World Vision Ghana links Farmers with Agricultural service Providers in Binduri District
By: Francis Npong
Agricultural value chains play an important role in improving farmers' incomes and households' food security. In addition to linking farmers to key service providers, active value chains can provide opportunities for rural people, create jobs and stimulate economic growth. Functioning value chains can also help reduce poverty and hunger and improve farmers' access to markets.
In the Binduri District of the Upper East Region, the absence of networks of farmers, agro-input dealers, extension agents, researchers and financial institutions is affecting the functioning of the agricultural value chain.
To address this, World Vision Ghana organised an Agricultural Market Linkage Fair for agricultural value chain actors in the Binduri District for the second consecutive year. This was organised under the auspices of the Farmer Managed National Regeneration for Positive Land Utilisation Systems (FMNR PLUS) project, funded by the Knauer family with technical support from World Vision Germany.
It aimed to link smallholder farmers, input dealers, agricultural extension officers, financial institutions, aggregators, tractor service providers and research institutions to improve service delivery.
About 450 smallholder farmers, agricultural cooperatives, input dealers, extension officers and tractor service providers attended and shared their experiences on how to improve agricultural market systems in the district.
It provided an opportunity for value chain actors to discuss in an open forum the activities of different actors and how to access services and products. Some business deals were sealed and contacts were exchanged for future transactions.
According to Edward Anaba Akunyagra, FMNR PLUS project manager, the lack of a vibrant agricultural network makes access to critical agricultural services impossible.
This affects productivity and contributes to poverty and household food and nutrition insecurity. "The Agricultural Market Linkage Fair is an opportunity to bridge this gap and enable smallholder farmers to access critical services to improve crop production and better markets," he said.
For smallholder farmers like Poanab Atinbun Mumuni, timely access to inputs and other services can increase crop yields, food security and farmers' incomes.
She thanked World Vision Ghana for creating an opportunity for farmers to network for a better future.
Ayinga Abagre Yakubu, the Binduri District Chief Executive (DCE), described World Vision Ghana as a reliable development partner and thanked the organisation for its numerous interventions in the district.
He urged farmers and other stakeholders to take advantage of the enabling environment created by World Vision Ghana to improve their lives, livelihoods and incomes.
Apart from the Savings for Transformation (S4T), which provides farmers with access to financial services, World Vision Ghana has facilitated the establishment of school eco-clubs to create environmental awareness among children. Support for dry season farming to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable communities is a key intervention of the project.
On the sidelines of the event, World Vision Ghana donated pumping machines and accessories to support communities in dry season gardening, as well as gardening and hygiene tools to promote environmental stewardship among the youth.
The DCE urged the women to take advantage of World Vision Ghana's support in various sectors to empower themselves for improved livelihoods.
World Vision Ghana has implemented several social interventions that have helped to improve the lives, livelihoods, incomes and food security of farmers in the district.
Other forms of support include sanitation and hygiene, environmental restoration and livelihoods, and income-generating activities aimed at transforming the lives of the most vulnerable children and their families.
World Vision is a child-focused development, humanitarian and relief organisation dedicated to transforming the lives of the world's most vulnerable children.