plan that will clearly set out a blue print on measures to adopt in such situations – ensuring that we have in place measure to the mitigate the impacts of such public health emergencies and other climate related disasters such as drought, floods, etc. which usually have dire negative impacts on our members ( we will be coordinating this in line with GhaFFaP’s strategies)
• Networking and Collaborations with various state and private sector stakeholders – In response to the impact of COVID-19 especially on the socially disadvantaged there are a number of ongoing interventions at national , regional and district level ( led by state and private sector ) agencies – Leadership of Tele-Bere will particularly monitor these interventions and provide a more coordinated approach to ensure our members are aware and benefit from these schemes : In particular we will keenly be working towards the following

Zuuri Organic Farmers Association (ZOVFA) Covid-19 Response

Adaptation plans to continue with their business as usual

• Reduce numbers of meeting participants. When our numbers exceed 20, we split the group for engagement and observe the not less than 1 meter distancing requirement.
• Organize farmer groups’ interactions but provide safety measures (including hand washing points, temperature scans, mouth & nose masks, hand sanitizing, etc.). This shall necessitate working closely with community health nurses where we can find them. This, if it works out well shall be directly addressing the FFF Initiative Outcome 4

Linking small farmers with governments and supporting vulnerable to prevent COVID-19

• Support public education through FM Radio discussions in the local languages (Kusaal, Bisa, others). There are 4 FM Radio Stations in the Eastern Corridor (Bawku areas) and 3 in Bolgatanga whose coverage reaches everywhere in the Upper East Region.
• Engage with the Chiefs and other Traditional Leaders (Women Leaders, Religious, Clan Heads, Tendanas, etc.) to support measures put in place by the Government so as to ensure compliance to the guidelines issued.
• Sponsor the production of music and jingles in the local languages to use for providing public education on FM Radio.
• Collaborate with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry Services and the District Assemblies to ensure that members of the Association get to benefit from Government or other Agencies’ Programmes/Projects that may be occasioned as a response to COVID-19.

Implementation of resilience plans

• Promote the growing of early-maturing traditional food crops that are adapted to the local environment and conditions. The risk of crop failure when you grow traditional crops is much lower than modern higher-yielding hybrid varieties. Smallholder farmers no doubt are more secured in terms of their household food security when they grow traditional early-maturing food crops. In particular, mix-cropping shall be encouraged in preference to growing sole commercial crops.
• To ensure that smallholder farmers make the best of the farming season, the Secretariat Staff of the Association shall use the WhatsApp Group of members of the Zonal Executives to communicate and share weather forecasts, translated into the local languages to guide farm operations. When farmers should be out sowing, when to apply fertilizers, when to harvest, warnings of likely bad weather (droughts), floods or upsurge of army worms, etc. shall be communicated to the members of the Association in their own language.

Community Action in Development and Research (CADER) Covid-19 Response

Linking small farmers with governments and supporting vulnerable to prevent COVID-19

• CADER is currently carrying out awareness creation through stakeholders’ sensitization on COVID 19 in the Lawra and Nandom municipalities. The sensitization includes the mode of transmission of the virus, symptoms and preventive measures of the virus.
• CADER together with the assemblies and the police service working closely with the chiefs, opinion leaders and assembly members is ensuring that communities adhere to the directives of the government in terms of social gathering such as funerals, weddings, parties and church gatherings in the areas.
• CADER proposes to support communities in its catchment areas with hand washing facilities such as Veronica buckets and carbolic soap to ensure that community members wash their hands regularly and under running water
• CADER wishes to purchase hand sanitizers and supply to community members to ensure regular sanitizing of hands especially where there is no water
• CADER will work with Ghana Health Service in Lawra and Nandom municipals to train all health workers on COVID 19.
• CADER to train communities on health seeking behaviours, especially people suspected of the disease were to contact, the processes etc

Implementation of resilience plans

• CADER to provide food and ingredients support to households during lockdown to ensure that members have food to eat.
• CADER to support farmers during farming season with inputs such as fertilizers and seeds/seedlings. This is to ensure that farmers have the necessary inputs and services to go into production since farmers may consume all their saved seeds and money
• CADER to support farmers in livestock rearing since farmers may have sold out all their animals during this time of the COVID 19.

Gender-based actions

• CADER to support members especially women with seed capital or revolving capital for micro-enterprises. Women who are into small businesses and petty trading are affected during this time of COVID 19 and hence, need support to get back to business. They will be trained in soap making to enhance hands washing behavior in the communities
• CADER will support communities with sources of water for women farmers to engage in dry season farming as an income generating activities.
• Last but not the least, CADER to provide psychosocial support to those affected with COVID 19 in the Lawra and Nandom municipals.

Kookoo Pa Farmers Association (KKFA) Covid-19 Response

Adaptation plans to continue with their business as usual

• Due to the partial lockdown, ban on large gatherings and fear of getting close to others because of the asymptomatic nature of the disease, the use of phone calls and especially involvement of lead farmers in the respective communities are helping the field officers to do such.
• Work with Telcos to produce/provide ring tones with COVID19 sensitization messages in the local language for the use of farmers.
• Linking small farmers with governments and supporting vulnerable to prevent COVID-19
• Agric. Extension Officers and other field officers have been tasked with sensitizing farmers about precautionary measures such as social distancing, washing of hands under running water, wearing of face masks, avoiding handshakes amongst others.
• Design appropriate content in pictorial form and share on social media for the limited number of literate farmers who use smart phones to serve as a reminder.
• Print fliers and posters in the local language to be distributed to the farmers and their communities to paste on their walls and doors as a constant reminder.
• Purchase of Items like veronica buckets and hand sanitizers to be distributed to farmers especially each household;

Implementation of resilience plans

• Beyond COVID-19 pandemic, farmers would be encouraged to adhere to some of the precautionary measures that will prevent the spread of communicable diseases with the help of the Agric extension and other field officers throughout the year.

Kattetaah Maali Lanbuure (KAMALA) Covid-19 Response

Linking small farmers with governments and supporting vulnerable to prevent COVID-19

• Kamala has supported the Nadowli-Kaleo health directorate with an amount of GHC 2,000 to support fight COVID 19.
• Kamala provided radio spaces to sensitize communities in the preventive measures.
• Kamala has provided sensitization on hand washing and how to make improvised Veronica buckets at the community level.
• Kamala supplied PPEs to the ministry of Agriculture staff to reach out some members in these critical times.
• Kamala members are supporting is contact tracing at the community level.
• Provide PPEs to communities and VSLA groups
• Support in providing health education and Supply pictorial posters to the members on preventive measures of COVID 19.
• Connect VSLA members to be trained on production of hand sanitizers. It is reported that Kamala members are having challenges accessing hand sanitizers

Implementation of resilience plans

• Support in the mobilization of food for less privileged persons
• Kamala is connecting with aggregators in the upper west region to off take produce of farmers who stored to use for the 2020 cultivation. It is reported that some Kamala members who stored maize to sell to buyers in Kumasi before the farming season are struggling to sell.
• Kamala has plans to Share contact details of the planting for food and jobs coordinators and the extension officers of each community for continuous access to extension delivery. It is reported that movement of mofa officers to communities has reduced.
• Kamala would provide part of VSLA social fund to some of its members who are affected by the lock down in Accra. This fund would be used to pay for tractor services for their members affected by the lock down and also disbursed to facilitate planting for the members. It is reported that some Kamala members (5 percent) travelled to Accra to work for capital to come and farm. Due to the Covid 19, they might not raise the intended capital for the farming in 2020 season. Kamala is laising with them to give them interest free loans to establish their farms while waiting for.them.to arrive.

Source- FAO