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demonstrationfarmprojectghana · 10 years ago

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A poison coming from the wealthiest

One may retains doubts about the fact that intensive agriculture is a sustainable or a healthy solution to feed the 7 billion people living on this planet. A simplified definition was found in the Cambridge Business Dictionary, where intensive agriculture is defined as a type of “farming that uses a lot of machinery, labour, chemicals, etc. in order to grow as many crops or keep as many animals as possible on the amount of land available.”

As this article will focus on the chemicals in agriculture through a foray in simplification, it is noteworthy that intensive agriculture also needs large amounts of labour – of course one might think of humans, but one should also keep in mind the large animals that farmers were already using at the beginning of the intensive farming’s development around 5,000 years ago – but also an efficient machinery to plant, cultivate and harvest, mangling and scratching the soils of the surface of the planet.

DFPG supports sustainable agriculture and rejects the industrial approach to food production developed during the last century.

Exactly like for environmental interpretation, the members of DFPG need to translate the technical language of agricultural engineering and modern agriculture into terms and ideas that the farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana - who aren’t scientists - can readily understand. It involves looking for ways that are entertaining and interesting to them. On the long term, we propose to the farmers green alternatives to those chemicals, teaching them that nature offers anything one need to be self-efficient, if you learn how to be so.

The interesting common point I found between the different definitions of chemicals and pesticides was this purpose of destroying a living being, a notion detailed more below. Indeed, according to the Oxford Dictionary, a chemical can be a) the interactions of substances and therefore the pesticide is defined as a substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals and b) relating to or denoting the use of poison gas or other chemicals as weapons of war.

Now we approach the nub of the whole matter…

The creation of chemical weapons like the mustard gas - which is composed of chlorine – of the First World War ensured a new industrial application for pesticides once the war would be over.

Those chemicals were extremely popular in the developed nations where they were created, in particular in Europe, one of the largest chemical trading regions in the world. After realizing day after day the counter effect of chemicals on nature and people – as in France where today 96% of the water surfaces and 61% of the ground waters contain chemicals (IFEN, 09/2006, a French information report on pesticides) - Europe turned its attention on Africa to sell all those unwanted products on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea.

In an interview from 2013 between Isaac Mwangi and the director of the Kenya Institute of Organic Farming John Njoroge, Isaac denounces big chemicals companies such as Syngenta (Switzerland) or Bayer (Germany) who see their products banned by well-informed lobbyists and try very soon to open new markets like in Kenya, presenting their products under different brand names or as gifts. (to read more of the interview, click here.)

It is essential to underline the fact that even the farmers from those agriculturally advanced nations as we saw in Europe can face the consequences of denying being subject to chemicals.

Surprisingly, when refusing to use the pesticides imposed by the government, one may be prosecuted. It actually happened in France and was revealed thanks to a wine grower who decided to quit his job and investigated for two years in order to meet people like Emmanuel Giboulot who has been prosecuted for not using the pesticides and chemicals in his farm. Here find the whole documentary (French version available only).

The chemicals we are talking about include pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, and as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) develops on its website, pesticides can have common points with our household products such as the cleaners we use to disinfect the kitchen floor, or some cleaning products used to remove the mildew (a type of mould) on bathroom tiles!

DFPG holds fervently on the belief that we cannot spray on our future food products that correlate with the cleaning products components.

To pinpoint when and where chemicals extend their ills, we depend upon institutions and organisations conducting censuses and listing the categories of authorized and banned chemicals. This is indeed quite a laborious task that once again, DFPG tries to simplify to make it accessible to anyone.

It is then worth pausing here to make a related point. According to an analysis conducted by Greenpeace, several banned or restricted chemicals and pesticides appear to be still being used by some Ghanaian farmers…

Pesticides and other chemicals are sold in Ghana, but also in all Africa like hotcakes. Are the risks of those “magical” products known from everyone? The answer is no. Most of the farmers using them have no sleek answer at hand. In reality, surveys conducted by the EPA in 2007 showed that around 30 per cent of pesticides on sale in Ghana were either unlicensed or smuggled.

Nalwanga E and Ssempebwa JC explained in Knowledge and practices of in-home pesticide use: a community survey in Uganda that the knowledge and practices of the farmers from the developing countries was low concerning pesticides safety. Added to that, it has been reported that some of the containers carrying pesticides and chemicals were unlabelled or written in another language, making it unreadable to the farmer. The New York Science Journal, 2011;4 (11), details this insecticide usage pattern, giving as an example the French labelled insecticides that were found in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

When the information is only partially understood, one can wonder where the fair play in this little killing business is.

Indeed, as we said above, pesticides are meant to destroy, but are the effects limited to the plant we spray it on? Pesticides can cause different effects on humans. For instance, some of them can cause damage or irritation with the eyes or skin. Other can affect the brain and hormones. Various concentrations of pesticides can have an effect on humans in unusual ways: one substance may reveal noticeable damages with prolonged exposure, whereas others may represent immediate problems. There are others that show little or no problems with the first generation’s exposure because deformities are a problem with the second generation. Some chemicals can also include lead or mercury for example, both having serious and irreversible impacts on the mental development of children. The list here of the consequences on human health is non-exhaustive. For further reading, please follow the link.

Notwithstanding, one should not be mistaken and think “all right, those pesticides can be a harm to human health but if we know it, we can protect ourselves against it.” This is true is a sense, but wearing masks and gloves while spreading the chemicals is only the tip of the iceberg. As said before, the planet and its soil are not watertight. Everything we pour, spray or hose on it goes not only inside of the plant we pour, spray or hose the chemicals on, but it spreads also in the air and the ground.

DFPG calls for any person, organization, institution to back our shovel-ready projects. Indeed, it is also with your support that we find the resources to implement our strategies. DFPG teaches individuals how to weigh various sides of an issue through critical thinking and it enhances their own problem-solving and decision-making skills. As this article tried to demonstrate, the level of risk faced in those remote areas is disproportionately higher than in those of the creators of chemicals, where the resources are sufficient to effectively inform people and monitor chemical use.

#environmentalprotectionagency #DFPG #sustainableagriculture

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demonstrationfarmprojectghana · 10 years ago

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Project 3: the “Yamah Children's Home” orphanage

As one may suppose, children living in rural areas have higher chances to experience infant mortality rates than kids coming from urban areas of Ghana. The orphanage DFPG is helping is located in one of those rural villages.

Picture: village of Yamah (2014). Related family members of the orphans using canoes, intending to harvest the maize farm under water following a flood.

Seeing all those orphans and kids left out on the street and bubbling up throughout the village of Yamah and its surrounding communities, the priest Amos Bangmarigu (Emmanuel’ senior brother) decided with his wife Esther to open an orphanage to welcome the children and give them another new life.

Picture: quick photograph of Mukarama.A, one-year-old and a half, after losing both her parents in 2013.

Emmanuel knows most of the kids in Yamah’s Children’s Home, who were in some cases taken away from their school to be forced to work for their extended and irredeemably poor family. The orphanage is also a shelter to the children who found themselves orphans by HIV and AIDS.

The orphanage in question…

…is located in a village called Yamah in the Northern Region of Ghana

…is managed by the Reverend Amos Bangmarigu and his wife Esther Sebiyam.

…opened its doors in 2006

…was joined by Emmanuel in 2011

...gives classes to the children presented by Wahabu and Rafiu

…is home to 32 children aged 1 to 18 years old

How are the children fed?

Amos, or the “host father” as we call him, has provided the orphanage with a small garden he cultivates to feed his young community.

As 10 new children join the orphanage every year, so the needs for extending the garden remain in order to feed everyone.

Picture: Host Father Amos and some friends harvesting maize deep in the river to feed the orphans.

What happens to the kids if something occurs?

Ghana’s wildlife can be a hurdle to take care of children and as it may sound quite surprising for someone from Europe, being bitten by a snake is quite of a usual problem in Ghana. When not only one but three kids get bitten on the same day as it happened last year in the orphanage, you need to act urgently.

It is notoriously common to see severe health problems become a direct threat to one’s life in Ghana, where being equipped with a car can be a luxury. In this context, the orphanage would need a descent mean of transport to take the kids to the closest hospital, but also to drive to school those who study.

Education in the orphanage:

According to a UNICEF survey from 2013, the attendance in early childhood education between 2005 and 2012 among the poorest 20% was rated only at 41, 5%.

This frightening statistic has scarcely shifted since; DFPG is therefore voicing the ideal of giving a chance to everyone. Unfortunately, due to a lack of space and means, the children and teenagers see themselves using their dormitory as a classroom.

Picture: Host Father Amos and the guardian of the orphanage, preparing the food for Mukaram.A

DFPG seeks therefore to engage all the means they dispose to prepare descent classes to be given to those orphans, offering them a minimum of good material conditions. It is for instance something necessary to hang nets all around the area surrounding the kids in order to protect them for the mosquitoes, an insect responsible for the spreading of Malaria.

Emmanuel and his brother want to give the minimum education to those kids they saw growing and raised as their own. Another survey of UNICEF indicates that among the 20% of the poorest kids, the adults support for learning was estimated at 23%...

What do they need?

Books, clothes, a means of transport like a small bus, an extension of the orphanage for the 10 new orphans coming every year and for a decent classroom, food, a health insurance… As you may imagine, being an orphan is already difficult to accept and live with, in particular in a place where you have no benchmark and no place to rest.

At the height of a so-called civilised world, DFPG holds fervently on the belief that it is essential to provide the kids with a decent environment to grow and start a new life.

Picture: Amos’ orphans about to meet new volunteers

#DFPG #educationforall #orphanageinghana #YamahChildrensHome

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demonstrationfarmprojectghana · 10 years ago

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A short video produced by GreenPeace.

DFPG and all the people environmentally aware are enthrusted with the task of informing as much persons as one can about the reason of the problems gestating now for decades in agriculture.

The world must tackle this dependance on dubious and unknown magic chemicals.

How does DFPG do it? We intend to teach the farmers of Ghana green alternatives and keep them away from corporate control.

#GreenPeace #DFPG

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demonstrationfarmprojectghana · 10 years ago

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Project 2: ROAP, a solution to confront a hidden menace.

This article deals with the ROAP (Regenerative and Organic Agriculture Project) and it is divided into three main parts presented in the article as follows:

1° The ROA’s methods 2° The value chain development 3° The environmental awareness campaign

ROAP will tackle food insecurity and promote a better consumption of organic products in the small hubs in the Northern region of Ghana, through the implementation of ROA methods and a value chain development in the agricultural sector. The West Mamprusi District is one of the impoverished districts in theNorthern Region of Ghana.

In November 2014, DFPG started to collaborate inthe local context analysis. We are actually elaborating a project proposal withthe intent of training the farmerfamilies of the West Mamprusi District on ROA methods, to promote a sustainable agriculture.

THE SITUATION TODAY IN GHANA:

First things first, what can be called pesticide?

Pesticides are insecticides, herbicides, nematicides and fungicides. To explain why Emmanuel decided to create this project, we should mention the numerous harrowing stories involving farmers in Walewale, in the West Mamprusi district, who transported pesticides on the back of their bicycle, tying containers holding chemicals next to their bags of seeds to feed their family and leading to their death. Emmanuel felt the need for further action when a whole family he knew died of intoxication.

Not to mention that the World Health Organisation (WHO) states acute pesticide poisoning affects 3 million people and accounts for 20,000 unintentional deaths a year.

Despite Ghana’s death toll, many farmers are still unaware of the hazards of pesticides use and are being suffering a range of problems because its use (impotency among male farmers, infertility, skin irritation, difficulty in breathing, death…) as they are exposed to the chemical pesticides every time they use them to control insects and diseases on their crops.

The Ghanaian government has embarked on various partnerships aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, jointly with actions to sell pesticides to the farmers. A closer look at this industry can reveal a poor handling of those agro chemicals, posing danger to farmers and society in general.

In Ghana, 90% of agricultural input dealers sell crop protection chemicals (source: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) survey). One can therefore easily observe the agro chemical industry which is spreading out with his impact on health (no proper disposal for the empty chemical containers, higher risk for children exposed to the pesticides…)

Why doing this? What is the actual situation for the farmers of Ghana?

It is important to emphasize the importance of agriculture, hunting and forestry in the Northern Region of Ghana since together they account for the employment of 71, 2% of the economically active population, aged 15 years and older!

So far, DFPG collaborated with around 500 FBOs farmers and we are now able to reach about 100 local farmers within a year, farmers who are nowadays using chemical pesticides and fertilizers after having adopted the conventional way of farming.

Besides these statistics, DFPG assessed the risks and damages to humans, livestock and the environment; we observed a continuous use of the land without proper care, causing a noticeable drop in crop yields over the last years.

DFPG is more than ever convinced of the necessity to offer the people of Ghana a coherent agriculture plan to escape dependence on pesticides and an alternative to respect living species health and finally protect the integrity of the environment.

Concerning the agricultural sector, DFPG observed:

environmental issues connected to the over-exploitation of natural resources;

low productivity;

low innovation;

lack of training in the commercialization of products;

fragile connection between rural area and urban area;

hard access to the urban markets;

small knowledge about the nutritional value of local organic products;

severe food shortage in lean season (dry period);

low economic value of the products in the market.

As a consequence, in the mid-summer of 2014, DFPG - working in the food security sector in Ghana - started to use organic methods of agriculture. DFPG is in fact willing to reduce chemical inputs in agriculture to ensure a transition to organic farming.

THE OBJECTIVES OF DFPG:

The project will operate to achieve food security as an integrated development and a sustainable food production system in order to eradicate hunger and poverty. This tedious work is ensured with our Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs, please refer to 2° The value chain development for further information) from the poorer rural areas of Northern Region. Our energy is dedicated mainly to teach new organic alternatives to tackle health issues, useless spending on chemicals that nature can perfectly provide and respect the soil and the environment.

DFPG eagers to empower small farming communities by giving them the right tools to work on their land while respecting the environment, their health and those of the villagers who will consume the products of the farm. Besides we want the farmers to be able to commercialize themselves without the need of any intermediates.

1° The ROA’s methods

The main innovation element is represented by the implementation of the Regenerative and Organic Agriculture methods. The farmers involved will implement the ROA methods and teach other farmers on the new techniques.

It will ensure:

- A reduction of expenses and costs for the smallholder and farming families

- the dissemination and the capitalization of the results through the training of farmer promoters

- the spreading of information on non-toxic packaging

- a purification of the soils contaminated with chemical products imported; a thing nature can perfectly handle itself without any harm only in so far as we inform ourselves and teach our neighbor. The focus is specifically on herbicides (most commonly called “weedicides”) and chemical fertilizers to which we propose organic and healthy alternatives such as: animal faeces, compost, cover cropping, green manuring, preventing and controlling bushfires, and we continue our active investigation to find new alternatives.

- a better nutrition in rural and urban areas, improving the quality of food, the diversification and the access to organic agro-food products;

- a small way to pay tribute to the planet which has been feeding every living species for millennia.

2° The value chain development

Implementing this chain means integrating the farming families to the Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) and the urban markets. It aims improving the cooperation and coordination along the value chain of the agro-food sector.

FBO? What is it? FBO stands for Farmer Based Organisations , a particularly efficient use of agriculture for a rapid dissemination of technologies to small scale farmers. An FBO aims to organize farmers into groups in order to empower them to participate in decision making affecting their welfare in the market and social political arena. Additionally, it aims to increase the potential of the farmers to benefit from the economies of scale inherent in operating into groups. For more information, check the website www.fboghana.com

The first step of the value chain strategy will be a baseline survey of the local market and buyers in the West Mamprusi District and the family farmers’ part of the FBOs of the area.

At the same time will be carried on a costs and benefits analysis oriented to the creation of new markets opportunities in the agro-food organic business for the farming families.

The creation of a strategy will be oriented to:

Analyzing and understanding the key elements of the food supply chain processes, procedures and transactions, in order to find the most adequate practices to promote;

Participation of all stakeholders of the value chain, after identifying them. In fact we are looking for their support and their expertise to our project;

Promotion of efficiency and communication among the producers, the intermediates, the sellers and the consumers;

Ensuring environmental sustainability in each part of the chain;

Enhancement of the commercial capacity of the farmers to produce healthier crops and minimize or even completely abandon the use of agro-chemicals.

The ultimate goal however is to contribute to the national effort to increase natural practice for an aware food production security.

3° The environmental awareness campaign

During the project DFPG and the local FBOs will create local campaigns in favor of the family farmers, through the implementation of empowerment activities and the sensitization of the local decision makers (political and economic institutions) and the community to organic and local food consumption..

It is not without pointing out the visual storytelling as an important part of turning successful projects into examples to copy in larger proportions throughout the world.

This is why DFPG is collecting a part of the funds to create and present an educational and recreational visual aid for the awareness campaign to come throughout Mamprusi District.

When would the campaign start? As soon as we gather enough funds to finish what has been started!

The key actors of ROAP:

The ROA methods were created by the members of DFPG with the view to inculcating them to the family farmers of the West Mamprusi district.

The final consumers will be the beneficiaries of the campaign on organic and local products consumption. They will in fact have a clear visibilty and enough information on what they will bring back home.

You ! Such an ambitious project requires funds and awareness from each individual. DFPG challenges every institution and foundation to also take on this challenge and stand by our side for the sake of the planet and living species.

In the West Mamprusi District there are 10 local markets, scattered in several communities all over the district, and 4 big markets closer to the urban area in the regional capitals. The commercialization of agro-food products is characterized by the use of intermediates who buy the products at lower prices (in absence of value chain and storage facilities).

What will be the benefits of DFPG’s actions?

The application of ROA methods will build a resilient food system in the area, reducing costs and allow the producers to save money and invest in education, equipments, a healthy diet... Moreover, the beneficiaries will improve crop yields while conserving natural resources.

The project, also, will improve a local competitiveness, promoting a market strategy for organic products, and will identify the key value chain stakeholders and create access in the local urban markets.

Last but not least, DFPG tackles the adverse health effect of pesticides revealing and teaching green and natural alternatives.

How would the funds be invested?

30% in the training

20% in the campaign

20% baseline survey on local urban markets and consumers

30% start a pilot project in the implementation of ROA methods

DFPG is actually looking at ways to reorganize the percentages to include a part for setting up a center with the appropriate structures for a full implementation of the project.

IN A NUTSHELL…

More than 90% of pesticides fatalities are believed to occur in developing countries.

Promoting alternatives to pesticides are ongoing in farming communities in Northern Ghana but need greater support: yours, ours, all together. Here is a promotion from the non-profit organisation Africa RISING summarising what has been said here very well:

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In order for our training to succeed, it is crucial that the structure and the “green practices” are understood. It is obvious that massive agriculture and/or chemical agriculture are extremely likely to have been the dominant hazard to any living species since the mid-20th century.

Today, all fertilizers used in Ghana is imported to pollute the earth, the aquifers, the animals and the people. DFPG has still time to promote such values as respect of the living species and the environment, education for everyone, awakening of Ghanaian consciences and communication.

DFPG eagers to foster the farmers’ self-sufficiency with the objective of giving them a clear vision on what is put in their hands and what they naturally have in their possession.

#WorldHealthOrganisation #DFPG #protectafricanfarmers #organicagriculture #FBO #greenfertilizer #AfricaRISING

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