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Ghanaian Organic Farming Project Moves Forward
Written by Dr. Helen M. Osei, secretary general, UPF-Ghana
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Kpando, Ghana — UPF-Ghana held a meeting of chiefs, elders and members of farming communities in the Volta Region to discuss the start of an organic farming project.
The meeting, which took place on February 28, 2015, in the Aziave community of Kpando Municipal Area in collaboration with New Look Organic Farms-Africa (formerly known as New Hope Organic Farms), was held to introduce organic farming and bring interested farmers into an organic farming association.
Kpando opinion leaders said that people from the 23 communities that comprise Kpando should be invited, and not just Aziave. After consulting with the Municipal Assembly, UPF redesigned the meeting to include 10 of the 23 communities.
UPF also learned that many farmers live too far away to come to Aziave on Feb. 28. For that reason, three UPF volunteers came from Accra to visit the Kpando farming communities for the three days prior to the meeting. They were accompanied by Mr. Willie Hauck, the brain behind the Kpando project. Mr. Hauck, an Ambassador for Peace from Germany, moved to Ghana, his wife’s homeland, in 2014.
On February 24 the UPF team made its first stop at the office of the Kpando municipal chief executive, who together with the coordinating director and the director of agriculture invited them to the Municipal Assembly and managed to have the UPF-Ghana secretary general speak briefly at a forum on agriculture organized by the United States Agency for International Development. Secretary General Dr. Helen M. Osei spoke to more than 100 persons about the need for farmers to change to organic farming in order to guarantee food and health security. After the 30-minute talk, the Kpando municipal chief said she was willing to have UPF work closely with the Municipal Assembly in the area of education.
After that, the UPF team visited seven farming communities, setting off each morning at 5 a.m. to meet the farmers before they left to go to the fields. The prospect of changing to organic farming was welcomed by all. Two persons were selected from each of the communities to participate in a one-day “Peace Education” seminar scheduled for March 3.
On February 28, approximately 50 people gathered at the Aziave primary school, representing about eight farming communities. Some farmers came all the way from Accra, a 5-hour journey. Others came from within the Volta Region.
UPF-Ghana Secretary General Dr. Osei introduced UPF and said that building strong, healthy families leads to the realization of “One Global Family of God.”
An expert in organic farming, who had been invited by the chief executive of the New Look Organic Farms, encouraged the farmers to change to organic farming which will bring them a bigger profit. A local farmer displayed crops planted with organic and inorganic fertilizers.
Mr. Willie Hauck said that UPF Germany is willing to assist the project in any possible way. He said that he will seek the assistance of many NGOs in Germany when he visits there in two weeks’ time.
The municipal director of agriculture explained that her department is collaborating with some NGOs to train farmers in the production of high-quality vegetables for the domestic and export markets.
She said, “We have vast available land which has not been cultivated for more than three years now. We are therefore happy and ready to partner with UPF/New Look Organic Farm-Africa to promote organic farming.”
Lists submitted from the eight communities indicated a total of 170 farmers who are interested in the organic farming association. The program ended with much hope for the people.
On March 2, the UPF team met the member of Parliament representing Kpando. She welcomed the UPF team and thanked Mr. Hauck for his kind-hearted efforts for the people of Kpando. She also added more names to the list of participants of the March 3 “Peace Education” seminar and requested more meetings in the future.
The March 3 seminar took place in a hall of the municipal department of agriculture that the director had prepared. The selection of participants focused on dynamic men and women between the ages of 30 and 45. The presentations were: (1) Introduction to UPF (2) Vision of One Family under God (3) Character Education and (4) Spiritual Values as the Foundation for Leadership. At the end, all acknowledged that the contents were highly relevant for them. The director of agriculture and some of the participants began right away to make contacts for the next seminar.
There were questions about the government’s stand toward the UPF character education textbook series Discovering the Real Me. After deliberations, the participants unanimously agreed that they need not wait for the government’s approval before implementing the books into their schools’ curricula. They pleaded with UPF to spare time and come back to Kpando for more seminars.
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