UNDP mitigates climate change impact on cocoa production in Brong-Ahafo

The UNDP has brought some relief to cocoa farmers being affected by climate change, in the Asunafo North Municipality in the Brong-Ahafo Region – the region’s largest cocoa producing area.

Climate change is affecting cocoa production in the area, and according to cocoa farmers in most of the forest fringe communities in the municipality, the rainfall pattern in the area is unpredictable and remains unfavourable for cocoa and food production.

This is due to rapid depletion of the forest and destruction of the ecosystem in the forest fringe communities as a result of negative agricultural practices and unwarranted human activities such as bush burning, uncontrolled hunting expeditions, indiscriminate felling of trees, and farming along most of the river bodies in the area.

Cocoa farmers at Fawohoyeden, Kasapin, Mantekrom and Jerusalem in the Brong Ahafo region, said prompt intervention of the UNDP and its partners had brought hope to them.

They made this known when Mr Bossman Owusu, a Communication Analyst at the UNDP office in Accra, embarked on an official visit to monitor a UNDP project in the municipality, launched in July with the Ghana Cocoa Board to enhance the eco-system, and boost cocoa production.

It is being implemented in collaboration with Mondelez International, a US chocolate manufacturing company.

Dubbed “Environmental Sustainability and Policy for Cocoa Production in Ghana Project (ESP),” the project educates the youth on climate change, its impact on the environment, and the appropriate ways to address the challenge.

Mr Daniel Amponsah, a cocoa farmer at Kasapin explained that the project had supported farmers in 46 communities in the area to plant economic tree seedlings such as Oframo, Mahogany, Emire and Cidrella and Acacia to resuscitate the forest.

Another 58-year-old farmer at Jerusalem, Mrs Elizabeth Addai said aside the farm inputs distributed to the farmers under the project, most had understood best farming practices because of the capacity building and training component of the project.

Eric Gyamfi, a Field Officer of the project, explained during the visit that environmental clubs had been formed in 16 junior high schools in the area to create the needed awareness, understanding and interest in climate change and its consequences on the environment.

The schools are Kapain Municipal Assembly (M/A), Abidjan M/A, Ampenkrom M/A, Diasibe M/A, Driverkrom SDA, Edwinase M/A, Fawohoyeden M/A and Fawohoyeden M/A ‘B’ and Fianko M/A JHS.

Others are Kasapin Wesley Methodist, Kumaho M/A, Kwaopertey M/A, Minkakrom M/A, Kumaho M/A, Peterkrom M/A, and Wam-adiemra M/A JHSs.

Mr Gyamfi said the project had supplied the clubs with sets of garden tools to establish model farms and school-based environmental activities like landscaping and tree planting as immediate measures to address the challenges of climate change.

Farmers in the beneficiary communities had also been supplied with 75,199 economic tree seedlings for plantation to protect the bumper zone.

The visit also took Mr Owusu to some of the beneficiary schools to interact with the environmental clubs.

He noted that a well-informed youth would be in a better position to contribute to mitigating the impacts of environmental change in future.

Source: GNA