NEWS

CSLD ENGAGES OVER 550 FARMERS IN NORTHERN REGION.

YAHAYA KELVEN RASHID-TAMALE
The Center for Sustainable Local Development (CSLD) is an NGO working to reduce poverty in Northern Ghana. The NGO, a Technical Training Service Provider for MiDA has engaged 550 farmers under the commercial development of farmer organizations programme in the Karaga district. This is in furtherance of MiDA’s objective of reducing poverty through agricultural transformation. The NGO is training 11 farmer based organizations (FBOs) each with a total of 50 members.
 
The NGO is now into stage two training. Stage one training sought to effect a mindset change in the FBOs to see farming activities as a business instead of a way of life so they could move agriculture from the realm of a subsistence activity to a realm of commercialization through a value chain lens. The modules covered Farmer Organization Capacity Building and Business Development. Stage two training which is ongoing focuses on the technical aspects of farming. In this regard the NGO is working assiduously to improve farmers knowledge in and as well as promote the adoption of the best integrated crop management practices (ICMP), integrated pest management (IPM) and agronomic practices.

Making this available to the media in Tamale the northern regional capital, the Project Officer of CSLD Mr.Braimah Salifu Dy-yakah noted that the MiDA project was one of the best in the country and could easily transform the future of the farmers, their communities and the country at large. He disclosed that his outfit has deployed a team of 12 trainers, 2 logisticians and 4 “young ambassador” to the Karaga District to train eleven FBOs in maize production, groundnut production, rice processing and marketing and shea-nut processing and marketing. He acknowledged the expertise, diligence and professionalism of International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC), the Regional Implementation Committee (RICs) for the Northern Intervention zone and expressed the hope that with the support of IFDC, the lofty ideals of the project will undoubtedly be achieved.

He however express his worry about the difficult technical procedures in acquiring micro credit for farmers in the region and called on all financial institutions in the country particularly those of them located in the northern sectors of the country to make “their procedures of  acquiring loans easier and flexible”. He explained that due to the bureaucratic nature of the procedures involved, farmers was interest was waning “but MIDA in its own wisdom introduce a starter pack as an incentive to sustain the interest of the farmers till their loan facilities are approved” he said.

Mr. Dy-yakah further said as part of their social responsibility, CSLD is to organize a one day Entrepreneurship workshop for final year students of the Tamale Workers College on the theme: “Growing the next generation of entrepreneurs; the ABC of business success”. He continued that the seminar is intended to build the capacity of the students on self reliance and change their mind-set from formal sector employment to informal sector opportunities.

The Center for Sustainable Local Development also designs, initiates and implements programs in five thematic areas namely; governance and local development, capacity building for local development, entrepreneurship and local economic development, natural resource/environmental management and knowledge and experience sharing for local development

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