Sustainable Rural Livelihood

Enhancement and Poverty Reduction

Through the Establishment of
Perennial Fruit Tree Crops - Ghana

Best Practices and Innovation (BPI)

Initiative-Interaction
 Area of Intervention

9 out of 10 regions

52 districts

600+ communities

30,000 farmer
households (300,000
beneficiaries)
 Main Constraints and Challenges

High level of food insecurity and rural poverty

affecting majority of rural dwellers
Average of 4 months of household food shortage
Over exploitation of natural resources resulting in
reduced stock of trees, low rainfall and declining
soil fertility
Use of low-output traditional farming methods
Main Constraints and Challenges, cont.

Lack of access to agricultural inputs

Limited access to improved technologies
Overdependence on annual food crops
Lack of a tree crop safety net
Poor access to markets
Increased rural-urban migration
 Program Approach

Increased
Agro-forestry income
Farmer Agro- Business
Group Input (Tree crop Increased Training Improved
intercropped Technology
Formation Credit
Adoption
Crop and Food
and to Farmer with annual Yields Marketing Security
Training Groups Crops) Linkages
Poverty
Reduction
 Critical Factors for Success

Favorable land tenure

system

Appropriate choice of
marketable and
ecologically adapted
fruit/woody trees
 Critical Factors for Success, cont.

Farmer group formation and use

of solidarity groups

Training of beneficiaries and

community based volunteer
extension workers

Provision of input credit “hardware”

 Critical Factors for Success, cont.

Marketing training and linkages between farmers, buyers and

processing industries

Tree and annual crops system providing short and long term
food security and income

Use of video documentaries, radio, demonstration farms, field

days, crop event and Best Farmer Award Days

Close project Monitoring and support of beneficiaries by

strategically located Field Staff.
 Evidence of Success
Months of Food Shortage

4
4
NUMBER OF MONTHS

3
3

2
1.34
1

0
2002 2004 2006
YEARS
 Evidence of Success, cont.
Increased yields of promoted crops:

• Citrus: 354 kg/acre to 18,213

• Maize: 400 kg/acre to 1,114 kg/acre
• Mango: 700 kg/acre to 3,213 kg/acre
• Soybean: 200 kg/acre to 600 kg/acre

Increased beneficiary income

Increase in Yield: Citrus

20,000

15,000
YIELD IN KILOGRAMS

10,000

5,000

0
CITRUS
INCREASE IN YIELD: 2002 VS. 2006
Increase in Yield: Non-Citrus
3,500

3,000

2,500
YIELD IN KILOGRAMS

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0 MAIZE MANGO SOYBEAN

INCREASE IN YIELD: 2002 VS. 2006

 Evidence of Success, cont.

Creation of fruit tree belts

(9,118acres citrus, 3,000 acres
of mango and 9,000 acres
cashew)

Mangos exports to Europe

 Evidence of Success, cont.

Two large scale factories processing 450 MT of

fruits/day. Companies established in the heart of the
citrus belt in the Eastern and Central Regions 2006, 2009);
 Evidence of Success, cont.

Storage losses reduced from

40% at baseline (2002) to 5%
in 2006

Improved living standards,

better housing, household
assets, ability to pay children’s
school fees, and health care.
 Evidence of Success, cont.

Income increased through off-season selling

Credit repayment rate of 75-80% achieved as against

agricultural lending repayment in industry of
below 50%

Diversification into other ventures

Reduced rural-urban migration

 Evidence of Success, cont.

Adoption of natural resource

management practices by 93% of
beneficiaries compared with 12.7%
adoption by Non-project clients

Farm size expansion: acreages

increased from the initial 1-2
supported acres, to between
5 - 26 acres
 NRM Practices
2006 12,000
11,459

10,000

2004
8,000

HECTARES
7,562

2002
5,790 6,000

4,000

2006
2004 93 2,000
69
2002
10
0
% FARMERS USING NRM HECTARES UNDER NRM
 Evidence of Success, cont.

Over 40 project farmers have won Best Farmer

awards during Ghana’s annual National Farmers
Days between 2002-2010

Based on impacts of this USAID-funded Food

Security Project, ADRA Ghana has won two awards:
International Development Partner Category; Millennium
Excellence Award 2005:

Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMIG) Award as

Non-Governmental Organization of the Year 2007
Thank You