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The Importance of Organic Education for Smallholder Farmers of Northern Ghana in a Pandemic World
Introduction
The global pandemic, coronavirus popularly known as COVID-19, has finally arrived in Ghana since 15th March 2020. Currently, official figures report 313 infected cases and 6 deaths according to medical examination and laboratory test conducted by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research. Looking at the development of the disease in other countries, it is expected that the number of cases will rise soon due to vertical and horizontal contacts among people. Moreover, it is likely that, when COVID-19 will reach its peak on the curve, fear and panic will also significantly increase. Government of Ghana is adopting several measures to help minimize the spread of the virus. Some of them include World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) approved measures: frequent handwashing with soap under running water, social distance of 1 meter apart, use of alcohol based hand sanitizers, self-quarantine and isolation. Inspired by other countries, Ghana is thinking to move towards a total ‘lockdown’ as the only possibility to control and reduce the spread of the coronavirus in an effective way. Still, at this stage, no one knows for how long this crisis will last and what will be its consequences. However, it is clear that this critical situation is not at its end yet, and it might become worse. Some of the negative effects that this global crisis is having on the economy of other nations are already evident. It is therefore important to reflect on the possible impacts that the spread of the coronavirus will have on rural communities and their local economies in Ghana. Since most of the population of the North East Region of Ghana depends on agriculture, the impacts of COVID-19 seem to appear catastrophic. It is therefore imperative to investigate the possible consequences that this crisis will have on smallholder farmers, and develop alternative agricultural strategies in order to face this global challenge.
Anticipated Impact of COVID-19 on Smallholder Farmers (SFs)-2020 and Beyond
Currently, the detrimental impacts of the new outbreak of coronavirus have been analysed mainly from the health and business perspective with little emphases on the food and nutrition security of the Smallholder Farmers (SFs) of developing counties. Whereas this immediate focus on human health and the economy is understandable, there is the need to move our attention towards food and nutrition security.
Nowadays, most of the smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana are mainly oriented towards conventional agricultural farming systems. They depend heavily, if not entirely, on external inputs for primary production of food crops. These external inputs include improved seeds varieties, chemical fertilizers, weedicides and pesticides. Since the pandemic situation has already shown negative effects on the global economy, it is likely that the international supply chain that provides agricultural external inputs to Ghanaian farmers will be strongly affected and become soon uncertain. In the worst but realistic scenario, external resources will become scarce or even unavailable. In Northern Ghana, where agricultural conditions are already difficult, the lack of seeds and chemicals supply will threaten modern farming systems, leading to exposure to pest and diseases and reduction of productivity. Moreover, the increasing impacts of climate change, such as losses of soil fertility, extreme meteorological events, pest, disease and weeds pressure, poor seedling, and post-harvest losses, will strongly influence smallholder farmers. Therefore, combining the negative effects of this “coronavirus crisis” and climate change, it is expected that rural communities, which rely on agriculture, will face extreme poverty and hunger. To guarantee food and nutritional security to the population of Northern Ghana, it is necessary to come up with alternative solutions that aim at incorporating local resources, traditional practices and scientific knowledge to existing farming systems. In this way, rural farmers can be prepared to face future changes.
Way Forward: Relevance of Organic Farming Amidst COVID-19
Since COVID-19 and its anticipated impacts are expected to expand exponentially, there is the need for a more sustainable and reliable approach to food and nutritional security in our communities. Moreover, as it is rightly interpreted, ‘The literary meaning of crisis = turning point’ means that the outbreak of coronavirus can be seen as the perfect moment to transform conventional farming system towards sustainable systems that rely on local inputs. Aside the likelihood of distortion of global supply chains leading to scarcity of agricultural external inputs, the reliance on conventional agriculture would add more pressures on soil depletions, biodiversity losses, pollution of water systems among others in the long run. Organic farming presents a window of opportunity to address farmers’ challenges in this difficult period. Organic farming is considered the most reliable and sustainable path because it takes inspiration from nature and combines skills and knowledge obtained from local communities. Moreover, identification of local innovations, development and scaling up, maintains soils fertility providing enough food and income for farmers. Organic practices could help farmers to create sustainable agroecosystems that are less dependent on external inputs such as fertilizers, improved seeds, pesticides, and weedicides. The development of low input farming systems, which are based on local and natural sources of nutrients such as compost, crop residues and manure, aims at combining scientific knowledge with traditional practices to control pests and diseases without the need for synthetic chemical agrochemicals. In this way our smallholder farmers do not need to worry. They can rely on internal inputs in order to increase their independency from the global market, which will ensure stability and productivity.
Role of CEAL in This Crisis Period
In the North East Region of Ghana, the farming season is already here with us; rains have just started, and with only a single rainfall season, the danger is looming. As already anticipated, smallholder farmers will become poorer, since income, food and nutrition will become uncertain as the outbreak of the coronavirus will increase.
Scared by the insecurity that the virus is spreading around the world, smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana have started to be more concerned about the importance to adopt strategies as solutions to deal with the crisis. For this reason they are already looking for help and support to develop sustainable approaches that will ensure food production, income generation and nutrition security. There is need to act quickly towards the development of projects that aim at strengthening smallholder farmers’ stability before the COVID-19 crisis will reach its peak. We need to promote alternative systems that increase the resilience of agricultural systems in order to withstand shocks and reduce farmers’ instability.
The Centre for Ecological Agriculture and Livelihood (CEAL) represents a rapid and effective opportunity to support rural farmers. With its considerable experience in working with SFs in Northern Ghana, CEAL has designed, taught and promoted organic farming practices among smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana in the past years. Induced and worsened by climate variability, issues such as land degradation, diseases and pest pressure and postharvest management constitute major and current production challenges among SFs.
Considering the actual global situation, CEAL understood the importance of the development of quick solutions to reinforce SF resilience. Therefore, it aims at introducing farmers to organic practices such as the use of soil amendments, natural plant protection and post-harvest management.
Given the experience, CEAL intents to train and support 2000 small holder farmers by the end of the year 2020. However, the total number of farmers that can be reached is related to the additional support obtained from other national and international organizations. This project aims at introducing innovative organic farming practices in some of the most vulnerable and remote communities in North East Region of Ghana. To reach its objective, the CEAL wants to establish an Organic Farming Business School in which farmers can learn, experience and see the effectiveness of organic practices using the limited resources available. In addition, CEAL is going to establish a “Farmer Help Line” and create a ‘farmer in need advisory unit’ to support smallholder vulnerable farmers throughout the crisis season and beyond. The unit will be opened throughout the crisis period and beyond to provide both physical and psychological advices (answers and solutions) to farmers in relation to organic farming measures and implementation in order to increase resilience for improved income, food and nutritional security.
By this write up, CEAL calls for more unity, solidarity and support for our weak and vulnerable smallholder famers in this difficult times. The worst is yet to come and I am wondering who is going to speak out for us. Currently, the attention and focus is not on us as we seem to have been forgotten in this global crisis. Fortunate on our part, it is not and never too late, together we can bring this to the attention of all: global community, policy makers, implementers, NGOs, CSOs, and donors among others.
Note that CEAL is also open to new ideas and therefore encourages people with other solutions to join us. For More information visit our website: www.cealghana.org or e-mail us: infoceal2016@gmail.com and usifjobila@yahoo.com.
Write up by: Issifu Sulemana, Director, Centre for Ecological Agriculture and Livelihood(CEAL)
