150 women farmers at Fosukrom trained on herbicides, weedicides production

Women farmers at Fosukrom in the Bia East District of the Western North Region have been trained to adopt and apply indigenous technology in their farm work to help mitigate climate change impact in the area.

The more than 150 women farmers, engaged in cocoa, maize, rice and vegetable production were taken through the process of preparing and properly applying herbicides and weedicides.

They are expected to apply locally produced weedicides to clear their farms, instead of the over- reliance and use of synthesis agro-chemicals on their crops.

That would not only reduce the cost of farming but also prevent food poisoning and further mitigate climate change impact, which is well felt in the farming community and beyond.

The Fosukrom Women Farmers Association (FWFA), a local farmer group, with support from the Global Green Grant Fund (GGF) organised the day’s training which exposed the farmers to factors contributing to climate change and other adaptation and mitigation measures.

Madam Alice Badu Sarpong, a local expert in organic manure production, and a facilitator at the training, said proper application of compost did not only improve crop production, but also enhanced quality yields and high nutritional content.

She expressed worry that most of the indigenous women farmers over-depended synthesis agro-chemicals, and because they could not afford to buy, many of their crops did not do well in this farming season.

With the training, the farmers would only get and mix some leaves and apply them to their crops, she stated.

The process is very easy and what the women farmers would do is to come together, and produce the organic manure in large quantities and apply it on their farms.

Individual farmers could also produce and apply the weedicides and pesticides and by doing so they would also improve the moisture quality and thereby, enhance land fertility to enable them grow their crops year-long, Madam Sarpong indicated.

Madam Mavis Odoi, the Secretary of the FWFA, expressed appreciation to the GGF for the funding support, which had also well-positioned the association to intensify farmer education on remote causes, impacts and the debilitating consequences of climate change.

She said with the education, many of the farmers had understood why they should not fell trees haphazardly, burn their farms and also avoid farming close to rivers and water bodies.

Mr Abdul Karim Mohammed, the Assemblyman for Fosukrom Electoral Area raised concern about the misapplication of fertilizers, and other agro-chemicals on crops and described the training as timely, and commended the organisers, hoping that the training would be extended to benefit more farmers in the area.

He called on the government and other development partners to assist the farmers with planting machines, processing and storage facilities for rice and maize, and expressed worry about lack of ready markets for the cereals too.

Mr Mohammed said accessing farmlands was not a problem in the area, saying, with the machines, and irrigation facilities, the farmers' area could produce rice and maize in commercial quantities, not only to improve their socio-economic livelihoods, but also enhance food productivity in the area as well.