_{More than 5,600 poor smallholder farmers in Upper West Region benefit from food security and livelihoods interventions}

Wa, September 3, 2015 – Canadian Feed The Children (CFTC) and the Association of Church-based Development NGOs (ACDEP) announced that they are working with over 5,600 poor smallholder farmers in 58 communities in the Lawra and Jirapa Districts of the Upper West Region under the Resilient and Sustainable Livelihoods Transformation (RESULT) project.

RESULT aims to increase and diversify the farmers’ agricultural production, build on existing sources of income, and establish new income opportunities including aquaculture. Over seventy per cent of the farmers are women, including a substantial number of widows.

The announcement was made at a Regional Project Consultative Committee meeting held in Wa, chaired by the Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, and attended by district and regional officials. At the meeting, the key project stakeholders received an update on RESULT’s progress and plans.

According to Ms. Gail Motsi, CFTC’s RESULT Project Director, “In the past year, RESULT has successfully improved the skills and knowledge of vulnerable farmers and increased their access to inputs, improved technology, financial services, and markets; integrating gender equality and environmental management throughout. We could not have achieved this success without the strong support of the Lawra and Jirapa District Assemblies.”

Mr. Malex Alebikiya, ACDEP Executive Director, also notes that, “The project activities are integrated into the Medium Term and Annual work plans and budgets of the District Assemblies as part of the mainstreaming, District Assembly ownership and sustainability process.”

Some highlights of the achievements to date are:

1. vAn increase in the use of certified seeds and improved and sustainable agronomic practices by both male and female farmers;
2. vAn increase in the construction of improved livestock housing and the vaccination of animals, including through Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccination campaigns in each community;
3. vAn increase in access to crop and animal extension services by both male and female farmers;
4. vAn increase in maize and groundnut yields;
5. vA reduction in the mortality of goats and sheep;
6. vAn increase in the number of farmers, especially women farmers, engaged in dry season gardening;
7. vAn increase in access to regular weather forecasts, agricultural produce pricing information and buyers;
8. vAn increase in the numeracy and literacy skills of over 1,000 farmers with no formal education, predominantly women;
9. vAn increase in access to savings and loans through the creation of 57 Village Savings and Loans Associations;
10. vAn increase in engagement in alternative income-generating activities such as soapmaking, shea butter processing, groundnut processing and beekeeping;
11. vThe delivery of community-based gender equality, nutrition education and environmental management campaigns, reaching thousands of community members; and
12. vAn increase in the capacity of rural communities and District Assemblies to engage in improving the standard of living of rural communities in the Upper West Region.

“We are very pleased with the progress that the RESULT Project has achieved in our region with our most vulnerable farmers – not only in the crops and livestock sectors but also in terms of alternative livelihood activities. We hope to see further progress in the future and are committed as regional and district stakeholders to ensure that it happens,” says Mr. Joseph Faalong, Regional Director, Food and Agriculture.

RESULT is funded by the Canadian Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade & Development, and by CFTC for a total of CDN$19 million over six years (2012-2018).

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