CARD FNGO IN GHANA MADE BY MR.NARESH SHUKLA

1. Crops, Harvest and Agric-finance for
Northern Ghana Empowerment
(CHANGE) Project
(A conceptual Framework of Microfinance & Food Security)
Naresh Shukla & Raphael T. Avemegah
Centre for Agriculture & Rural Development (CARD)
P.O. BOX TL1504
Tamale (NR)
Phone +233-71-23512 Fax +233-71-26566
E-mail-cardghana@yahoo.com

2. In General our understanding
Majority of the rural population are small holders depends on
rain-fed agriculture and using traditional methods
SORT TERM CULTURE African economies are characterized by:
• Incomes mainly from petty trading activities
• Initiative promotes trading of imported goods and services
in urban centers
• Funding, initiatives and interventions by Development
partner
• Capacity development and transfer of technology
This has led to:
Emphasis on ‘Short Term Income Security’ rather than ‘Food
Security’.
The way forward:
“Food security” must be seen as threat for human survival
rather than a “Social Development” hence CHANGE

3. Demographic % of Northern Ghana
Regions ConstPopulation*
Reg.
Voters**
Area Sq
KM
Level of
poverty
NORTHERN 26 1,820,806 1,097,597 70,383 69.5%
UPPER EAST 13 920,089 495,884 8,842 89.5%
UPPER WEST 10 576,583 328,834 18,477 87.9%
Total 49 3,317,478 1,922,315 97,702
% 21.30 17.50 15.41 40.95
NATIONAL
TOTAL 230 18,912,079 12,472,758 238,538 43%
* Census data 2000
** Registered Voters' in 2008 elections

4. CHANGE Project
There are 4 key ingredients in this project
1 Crops
2 Harvest
3 Agric-finance
4 Northern Ghana Empowerment

5. 1. Crops
Staple crops
• Cereals - Maize, Rice, Guinea Corn & Millet
• Legumes - Beans, Soybeans & Groundnuts
There must be
--Increase in productivity
--Enough to feed family
--Surplus – to Sell &
– to build Buffer stock

6. 2. Harvest
We refer to
Harvesting of -Sunlight, water & arable land
- Potential energy of Rural youth
-Variability of crops
-Communal spirit
-traditional marketing systems
-in-kind banking practices

7. 3. Agric-finance
In this context Agric-finance encompasses-
• Credit facility
-Crop loan -seeds, plowing service, Agro-chemicals
and fertilizers,
-Inventory credit-Provision of cash against stock
-Lean season loan -Provision of food grains
• Savings –Safe storage of farm produce
• Insurance-Creation of buffer stocks
• Transfer- Commodity exchange

8. 4. Northern Ghana Empowerment
Equity
There is increasing inequality nationally and within the north
with rural areas being most disadvantaged.
Gender
Wealth distribution is skewed towards the male population
Development
Development is in the hands of numerous small players funded
by overseas donors under Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR). Their activities are un-coordinated, duplicated and make
little impacts.
Poverty
Poverty, hunger and malnutrition are endemic in the north.

9. ‘Lean’(hungry) season
• November/December: main harvest of cereals (late
millet and sorghum) providing the bulk of food
• January to March: dry season with little farm work
• April: the ‘lean’(hungry) season with dwindling food
stocks, may start in March (early)
• May: start of the rainy season: food stocks lowest,
workload heaviest (preparing land, sowing, weeding)
• June/July: early millet harvest, often insufficient
• August/September: early sorghum harvest, often
insufficient
• October: maize harvest

10. Distribution & Market
•Lack of market intelligence
Poor access to markets
General market inefficiency
Lack of bargaining power
 Inadequate value addition in
marketing and processing
Poor value supply chain attention
No chain
Management
Challenges in achieving Food Security in Northern Ghana
Post Harvest
Managerial
Highly perishable commodities
High incidence of storage pests
High losses in quality and quantity
Limited knowledge and management
Technical
Poor harvesting techniques
Lack of appropriate harvesting and threshing
equipment
Inefficient storage structures (inappropriate
design)
Insufficient drying facilities
 Inefficient storage protection practices and
measures
Inadequate supply and availability of storage
chemicals
Limited Processing & Utilisation
GENERAL
Managerial
Lack of skills in planning, management,
marketing and quality assurance
Inadequate attention to value chain
development
Risky and unattractive
Inadequate investment
History of high failure and low success
Improper land use and tenure system
Economic & Socio-cultural
Youth migration to S-Ghana
Lack in Coordination and Harmonization
Rituals of Bush fires
Poorly organized CBOs
Social & traditional practices
Climatic
One & short rainy season
Recurrence of floods and draughts
Political
Health problems during “Lean Season”
Food crop farmers are poor & small holder
Poor transport network
Generally initiatives beneficial to
resourceful
Lack of guarantee minimum price
Lack of will & commitment of stakeholders
Ignorance
Low productivity at farm level
Poor and infertile soils
Micro-finance
Absence of MFI
High cost of delivery & default
rate making it risky &
unattractive
Lack of finances for crop
production e.g. improved seed,
fertilizers and agro-chemicals
Lack of savings
Unavailability of consumptive
loans
Crop Production
Knowledge
•Weak extension services
•Rudimentary & poor skills
•Lack of appropriate agronomic
practices & application of soil
management practices
•Slow adoption rate
Production Technology
Limited availability of appropriate
farm machinery, equipment and power
Unreliable access to farm inputs
Lack of high yielding variety seeds
Food
insecurity

11. Aim & objectives
Aim
To empower and improve the quality of life of
the people in Northern Ghana
Overall Objective
To establish an effective, efficient and adaptable
value chain strategy for household food
security in Northern Ghana through capacity
building, microfinance and post harvest
management .

12. Approach & strategy
(One stop solution)
4 Key strategies:
1.Development of human resources
2. Appropriate Technology
-Production
-Post harvest –Storage & Processing
-Distribution & marketing
3. Micro-finance
4. Value Chain Management

13. Crops, Harvest and Agric-finance for Northern Ghana
Empowerment (CHANGE) Project
Food Crops Production
Maize
Rice
Guinea Corn
Millet
Beans
Soybeans
Groundnuts
Post harvest
Management Facilities
Scientific Warehousing
Repayment by producers
Inventory Credit
Drying & Storage Services
Commodity Exchange & transfers
Grain Monetization
Buffer Stocks
Market Development
School Feeding Program
Ghana Prison Service
Small Agro-processors
Agro-industries
Agro-traders
Exports
Extension & Micro credit
Farm Advisory Services
Farm Inputs Credit
Capacity building
→Group Management
→Crop production
→Post harvest Mgt
→ Credit Management
Ministry of Presidential Affair
Ministry of Local Govt. & Rural Dev.
Ministry of Finance & economic Planning
Ministry of Food & Agriculture
Ministry of Empowerment & Youth Emp.
Ministry of Trade
Savanna Agricultural Research Institution
University for Development Studies
District Assembly
Centre for Agriculture & Rural Development (CARD)
Area Councils
CHANGE Project
Production plan Assembling of
produce
Micro-credit &
Capacity building
Access to market

14. Benefits
Food security
• Increased food availability at the family level
• Increase in cereals & legume productivity at the
small holder level
• Access to technical information by small holder
framers
• Access to modern warehousing facilities
• Reduction in post harvest losses (Quantity &
quality)
• Improved timeliness of farm operations

15. Social Benefits
• Increase in communal spirit
• Access to market information and trends
• Change in attitudes and practices of beneficiaries
at the level of production, harvesting and
utilization of household food.
• Reduced drudgery (labor intensive operations)
• Increase in rural employment and decrease in
rural-urban migration
• Productive employment for the poor

16. Economic benefits
• Increase access to farm inputs
• Increased access to credit in-cash and in-kind
• Access to lucrative market
• Access to commodity exchange scheme
• Increase in income at small holder levels
• Improving the local financial systems for the rural
poor
• Impact on income level and poverty alleviation

17. Conclusions
CHANGE Project will lead to higher cereals &
legumes productivity, availability and
accessibility. The rural population will be able
to feed well and this will minimize rural
conflicts.
Food security will improve in the Northern
Ghana.
Poverty levels will reduce due to enhance
income there by increasing living standards.
Democratic institutions will remain strengthen
when people live in peace and harmony.

18. Recommendation
Establishment of Northern Ghana Food Security
Fund by GoG with the aim of making the North
“Grain basket” of Ghana.
Food insecurity should be seen as a threat to
human security, hence it should be directly
under the Office of the President.
A project may implemented in phases with an
investment of 1US$ per month/person for 4
years i.e. 4 million US Dollar.

19. Thank you