By Jerry Azanduna, GNA
Nkoranza (BE/R) Sept. 24, GNA – Tropenbos Ghana is empowering 30 farming communities in the Bono East Region on climate smart agriculture practices, under its ‘LEAN’ project.
Tropenbos is implementing the “LEAN” project, which aims at improving the landscape for agricultural and forestry activities in the region, and targets to empower 12,000 smallholders farmers in the region.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting attended by farmers and forestry officials held at Nkoranza, Mrs Mercy Ansah-Owusu, Director at Tropenbos-Ghana, explained the project “is looking at landscape fertility initiatives across the country”.
It is being implemented in three ecological zones – Traditional, Forest, and Savanna, she said explaining some farmers in the project area had been selected to be trained on organic manure.
“The project has been structured in a way that would drive home benefits to the individual farmer, community, district, and region as a whole”, she said.
Mrs. Ansah-Owusu expressed concern about the effect of climate change particularly the unpredictability of the weather hence the need to encourage farmers practice climate smart agriculture practices to enable them to monitor the rainfall patterns.
She noted Bono East had lost most of its original forest and agriculture conditions, and advised farmers to reduce the application of agro-chemicals and opt for organic manure.
“Agro-chemicals are hazardous to both livestock and human health and have huge effects on the food value chain”, she said, and urged the farmers to adopt climate smart agriculture practices to help restore biodiversity.
Mrs. Doreen Asuman-Yeboah, the Project Manager said the project would also empower the farmers to expand and improve on their farming activities, improve on their knowledge on forest and farming management as well and urged the farmers to protect the environment by engaging in sustainable farm practices.