Eighty smallholder farmers across 12 communities in the Amansie West and Amansie South districts are set to benefit from the second phase of Asanko Gold Ghana Limited’s Community Agricultural Support Programme (CASP).

The initiative is aimed at improving agricultural productivity, strengthening food security and helping farmers respond to challenges including rising input costs, changing rainfall patterns and limited access to agricultural extension services.

Social Responsibility Manager of Asanko Gold Ghana Limited, Isaac Kwakye, said the programme forms part of the company’s efforts to strengthen agriculture and support livelihoods within its host communities.

He said providing farmers with inputs, technical assistance and improved farming practices could help increase production and improve food availability within the communities.

“We thought it wise that if we can help our farmers improve agricultural practices, if we can support them with farming inputs, it will go a long way in augmenting their farm produce, which in the end will bring more food to the area,” he said.

According to Kwakye, an assessment of farmers who participated in the first phase showed improvements in farm production, with agricultural extension services playing an important role in supporting beneficiaries on their farms.

He explained that beneficiaries from the previous phase would continue to receive extension services to help them sustain the progress made, while additional farmers are being brought onto the programme under Phase Two.

General Manager of Asanko Gold Ghana Limited, Justice Fenteng, said agriculture remained an important source of food and income for households in the company’s host communities.

He noted that rising input costs, weed-control challenges, changing rainfall patterns and limited access to technical support continued to affect farmers in the area.

Under Phase Two, each participating farmer cultivating at least one acre will receive weed-control inputs, Wellington boots, a raincoat, a cutlass and a knapsack sprayer.

Fenteng said the items had been selected to assist farmers with activities ranging from land preparation and weed management to improving safety while working on their farms.

He added that the intervention goes beyond the provision of farming inputs and also focuses on building farmers’ knowledge and capacity.

Beneficiaries will therefore receive practical training in improved and climate-resilient farming methods, including farm planning, weed management, responsible use of inputs, safe handling of equipment, and approaches to adapting farming practices to changing rainfall patterns and other weather conditions.

Amansie South District Assistant Director of Agriculture, Esther Afoakwa, also highlighted the impact of illegal mining on agriculture in the district, particularly the declining participation of young people in farming.

She said farming was increasingly being left to older people as some young people turned to mining activities for income.

“The state of agriculture in the district currently, due to illegal mining activities, we are finding some challenges because the youth are not into agriculture. It is only the aged who are into agriculture,” she said.

Afoakwa welcomed the intervention, noting that the inputs, equipment and technical assistance would help farmers improve their activities and strengthen household livelihoods.

She said sustained support for agriculture was necessary to maintain production and encourage farming as a viable source of livelihood in the district.

Beneficiaries also welcomed the support and expressed hope that the initiative would continue.

“We are grateful to Asanko for the support. It will help us improve our farming activities, and we hope the company will continue to support farmers in our communities,” one beneficiary said.