Food Security

Songtaba Food Security and Livelihood Programme Summary

We believe that everyone has the right to constant access to adequate food. We work to achieve this goal through three main program areas: smallholder farmer group development, farmer education and training, and climate change resilient agriculture.

We work closely with smallholder farmers, especially women who are often unable to access productive resources (such as credit, inputs, and extension services). We help them network and organize to gain access to these resources, strengthen relationships, and give them a collective voice to participate in agricultural policy meetings and influence matters of agricultural policy.

Our farmer education and training program target smallholder farmers who are largely illiterate and farm with traditional methods with little or no knowledge of improved technologies or methods. We address these challenges by training them in newer methodologies to improve production and efficacy.

Finally, we strive to make farming as sustainable as possible. Climatic events such as thunderstorms, droughts, and erratic rainfall can cut yields from crops by 50%. As climate change continues to impact the environment, these climatic events have become increasingly frequent and unpredictable. To help combat the changing environment, we lead training for smallholder farmers on sustainable agriculture interventions including composting, green manuring, mulching, and multi-cropping. This training helps the farmers minimize their impact on the environment while maximizing their crop output.

Soil conversation is critical to productive and sustainable farming. We have been working to educate and train farmers in best practices to help conserve the soil for sustainable farming. These training include proper soil coverage to preserve moisture, organic matter, preventing soil erosion, building terraces, using contour strip cropping, and alley cropping. We’ve also been helping farmers reduce their dependence on agrochemicals by increasing the use of composting, green manure, mixed cropping, multi-cropping, mulching, crop rotation, and natural control of pests and diseases. These methods help conserve the soil and the environment for future farming, ensuring fertile land for future food production.

During the dry season in Northern Ghana, it is not uncommon to go weeks without rainfall. For farmers who are heavily dependent upon water, that can be devastating. To help alleviate this problem, we, in partnership with ActionAid, have developed water catching and rainwater harvesting systems (e.g. small dams, wells, cisterns, and tanks). In addition to helping build these systems, we have also been advocating for government authorities to encourage them to provide these facilities to the people who need them. We’ve also been helping build and maintain on-farm water preservation systems (guttering, water wells, etc). These systems allow farmers to harvest rainwater to keep their farms moist in the event of rain delays. They also allow farmers to lower the amount of water on the farm if there is too much.