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Development Sector: Deg Area: Agriculture Program
1996
With close to ten years experience in development work, the NEA turned it’s attention south towards the Deg area. The Deg area traverses two of the country’s regions: the Brong-Ahafo Region and the Northern Region. It’s here that the NEA felt lead to bring their experience and willingness to tackle the issues of poverty and starvation once again.
The people of the Deg area much like their Janga counterparts, also initially faced what seemed like insurmountable odds. Although subsistence farming was a primary vocation of most people of the area, the problem was that the farmers were not getting enough returns from their efforts to meet the food requirements of their families let alone even think of health and education needs. Activities such as “charcoal burning” were undertaken to generate immediate incomes. Charcoal burning, involves the burning of live trees into nothing more than small piles of charcoal. As meager an income generator as it was, it did provide a short term solution. Other negative impact land usages such as overgrazing herds, fishing with the use of chemicals and bush burning (for hunting purposes) were also practiced. Left unchecked, these activities would inevitably have a long term detrimental effect on the environment. NEA’s discussions with local chiefs and village elders on the legacy that these harmful practices would leave for future generations, was readily acknowledged. But, with no foreseeable alternatives, the chiefs felt their hands still tied. From these discussions, came the NEA’s proposal to focus community efforts into crop farming as an alternative to charcoal burning and other such practices. Any skepticism or resistance was quickly dispelled when the benefits were presented in a long term context.
Uniting the community,
A new variable that was not evident in the Janga project, but was in the Deg area, was the instability of relations between neighbouring chiefs. The tension hung in the air, and seemed like the capstone of their problems. The basic needs of the people were evident everywhere, but for long-term sustainable efforts to flourish, it was imperative that relationships between neighbouring village chiefs be repaired and solidified. From the onset, all discussions hosted by the NEA, specifically included all surrounding village chiefs and elders. From the stages of identifying and analyzing the issues through to making recommendations and follow-ups , the village decision makers were provided with a platform to express their views and concerns, debate their counterparts and clarify their expectations. The NEA saw its role as the mediator in those early days, and knew that if any success was to be realized the communities would need to respond united. Once the understanding that unity would be one of their greatest assets, the reconciliation process began. Differences and the self-serving mindsets were put aside as the focus was shifted to the betterment of the area and not on individual gain.
The Deg Proposal
The NEA's proposal of adopting crop farming as an alternative income opportunity for those involved in environmentally detrimental practices and improved techniques for those already engaged in farming, was delivered to the Deg area leaders in a similar fashion as it had been in Janga. One distinct advantage, this presentation had over the Janga proposal, was the fact that the Janga project site could be studied (field trips, meetings) as an example of what the Deg area project could strive towards. The parallels drawn between the two project sites were relevant and applicable. Acceptance of the proposal came quickly with the realization that true self-sustainability could be achieved with a concerted effort and willingness to change for the current and future generations to come.
Women of the Deg area
The experience gained from the development of the Women’s Co-operative in Janga was being drawn upon once again as the foundations were set in place for the Deg area. The women in both project sites shared similar hardships and obstacles. The Women’s Co-operative again would serve as a platform for not only meeting the basic necessities of the women and their families, but also as a collective setting to bring attention to women’s issues and their struggle. Based on the success of the seed bank program in Janga, the Deg program was structured in a similar manner. The simplicity of the program coupled with the not-for-profit mindset of the NEA, would once again enable the Women’s Co-operative participants and independent men farmers to get a foothold on their economic future. The repayment to the seed bank was deferred to a future date, allowing the individual to become established without jeopardizing their chance for long-term growth. The program followed the initial crop selection of peanuts as it did in Janga. The environmental assessment confirmed that support of such crop development should have favourable results.
In 1999–2000 various bean crops were introduced into the Deg project to supplement dietary needs and reduce crop vulnerability in the event of uncontrollable variables affecting the area.The results shown from the assessment period indicated that the bean crops were proving to be a successful addition to the program. Once harvested and dried,the beans were added to personal reserves and any further surplus readily became a secondary source of income. Cassava, a staple in many parts of West Africa was also incorporated into the crop development program, but played a lesser role with addressing immediate needs since the time period between planting and harvesting was close to 24 months. Yams a tuberous “white potato-like” plant was a staple in the local diet, but was not focused on initially either because this was already the backbone of the agricultural enterprise of the area and what was needed was input on crops that could diversify income in case the yam crop failed.
Enrollment into the Deg Women’s Co-operative has been very encouraging as changes to the lives of many women are evident throughout the communities. Over 1300 women (2007 figures) are actively involved with the Women’s Co-operative program. Women leaders continue to be trained and a marked improvement is noted in their quality of life and status. Two of NEA’s women leaders have been elected by their communities to represent them in local government. A milestone indeed!
Agriculture - New Developments
One of the staple crops that grows well in the area is cassava. It is a tuber much like yam but has many different uses. It can be used fresh, in fufu; dried into powder and made into a type of porridge called TZ. More commonly, it is grated and fried with the end product being called “gari”. Gari can be stored for long periods of time and is part of most people’s diet. NEA realized that the Deg area farmers were not being fairly paid for their cassava. Often for a large truckload of the raw cassava, their profit was only $20.00. After a two year period of planting, weeding, protecting the crop from bush fires and harvesting the income realized was not enough to make the effort worthwhile. To assist the farmers, NEA set up its own gari processing plant in the area which opened in 2005. In its first year of operation, they were able to pay the farmers 10 times as much as they had received before. NEA’s entry into the market provided the competition needed to force other buyers to increase their price. The added benefit was that the processing plant has provided jobs for the women in the area who do the processing. This is another example of an innovative method of solving problems at the community level.