Rainforest Alliance has presented business start-up kits worth over GH¢ 700,000 to 100 farmers and farmer groups at Sefwi Wiawso in the Western North Region of Ghana.
Development Diaries reports that the grant was a result of the nonprofit’s Resilient Ecosystems and Sustainable Transformation of Rural Economies (RESTORE) project, which involves educating farmers in capacity building.
Data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) shows that 52 percent of Ghana’s labour force is engaged in agriculture, with approximately, 39 percent of the farm labour force women.
More than 90 percent of the country’s food demands are met by agriculture, which also accounts for over 40 percent of Ghana’s export revenue and contributes 54 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The RESTORE project, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), aims to show a model for community-led governance, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and resilience that is in line with local and governmental priorities in the cocoa production landscapes of Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Additionally, it aims to encourage smallholder farmers to develop their entrepreneurial skills and aid them in starting businesses that diversify their sources of income while providing more chances for women and young people.
According to the Country Director of Rainforest Alliance Ghana, Kwame Osei, the project formed part of efforts to help farmers expand cocoa harvesting a notch higher.
‘We launched RESTORE in 2022 to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers in [Ivory Coast] and Ghana to increase tree cover and help reduce national and corporate greenhouse gas emissions’, he said.
He stated that the NGO was hoping to impact the estimated 15,000 farmers who are in charge of 50,000 hectares of farmland through these activities in order to increase productivity and incomes, restore forest cover, and advance gender equality by 2027.
Photo source: FAO