Farmer-to-Farmer Education

Tong Baloro lives in the farming community of Lambusie in northern Ghana. He is involved in initiatives to inform local farmers about the causes of climate change, to organise collective action to tackle the problems that result from it and, as far as possible, to protect their natural resources.

Tong believes: "Education is the only way we can enable our people to cope with the worsening environmental conditions."

Thirty years ago, Lambusie was the second largest area of maize production in the region and benefited from a plentiful forest reserve in addition to fertile soils. Today, Lambusie has changed radically. Most of the young adults are either migrating or engaged in activities such as charcoal burning and felling trees for sale as firewood, which increase the problems of climate change.

Rapid and Extensive Change: Tong is appalled by the enormity of the changes he sees around him: "I cannot believe this is happening in my lifetime; I remember the conditions when my father started his first farm in 1969. The land was so fertile that some maize plants had two cobs on the same plant. Rainfall was sufficient, and the start of the various seasons could be predicted with certainty by local forecasters.

"There was little flooding as water flowed naturally along established watercourses. Natural ponds provided water for large herds of livestock, for use in gardening and for domestic consumption. Respect for religious monuments and shrines contributed to the preservation of vegetation, because farming or felling trees was forbidden in the vicinity of such sacred places.

"Today everything has changed," he says. "Seasons are no longer predictable. The seasonal cycle is characterised by floods and droughts, the erosion of topsoil, the disappearance of ponds and the destruction of forest land, all of which have an adverse effect on wildlife." According to Tong, the rains every year over the last two decades have been consistently less than in the previous year and the harvests have been proportionally smaller. On the other hand, the population is on the increase.

"In years past, sowing in June was considered late, but now June is the start of the sowing season. As a result, many people eat only one meal a day for long periods of the year, there is less variety of food, and people's health is deteriorating. This has a negative impact on productivity.

"As a result of this year's poor and unpredictable rainfall, we have sown three times with no positive results to show for it, and the farmers have run out of seed," says Tong.

A Circle of Destruction: "The loss of forest means we must travel far to find timber to roof our homes, there is no more game to provide food for our children, and there has been an increase in the windstorms that destroy our homes, schools and crops. Today children have to go the Zoo in Kumasi to see the monkeys and elephants that used to be very common here.

"The lack of vegetative cover has resulted in extensive erosion. The poor soil demands costly soil supplements like fertilisers that most farmers cannot afford. Thus we are forced to borrow, and whatever we make is used to repay the loans rather than providing adequate food for our children.

"As a result of agricultural activities along the river involving the use of tractors, waterways fill up with soil thereby reducing their capacity to hold enough water to feed the livestock. The cattle therefore stray over large distances in search of water and are frequently stolen. The consequence is not only a loss of capital; it also causes a shortage of manure for the farms and for plastering home walls."

Information and Action: In Lambusie, everyone agrees that climate change is making their farming efforts difficult. Tong has therefore been able to persuade some farmers, though not all, to use only bullock ploughs which cost less and do not cut as deeply into the soil as tractors. Tong is also working with one group of farmers to plant teak to be used in the roofing of houses. Tree planting will also be carried out along waterways to reduce the erosion of soil and protect the water reserves.

With the support of Concern Universal and their local partner Pronet, Tong has initiated a training system with emphasis on farmer-to-farmer training. He works with some 20 women to cultivate nurseries where different species of trees are grown. Groups, institutions and individuals can buy trees for planting, thereby increasing forest reserves.

Following the 2007 floods, the nursery provided over 20,000 seedlings to support tree planting in 25 communities in five districts in the north of Ghana.

Read more about Pronet and Concern Universal and their work in Africa.