Kumasi: The Livelihood and Environment Ghana (LEG), an environmentally-centered non-governmental organisation (NGO), has increased its climate resilient adaptation strategies, empowering more than 1,000 indigenous farmers with smart and climate resilient farming practices to sustain their livelihoods.
According to Ghana News Agency, as the impact of climate change becomes more evident in parts of the country, Mr. Richard Adjei-Poku, the Executive Director of LEG, stated in an interview that the beneficiary farmers had been trained on preparing and applying organic weedicides. With support from the Global Greengrant Fund (GGF), these farmers, spread across the Ashanti and Ahafo Regions, also received alternative livelihood support through programmes in bee keeping, liquid soap, and brown sugar production.
The Women Empowerment and Development Association (TWEDA), a partner NGO, facilitated the training. Most of the farmers were drawn from Dwenase and the surrounding communities of Apesika, Kwafo, Kwa-bena, and Master Nkwanta in the Ahafo Region. In the Ashanti Region, farmers from Bogyampa and Tipokrom and their nearby communities also benefited from the training and empowerment initiatives.
Mr. Adjei-Poku highlighted the challenges posed by climate change, such as erratic rains, extreme heat, and unpredictable weather patterns, which increase the vulnerabilities of indigenous and subsistent farmers. He emphasized the importance of supporting and empowering these farmers with climate resilient farm practices and providing them with drought-resistant seeds and crops.
Mr. Adjei-Poku explained that proper mulching suppresses the soil to cope with direct sunlight and that bed farming enables farmers to store rainfall. He noted that the nation's over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture is not ideal and urged the government to construct more irrigation facilities and small dams for farmers. Additionally, he advised farmers to plant and nurture trees on their farms, as tree planting remains an effective climate change adaptation strategy.
