The Afrivoices for Climate Change (AFC) staged the anticipated event in Tanoboase on January 28th, 2022, in collaboration with Ghana Permaculture Institute and with support from The Pollination Project.

The event’s goal was to raise awareness and educate rural women smallholder moringa farmers about the importance of Moringa oleifera for household economic, environmental, and health benefits, as well as the importance of incorporating agroforestry techniques and practices into current moringa production landscapes to improve sustainability and promote local moringa value addition for inclusive rural growth. Kranka, Tuobodom, Tanoboase, Techiman, Wenchi, Busunya, Forikrom, and Nkwaso were among the participating communities.

 

Mr. John B. Kabo-Bah, the project’s lead, highlighted the growing demand for Moringa leave powder and seeds on both  local and global level during the first session, emphasizing that smallholder farmers would need to adopt measures to scale up from subsistence to large-scale production in order to reap market benefits. In order to revolutionize Moringa farming in Ghana and accomplish SDGs 1, 2, 5, and 13, he also stressed the significance of off takers, the government, agro processors, financial institutions, and others in the indigenous value chain like Moringa. Some participants also spoke about the benefits of moringa and how it has benefited their entire family.

A participant sharing her experience as a moringa farmer

Following that, four female volunteers were chosen and introduced to participants as the “communal nursery committee,” with the goal of establishing a communal nursery in the community to allow for better control of the genetic varieties and seedlings distributed to beneficiary households of the programme.

A participant receiving cutlass and pair of wellington boots

At the conclusion of the event, participants were given 50 cutlasses and 50 pairs of Wellington boots from AFC. The Project Lead, Mr. John B. Kabo-Bah thanked the Ghana Permaculture Institute, Moringa Farmers’ Association executives, and women moringa farmers who attended the occasion, and urged the general public to support the effort in order to consolidate benchmarked results and expand to new communities. Participants also express gratitude to the AFC team for providing each with a pair of wellington boots and a cutlass to aid in their daily farming dusties.