Groundnut Production in Northern Ghana Using Agriculture to Improve Nutrition

Ziba Dokurugu, MSc

September 15, 2015

1,000 Day IYCF Household Northern and Upper East Region, Ghana

Improve 1000 Day household’s Nutritional Status

Prevent Infection (WASH) (Prevent Contamination of

Food ; Agriculture)

Practice Recommended IYCF

(Food, Care and illness)

Reach 1000 day household through Critical Mass SBCC

Implementation Approach

Groundnuts in Northern Ghana

• Consumed as fresh, dry or roasted nuts and in stews/soups

• Traditionally regarded as women crop • Produced in all agro-ecological zones and 92% of

production comes from northern Ghana • Planting is done as soon as there is

consistent/adequate moisture

Ghana

AGRICULTURAL CALENDAR Months

J F M A M J J A S O N D USAID

SPRING Groundnut

Planting

Harvesting

Women’s Empowerment Pathway

• Time and energy required to produce groundnut, therefore, are key determinants of the ability of women to take care of children and themselves.

• SPRING/Ghana is pilot-test agriculture technologies that will save women’s time and energy

Time and Labor Saving Technologies

• Planters to efficiently sow seeds with proper spacing, replacing wasteful broadcasting of seeds that also results in lower rates of germination (SPRING and RING)

• Drip irrigation to replace laborious manual hauling of buckets of water (SPRING and RING)

• Strippers and lifters for efficient harvesting of groundnut (SPRING and RING)

• Rental of tractors from “nucleus farms” by “out-grower farms” (ADVANCE)

Plant Structure to Ease Harvest Effort

Mechanical Shellers Save Time

Seed Sheller

Groundnut Stripper

Production Pathway

• Pre-harvest and post-harvest processing and storage practices mitigate aflatoxin contamination

• Aflatoxin safe groundnuts to eat • Aflatoxin safe groundnuts to attract premium

prices/improved income • More groundnuts available year round

Income Generation

• Gender attitude is changing regarding the use of income

• Women make up most of the farmer’s group • More income from aflatoxin safe groundnut used

for other household needs • Challenges: • aflatoxin safe labeling/certifications • Ongoing study on the feasibility of a market

premium

Conclusion

Women’s critical role in agriculture and household nutrition:

• resource allocation • access to health-care • HH decision-making

This presentation is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, under the terms of the Cooperative Agreement AID-OAA-A-11-00031 (SPRING), managed by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI). The contents are the responsibility of JSI and the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the U.S. Government.

Thank you! For more info, please contact:

Ziba Dokurugu zdokurugu@spring-nutrition.org