Volunteer Stephen Gary Bullen’s recent return to Africa set the stage for a transformative success story–a testimony to the power of strategic knowledge sharing and capacity building in transforming the agricultural sector. His journey took him to the heart of Ghana’s agrarian domain, a sector that serves as the country’s economic powerhouse, accounting for 54% of its GDP and over 40% of its export earnings.

One of the country’s significant agricultural challenges is post-harvest losses, which result in an annual loss of at least 30% of farm produce. A solution to this issue is the potential of agro-processing to minimize these losses and meet the escalating demand for processed foods, particularly among middle to high-income urban dwellers. Bullen’s encounter with Hope Rural Investment (HRI), a group of ambitious smallholder farmers, offers hope within this context.

Determined to mitigate these post-harvest losses and boost its market share, Hope Rural Investment sought to strengthen its market strategy and business skills, enabling them to deliver high-quality local raw materials and introduce its products to new markets. Their eagerness to learn and adapt led to a six-day comprehensive workshop organized by the Department of Agriculture – Bechem, Tano South Municipal, and Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana. The workshop’s mission was to empower these farmers with strategic marketing and business negotiation skills and help them penetrate new markets and expand their market share.

This intensive workshop, which saw the participation of thirty dedicated Hope Rural Investment members, centered around developing and implementing an effective marketing strategy. Despite the workshop’s short duration, the participants took full advantage of the opportunity, absorbing invaluable insights on marketing strategy development. The organizers offered much-needed materials, outlines, and guidance to further their ongoing marketing activities and exercises.

Unfortunately, the workshop could not thoroughly address contract negotiation due to time constraints. However, this challenge birthed an innovative solution: selecting a group within Hope Rural Investment to specialize in negotiations and exploring new markets. This specialized group will utilize Hope Rural Investment’s proven group marketing approach, ensuring the collective benefit of all members.

The conclusion of this workshop marked a critical turning point in Hope Rural Investment’s journey towards bolstered market penetration and financial growth. With new-found marketing acumen, improved contract management capabilities, and enhanced negotiation techniques, Hope Rural Investment is set to make significant strides in widening its market presence and capturing untapped opportunities.

With a dynamic marketing plan that perfectly aligns with customer needs and profitability, Hope Rural Investment is poised to make waves in the agricultural sector. They are set to deliver exceptional product offerings, streamline distribution, execute targeted promotional activities, and offer remarkable service across diverse market segments.

The tale of Hope Rural Investment’s transformation, facilitated by Stephen Bullen, is a testament to Winrock’s Farmer-to-Farmer Program’s potential. It demonstrates the remarkable impact of collaborative efforts, knowledge exchange, and capacity building in driving sustainable growth within the agricultural sector. The investment in the skills and abilities of rural farmers is rapidly shifting the course of Ghana’s agricultural industry toward economic prosperity.

Through unwavering support and empowering initiatives such as these, Hope Rural Investment and other similar groups are steadily transforming the agricultural landscape of Ghana. The ripple effects of this transformation promise increased sales, improved livelihoods, and a brighter future for all involved stakeholders.

As we share this success story, we celebrate the power of the Farmer-to-Farmer program and Winrock International’s dedication to cultivating prosperity in rural communities. We’re committed to our mission of nurturing similar success stories and amplifying the transformative power of collaborative knowledge sharing and capacity building for a brighter and more sustainable future in agriculture.

Winrock’s Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) provides a unique opportunity to engage volunteers to share their technical expertise while supporting a local organization. Every year, F2F recognizes one volunteer for dedication to the project. This year, Winrock recognized first-time volunteer, Dr. Isaac Zama. Dr. Zama traveled to Ghana and worked with a group called the Participatory Guarantee System Ghana (PGS Ghana), an organic market that raises awareness of organic food systems and gives smallholder farmers the tools and market to increase their incomes through organic farming. Dr. Zama taught PGS Ghana members how to convert aquaculture pond residue into organic fertilizer for vegetable production, create floating fish feed pellets for organic tilapia and catfish production, and the value of maggots as an ingredient in feed. 

On his assignment, Dr. Zama worked alongside Mr. Issifu, a member of PGS and Director of the Centre for Ecological Agriculture and Livelihood, to conduct the training. Dr. Zama provided presentations, demonstrations, recorded videos, printed materials, and hands-on learning to participants that focused on techniques for transforming residues left behind after draining aquaculture ponds into an inoculate for compost piles. The nutrient-rich residue nourishes the compost pile, increasing soil fertility, greater vegetable yields, and revenue growth for farmers, replacing costly, problem-causing chemical fertilizers.

Dr. Zama showed participants how to make fish pellet feed manually by hand and via an extruder machine. Participants jumped in and followed the demonstration and made their fish pellets. Dr. Zama talked about the undervalued and misunderstood maggots. Maggots are the larval form of a fly and play an essential role in the breakdown of organic matter into usable compost. Maggots are rich in protein and have been recognized for their use in poultry, fish, and crustacean farming. Dr. Zama also provided participants with training on maggot production for increased protein in the production of fish feed pellets. At the end of the assignment, Dr. Zama left tangible recommendations for PGS Ghana so they could continue applying the technologies he introduced.

The host immediately mobilized resources to ensure all the recommendations provided by Dr. Zama were implemented, including a maggot production unit and the production of foliar fertilizer (fertilizer sprayed directly on the leaves) units at the farm. These recommendations enabled participants to experiment with what they had learned from the lectures and the videos. Mr. Ahedor Mawule, a PGS Ghana member, shared, “Fish feed is expensive and difficult to buy. Now that I’ve learned to formulate fish feed, I can do it myself and expand my catfish farm. I’ll also share the knowledge with my workers and other fish farmers in Walewale.”

In addition, Winrock’s Farmer to Farmer Program has been making a significant difference in the Walewale community in Northern Ghana. In just under a year, the community group’s efforts have yielded impressive results, helping to improve the lives of the locals in several ways. Above all, Farmer to Farmer volunteer

Dr. Isaac Zama has made a difference by sharing knowledge and skills with the community. According to an email from the community, Winrock International has given them “too much life-changing knowledge and skills.” The locals have been spending time implementing and sharing what they learned with others, particularly other smallholder farmers in their community.

Despite the current circumstances on the ground in Walewale, the community has been thriving in implementing everything that was taught and recommended by Winrock International, with few modifications. The skills learned from Winrock International’s training have significantly increased the number of agriculturalists interested in acquiring the knowledge and skills Dr. Zama has left behind. One of the techniques he has impacted significantly is the extraction of neem oil (from the seeds of the neem tree Azadirachta indica). The Walewale community has since acquired a small neem oil extraction machine and is currently installing the machine on their farms. Over 500 women have been trained in collecting, storing, and processing neem oil, allowing for a business case in the Walewale communities to be made. There are currently three models in operation:

1. Collect, dry, and sell to the Center for Ecological Agricultural and Livelihoods (CEAL) to extract the oil and sell.
2. Collect, dry, bring to the mill, pay extraction fee, package, and trade.
3. Collect, dry, clean, and extract the oil manually for the communities’ use and sale.

The community is still in the early stages, but progress is being made, and updates will be provided. Another area Farmer to Farmer has impacted compost making and application. Communities in Walewale have been screening videos on compost making and applications, with 13 video screenings since Winrock International left. Through the video screenings, over 2,000 farmers have acquired the skills and knowledge in composting, with more still counting. A business case has also been made for preparing, bagging, and selling rich compost. The smallholder farmers have been trained to prepare enough compost for their use and sell the excess to other farmers in the local communities. This has resulted in significant improvements in soil fertility and farmers’ yields and incomes.

Farmer to Farmer has significantly impacted various communities and families in Walwale, Northern Ghana. The efforts of the Farmer-to-Farmer program have resulted in acquiring knowledge and skills that have improved the lives and incomes of the community, particularly smallholder farmers. Our partners are grateful for the training and expertise that Farmer to Farmer has imparted and are progressing in implementing what they have learned. The impacts of Winrock International’s efforts will undoubtedly continue to be felt in Walewale for many years to come.

In recognition of Dr. Zama’s outstanding support, he was honored with Winrock’s 2022-2023 Volunteer of the Year Award. Dr. Zama exemplified Winrock’s F2F mission by increasing the resilience of PGS Ghana’s agricultural productivity and competitiveness. In February 2023, Dr. Zama collaborated with Winrock’s F2F Country Directors to host a Winrock in-house webinar that explored the program’s many facets, including his inspiration to serve as a F2F volunteer and the impacts of the assignment on the host organization. Dr. Zama’s passion was fueled by his personal work as founder of Amba Farmers Voice, a nonprofit focused on reframing agricultural education by shifting to a process that integrates indigenous knowledge, cost-effectiveness, and practical solutions to inspire personalized learning in community-based farming.

Investing in women’s leadership means prioritizing and centering women’s perspectives and their lived experiences of the kinds of gender bias and discrimination that drive exploitation. Women’s perspectives and profound personal knowledge of such gendered power structures are the keys to fully understanding vulnerability, preventing exploitation, and advancing sustainable change. Even more importantly, we need to promote diverse forms of leadership of women who can authentically speak with and for those most directly affected. We asked several women from across Winrock to answer in their own words why they think women’s leadership is essential in their respective areas of expertise.

Every year in March, we celebrate women, their achievements, and their tremendous contributions to our society, and what better way to celebrate than by highlighting a woman who is making a significant impact in her field? Mina H. Lassey, Winrock International’s Farmer-to-Farmer Country Director, is one such woman dedicated to empowering women in the agricultural sector in Ghana. Mina Lassey boasts over two decades of experience in the development sector, with a particular focus on managing projects to improve the lives of individuals and communities. She has held various roles during her career, including serving as the F2F Program Manager for nine years. Mina’s expertise lies in project management, monitoring and evaluation, agribusiness, and natural resource management, which she has leveraged to implement impactful development projects. Presently, Mina is the Country Director of The Farmer to Farmer Program in Ghana, where she continues to make significant contributions towards empowering local communities and promoting sustainable development.

According to studies, 62% of economically active women in Africa work in agriculture as producers, traders, and processors. Unfortunately, despite their high representation in the sector, rural women still lag behind men in terms of productivity and earnings. Mina recognized this problem and has worked tirelessly to empower women to thrive in the agricultural sector. Mina leads the West Africa F2F Country Project, which supports post-harvest, predominantly female-dominated areas. Through this project, Mina aims to empower women-owned agribusinesses with technical support, business training, and access to high-value markets and resources. She believes empowering these women will transform Ghana’s agricultural sector’s productivity and prosperity.

Mina’s work has already yielded positive results. For example, Meannan Foods, a woman-led agribusiness, received an award for being the best agribusiness in which the owners are under 40 years old. The F2F project provided support in online marketing skills to help increase sales and access international markets. Another success story is Hendy Farms, another woman-led agribusiness that received support from F2F to build a processing facility and diversify its product lines. Hendy Farms was also awarded during a Hortifresh Fair for having the best-packaged products.
These organizations are a testament to the power of women’s leadership in the agricultural sector. With the proper support, women-led businesses can thrive, impacting their livelihoods and the agricultural sector as a whole. Mina’s work gives us hope for the future and inspires us to support women’s leadership in our respective fields. Mina’s dedication to empowering women in the agricultural sector exemplifies what can be achieved when women are given the support they need to succeed. Her work inspires us all, and we can learn from her example to empower more women in our communities and fields of work.

In October 2021 the West Africa Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) project in Ghana was invited to present a brief statement in the Eastern Region, Koforidua; at the maiden two-day Eastern Commodity Satellite Market Fair, organized by the Regional Agricultural Department of the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council on the theme: “Developing the Eastern Commodity Satellite Markets: The Role of Agro-input Dealers and Processors.” 

Country Director, Mina Lassey, gives a statement at the Eastern Commodity Satellite Market Fair

New packaging developed with help from F2F Volunteers

The Regional Agricultural Department has the mandate to foster market linkages for smallholder farmers, processors, and aggregators under the Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana (MAG) Program. The region adopted the development of commodity satellite markets as its main strategy to ensure that farmers have access to markets. Under this initiative, each District Agricultural Department was tasked with a responsibility to facilitate the branding and selling of at least one agricultural commodity in which they have both competitive and comparative advantage. Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteers April Thompson and Molly Hamilton trained the Department of Agriculture on branding, packaging, and labeling of rice. The neatly and beautifully packed products at the fair were the results of the F2F volunteer assistance. The Country Director of the F2F project pledged their continued collaboration with the MAG secretariate and the Department of Agriculture to increase income and livelihoods of farmers, agro-processors, and support the agricultural sector in general.

Farmer-to-Farmer Ghana Country Director, Mina Lassey, helps cut the ribbon

The Eastern Regional Minister, Hon Seth Kwame Acheampong, officially opened the fair and commended the Department of Agriculture for the job well done. He also greatly commended the USAID-funded West Africa Farmer-to-Farmer Project for the support to the agricultural sector.

• What was the best part about contributing to Farmer-to-Farmer as a national volunteer in Ghana

Having a Farmer-to-Farmer national volunteer in Ghana is a very innovative approach that enables us to use our professional experience to practically support the host to improve on what they are doing and their livelihoods.

In my assignment as a national volunteer, I was able to communicate in the local languages that made them fully understand the training. The trainees were also able to ask many questions to clarify their understanding because all the participants could speak the local language which avoided the communication gap that happens when translation had to be done.

I used local examples and illustrations that they knew and made it very practical to the extent of bringing pineapple fruits to the training classroom to demonstrate to them and also giving the opportunity to do it themselves that made the training easier to understand.

The host and farmers bonded easily and had a high level of trust and confidence with me so they shared in depth experiences with me that helped me to gain more insight into their challenges and made me adapt the training to address their needs.

After the training sessions, the host and cooperative members felt that they have benefited a lot because the training was done in their local language, was very practical, hands on and full of comprehension.

Farmers on farm tour with Winrock

• What was the best part about working with a remote US based volunteer

Working with a US based volunteer gives you the opportunity to work as a team and each professional brings his/her experience to bear. Also, gives the opportunity to blend these experiences to support the host to improve in the way they do things.

Further, the team work and writing the end of assignment together helped each volunteer to learn from each other also improve his/her professional experience.

• What did you learn/were there any cultural exchanges

The assignment further improves working relationship in a multicultural environment.

David during the training sessions

• What lasting impact did this have on you

I have done some volunteer assignments alone in the past, and this was the first time for me to work on an assignment with a US Volunteer. This assignment helped me to gain some insights into the professional way of handling some technical issues in the US.

I also saw the responses from the host and cooperative members who felt greater impact of the Farmer to Farmer volunteer assignment will be done if national professionals are given opportunity to offer their professional experience and expertise to support host organizations.