Ghana

Radio Station: URA Radio

Producer Organization: Tele-Bere and GhaFFaP

Production Language: Gurune

Production Year: 2023

Programme 1: Key approaches to building climate resilient landscapes in Ghana

Key strategies include climate information services, integrated landscape planning, improving livelihoods, resilient community infrastructure, crop insurance, and opportunities for improving livelihoods among key strategies for building community resilience towards mitigation efforts against the impacts of climate change. Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other national adaptation policies and strategies emphasise the centrality of locally relevant and appropriate climate adaptation measures. Despite the progress made in formulating climate policies, plans, strategies, and frameworks, a wide gap exists between such policies, plans, and frameworks and implementation in a manner that is informed and led by communities. This discussion focuses on how to become more inclusive and community-focused on such policies, especially through efforts proposed by GhaFFaP in its Agenda 2030 Strategy.

Guiding Questions:

• What are the mechanisms and approaches for maintaining climate resilience?
• What policy issues exist to support these approaches?
• How can smallholders and FFPOs contribute to these local efforts?
• What role do government and other relevant have to play to support these approaches?

Radio Station: URA Radio

Producer Organization: Tele-Bere and GhaFFaP

Production Language: Gurune

Production Year: 2023

Programme 2: Contribution of Village Savings and Loans to Financial Inclusion

The VSLA model is a community-based savings and loans group that allows its members to collectively manage their own resources. By making weekly contributions, farmers can save and qualify for credit from the pooled contributions of members at a mutually agreed-upon interest rate. These loans can then be invested in starting a business, improving their farms, paying for children’s education, or any other need. At the end of the annual cycle, the group’s accumulated savings and profits are distributed to members based on their contributions at a share-out-event. The VSLA methodology has provided smallholders the opportunity to Improve access to finance for smallholders, especially rural women, and it’s  a powerful equalizing force that gives low-income households new tools to increase their incomes, improve financial resilience and access to new economic and social opportunities. Tele-Bere has been establishing VSLA over the last four years and it has contributed significantly to smallholders’ capacity to mobilise capital locally.

Guiding Questions:

• What is the Village Savings and Loans Scheme?
• How is the VSLA Scheme significant for smallholder farmers especially women farmers?
• What has been the contribution of the VSLAs you have established to financial inclusion?
• How is the VSLA Contributing to smallholder FFO accessing capital for various businesses?

Radio Station: URA Radio

Producer Organization: Tele-Bere and GhaFFaP

Production Language: Gurune

Production Year: 2023

Programme 3: Protecting indigenous seeds for sustainable seed systems

Recent indicators have revealed that traditional farmer seeds are at risk of disappearing if proper methods of preservation and protection are not sought. This paints a bleak future for food sovereignty, which relies heavily on the availability of reliable seeds for farmers. Many of these discussions revolve around the best methods to sustain the indigenous seeds farmers use and bring to the fore the relevance for ensuring these seeds are preserved and further developed for future use. This discussion looks at efforts by GhaFFaP towards protecting indigenous seeds, especially for smallholder forest and farm producers.

Guiding Questions:

• What is the indigenous seed system?
• What are the practical ways of protecting and preserving indigenous seeds?
• Why is it essential to protect our indigenous seed system?

Radio Station: URA Radio

Producer Organization: Tele-Bere and GhaFFaP

Production Language: Gurune

Production Year: 2023

Programme 4: Climate change and impacts on agriculture in northern Ghana

Among the impacts of climate change on agriculture in Ghana are unpredictable and variable rainfall, increasing temperatures, and longer dry periods. Some studies have observed delays in the onset of rain seasons in some regions, especially across the northern savanna ecological zone and the semi-arid area of Ghana. Despite massive developments in agricultural production technology, weather and climate still play a significant role in influencing agricultural production in Ghana and elsewhere. In particular, under rain-fed conditions, the production potential of a crop depends on the climatic conditions of an area. Furthermore, assessing agricultural productivity in the context of climate change is important in achieving many sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as reduction of poverty (SDG1), averting hunger (SDG2), enhancing good health and well-being (SDG3), responsible consumption and production (SDG12), reducing impacts of climate change (SDG13) and sustenance of life on land (SDG15)

Guiding Questions:

• What is climate change?
• What are the impacts of climate change on agricultural production in Ghana?
• What are some of the approaches smallholder farmers can take to reduce the impacts of climate change?
• How can communities contribute to these efforts and approaches?

Radio Station: URA Radio

Producer Organization: Tele-Bere and GhaFFaP

Production Language: Gurune

Production Year: 2023

Programme 5: Access to finance for smallholder forest and farm producers

Access to finance for Forest and Farm Producer Organisations - FFPOs requires tailored approaches. For FFPOs, enabling investments in four key areas are needed to create the conditions and necessary track record to attract asset investment: (i) secure commercial rights; (ii) strong organisation for scale; (iii) appropriate technical extension; and (iv) fair market access and business incubation. Enabling investments of this sort make FFPO businesses

But the motivation to form forest and farm producer organisations (FFPOs) varies with context, from the desire to secure resource rights in the forest core, to the desire to strengthen economic scale efficiencies in periurban forest product processing industries and affords them access to finance. Unlocking finance for smallholder forest and farm producers can help to achieve sustainable development and respond to climate change challenges.

Guiding Questions:

• How can smallholder forest and farm producers access forest and farm producers access finance?
• What kind of financing exists for smallholder producers?
• To what extent can organisations of smallholder producers access tailor-made financing for their businesses?
• What is the role of formal financial institutions in smallholder producers’ access to finance?

Radio Station: URA Radio

Producer Organization: Tele-Bere and GhaFFaP

Production Language: Gurune

Production Year: 2023

Programme 6: Non-timber forest products and their contribution to the livelihoods of smallholder forest and farm producers

Non-timber forest products have a significant role in contributing to the livelihoods of smallholder forest producers. Forest trees are a source of livelihood for more than 1 billion people across the world. More importantly, they contribute as a major source of income for forest dwellers. An estimated 2.4 billion people rely on woodfuel, including charcoal, for cooking and heating. The use of wood as a source of energy is vital for local economies. It is also essential for many of the world’s poorest people, enabling them to maximize the palatability and nutritional value of foods that require cooking and sterilizing water.

Wood and non-wood forest products are the basis of many small-scale enterprises. They can be particularly important for livelihoods in areas where agricultural production is vulnerable to drought and other threats. Foods from forests and trees such as leaves, fruits, seeds, nuts, roots, tubers, mushrooms, honey, game meat and insects have been important components of rural diets for millennia. They provide millions of rural households with nutrient-rich dietary supplements.

Guiding Questions:

• What are the benefits of non-timber forest products to the livelihoods of smallholders?
• How can NTFPS contribute to small businesses for smallholders?
• How can Smallholder Farmers contribute to the preservation and restoration of NTFPs and other Forest Resources?
• What is the role of communities in the restoration of these forest resources?
• How can local authorities promote the restoration of forest resources?

Radio Station: URA Radio

Producer Organization: Tele-Bere and GhaFFaP

Production Language: Gurune

Production Year: 2023

Programme 7: Women's access to land and sustainable agriculture in Ghana

Access to land for agricultural production has always been a challenge for women, especially in Northern Ghana. With more access to land, female farmers in Ghana and around the world could substantially increase food production and contribute to increased food and nutrition security.

In Northern Ghana, many women face challenges accessing and owning land. Customary lands, which make up to 80% of the country are managed by traditional authorities and governed under cultural lineage and inheritance systems. In northern Ghana this system is largely patrilineal which means men receive excessive access rights to land and women have access to land mainly through male members of the family. Women's access to land is therefore tied to their marriage and husband’s lineage.

Women’s lack of access to ownership and decision-making power over land has many negative impacts. Because women remain primarily caregivers and are responsible for the majority of household labour this additional burden of lack of access places them in very challenging situations in terms of economic gains.

Guiding Questions:

• What are the factors affecting women’s access to and control over land?
• What are the negative effects of women’s lack of land?
• What are the effects on agriculture?
• How can traditional authorities contribute to women’s access to land?
• What role do communities have to play in women’s access to productive lands for agriculture?

Radio Station: URA Radio

Producer Organization: Tele-Bere and GhaFFaP

Production Language: Gurune

Production Year: 2023

Programme 8: Famers' roles in landscape restoration in Ghana

Smallholder farmers in Ghana have a significant role to play in the restoration of landscapes. Restoration actions will lead to increased incomes for the agricultural and forestry sectors of the Ghanaian economy. Key land restoration interventions can significantly contribute to improved agricultural crop production and food and nutrition security. Restoration interventions such as farmer-managed natural regeneration have been employed by farmers as an approach to restoring landscapes.

The Ghana Federation of Forest and Farm Producers -GhaFFaP is working with its member forest and farm producers across three ecological zones of Ghana towards land restoration in Ghana.

Guiding Questions:

• What efforts are farmers putting into land restoration?
• What is the significance of land restoration to the agriculture of Ghana?
• What roles do producer organisations have to play in the restoration efforts?
• What are some of the negative effects of degraded lands?
• What role do traditional authorities have to play in restoration efforts?
• What advice do you have for smallholder farmers in the restoration?

Radio Station: URA Radio

Producer Organization: Tele-Bere and GhaFFaP

Production Language: Gurune

Production Year: 2023

Programme 9: Soil fertility improvement through microbial fertilizer

Microbial fertilizers play a significant role in nitrogen fixation and essential nutrients such as phosphorous and potassium decomposition. They contribute to increased plant productivity and soil health as plants can extract more nutrients from soils. Studies have shown that microbial agents and bio-organic fertilizers can significantly improve the microenvironment around the roots of plants. Soil fertility is the ability of soil to sustain plant growth and optimize crop yield. This can be enhanced through organic fertilizers that have been shown to have significant benefits to soil health in the medium to long term.

Enhancing food security and environmental sustainability in farming systems requires an integrated soil fertility management approach that maximizes crop production while minimizing the rates of depletion of soil nutrient reserves and the degradation of the physical properties of soil. An efficient soil fertility management system aims at maximizing the efficiency of nutrients and improving crop productivity.

Guiding Questions:

• What are microbial or organic fertilizers?
• How can microbial or organic fertilizers contribute to soil fertility and soil health?
• How is the use of organic fertilizers contributing to restoring the land?
• What health benefits are associated with the use of organic fertilizers?
• What is your advice to farmers on the use of organic fertilizers?

Radio Station: URA Radio

Producer Organization: Tele-Bere and GhaFFaP

Production Language: Gurune

Production Year: 2023

Programme 10: Wildfire Management for Sustainable Agricultural Production in Ghana

Annual wildfires are a major cause of deforestation especially across the Northern Savanna Ecological Zone of Ghana. In Ghana the use of fire is customary in a variety of situations including the management of traditional agricultural land. Fire is purposefully employed in slash-and-burn agriculture, natural resource extraction (eg. Honey extraction), palm wine harvesting, vegetation management among others.

However, wildfires are one of the major risks to Ghana’s natural resources and agricultural activities. In the Northern Savanna Ecological Zone alone up to 648 thousand km2 of land is burned on an annual basis destroying forests and agricultural production.

There certainly needs to be community actions to curb the menace of wildfires from the levels of annual destruction to the forest cover and by extension agricultural activities.

Guiding Questions:

• What are the causes of wildfires in communities in Northern Ghana?
• What are the effects of these wildfires on forest cover and agriculture?
• What actions can communities take to curb the annual destruction by wildfires?
• What is the role of traditional authorities in our efforts to curb wildfires?