Ewurama Greenslade works in communications for Organic Markets for Development in Ghana. Ewurama loves to grow what she eats and encourages others to do likewise. Her passion for agriculture comes from over 12 years of working with farmers and farmer organizations in West, East and Southern Africa.
Cassava is a food crop with diverse uses. It has valuable nutritional properties and above all, can grow in all weather conditions. Also, it has several advantages over rice, maize and other grains as a food staple in areas where there is a degraded resource base, uncertain rainfall and weak market infrastructure.
Its production is an important food source in any rural household and if production is encouraged in large quantities in rural communities, it can contribute to food security.
One such area is Damongo, a farming community in the West Gonja district in the Savannah Region of Ghana where women are being trained to produce over one thousand tons of organic cassava flour in the next three years. Most of these women are part of a Community Resource Management Area (CREMA). Community groups that manage natural resources and practice sustainable agriculture often evolve into a social enterprise and generate income for participants.
To achieve this, Organic Markets for Development (OM4D), funded by the Dutch Government and implemented by IFOAM – Organics International and Agro Eco, is working with women in the Damongo community on organic cassava production and certification.
Mr. Bo van Elzakker, Director of Agro Eco, “the vision for organic cassava in the project is that, if the cassava food system is improved, it will enhance rural development and raise incomes for producers, processors and traders. Organic cassava can also contribute to household food security when farming families include it in their meals.”
To support the sale of surplus production, we will help organize markets where producers from Damongo can meet potential buyers. To aid producers entering the market place they are taken through enterprise training by our partner organization, A Rocha. This will ensure they have the skills and knowledge to access markets in the long-term.
Background
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