EU-funded LEAN project provides alternative livelihood support to local communities

The European Union (EU) funded Landscape and Environmental Agility Across the Nation (LEAN) project has provided alternative livelihood empowerment support to some communities in Bono East and Ashanti Regions.

The EcoCare and TropenBos Ghana, Non-governmental Organisations and facilitators of the EU-funded LEAN project, handed over the livestock production, fish and crop farming initiatives to the Landscape Management Boards (LMBs) set up in the beneficiary communities of Nkoranza and Techiman in Bono East and Akumadan in the Offinso North District of the Ashanti Regions.

At a short ceremony held at Akomadan, the project also introduced the beneficiary communities to the “Village and Savings Loans Association” initiative.

Mr Enock Danso Okyere, a representative of EcoCare Ghana explained that the project implementation also focused at setting a governance structure that would monitor, and report to ensure the sustainability of the project.

The governance stricture ensures that the beneficiary communities adopted integrated landscape management approach for them to derive the optimum benefit.

Mr Okyere said the project was also aimed at promoting ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, governance, livelihood enhancements, saying it had had provided seed funding to guarantee its sustainability too.

It has further supported communities with beehives, snails, piggery and other small ruminants to scale up additional livelihood interventions.

Additionally, he said more than 80 community volunteers had been trained on the use of real-time monitoring ‘APP’ for them to report on the project implementation, assuring the project commitment to improve livelihood empowerment in the communities.

Nana Ameyaw Yeboah II, a representative from the Nkoranza Traditional Area and Chairman of the LMB, commended the project implementers saying the project had also planted more than 200,000 trees of different species to promote an ecosystem in the operational areas.

He said the livestock production and crop farming modules of the project were making a huge impact, improving the socio-economic livelihoods of the people and thereby helping in poverty reduction and job creation in the communities.

Source: GNA