Ghana has officially launched the LOGMe project phase II with a commitment to restore degraded landscapes, build climate resilience, and empower vulnerable communities in the Sahelian belt.
The project was launched at a national inception workshop held in Bolgatanga, Upper East Region.
Phase II of the project which will be implemented in 5 countries namely; Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin, and Senegal. In Ghana, LOGMe II will continue to focus on the Upper East and Upper West regions, which are mostly affected by climate change, land degradation, and poverty.
The project, which will be implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will build on the achievements of phase I and scale them up.
Dorcas Owusuaa Agyei, National Coordinator of the IUCN Ghana Project Office, noted that the achievements of LOGMe phase I include the restoration of over 3,700 hectares of land and improved food and nutrition security through community gardens and certified seeds.
“In Ghana, LOGMe I was implemented in 4 selected districts in the Upper East and West Regions. Our efforts focused on restoring degraded lands using agroforestry and soil conservation. A total of 3,752.3ha were restored. Developing green value chains—notably honey, shea, cosmetics, snacks from soybeans, briquettes, etc,” she stated.
According to Ms Owusuaa Agyei, phase I of the project helped to “improve food and nutrition security through community gardens, quality and certified seeds, etc. It has enhanced livelihoods with renewable energy access, climate-smart agriculture through demonstration farms, and business support”.
District Chief Executive for Talensi, John Millim Nabwomya, in his keynote address, said the Sahelian belt of Ghana, where Talensi is located, is both a place of promise and vulnerability. As a result, he said the district for the past faced environmental degradation, erratic rainfall, rising temperatures, and unsustainable land use practices.
“These conditions have resulted in reduced agricultural productivity, loss of biodiversity, rural poverty, and youth migration. Yet, at the heart of this struggle lies a resilient spirit, a deep-rooted knowledge of the land, and an unyielding desire for change. It is precisely this potential that LOGMe phase II seeks to unlock.”
IUCN is implementing the project with supporting partners like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), A Rocha Ghana, and other government departments. The three-year project is being funded by the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security through the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Global Mechanism.
Dr. Iddrisu Yahaya, Principal Investigator at CSIR-SARI, recalled some of the gains made under phase I of the project.
“Under LOGMe I, we were implementing sustainable value chains, and we introduced a lot of good agronomic practices. We promoted soybean, maize, and cowpea production, and the community members were supported to process soybeans into soyamilk. We supported them with freezers for cooling the products. On the production side, we gave them roller planters, tarpaulin, and weighing scales.”
A Project Officer with A Rocha Ghana, Isaac Kofi Ntori, said the project has reduced environmental depletion through its renewable energy component.
“Communities were supplied with improved cook stoves. We provided solar mechanized boreholes and solar charging systems for communities that do not have access to electricity, and with the feedback from the communities, it has an impact on their livelihoods,” he indicated.
The Regional Coordinator of the LOGMe phase II project, Felicite Chabigonni a budget of 11 million euros has been budgeted for the implementation of the project in the five countries.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Bolgatanga
