A total of 15 community based organisations and groups of smallholder women farmers have received small grants to advance their works on environmental improvements to slow down climate change, and technologies for smallholder farmers to manage their ecosystems.

Other areas that the 15 grantees will be focusing on include; facilitating access to social protection schemes, and joint community advocacy initiatives on agriculture and decent work or social protection.

A total grant of €60,000 has been shared amongst the 15 organisations with each receiving not more than €4,000 to implement their activities from now up to the year 2023.

The beneficiary grantees drawn from 15 districts in four regions including; Northern, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West Regions were; Awake Farmers Community Group, Gubkatimala Cooperative Union, Jwa-lam Advocacy Cooperative Farmers Society Limited, One World Eco-Initiatives, Visionary Buluk Organisation and Zabzugu Educated Youth Association.

The rest are; Jirapa Farmers Network, Boranasa (God’s Gift) Women Group, Centre for Rural Development Facilitation, Activista – Sissala East, Smallholder Women Farmers, Wulensi, Women in Agriculture Platform, Lawra, N-Nyopegnan, Suglo Kombo, and Yaabinchie Cooperative Farming and Marketing Society.

The grant, which was disbursed by ActionAid Ghana and Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud, both non-governmental organisations, to the 15 organisations, was a support they received from the European Union (EU) through its funding window called Civil Society Organisations in Research and Innovation for Sustainable Development (CSO-RISE).

CSO-RISE is intended to implement projects to promote sustainable agriculture, social protection and decent work in the agricultural sector as well as to increase income among rural households.

Mr John Nkaw, Head of Programmes, Campaigns and Innovation at ActionAid Ghana, who spoke during the disbursement of the grants to the beneficiaries in Tamale, said the grants would strengthen the beneficiaries to become drivers of innovation in research-based climate-resilient sustainable agriculture, related social enterprises, and responsive social protection.

Mr Nkaw added that “With these small grants, I sincerely hope that the beneficiary CSOs will be able to scale up their activities and intensify their campaigns for climate resilient agriculture and advocacy for decent work and access to social protection for vulnerable groups of people.”

Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, whose speech was read on his behalf, lauded the initiative saying it had come at a time when poverty was rising amongst rural people in the country.

Alhaji Saibu expressed the commitment of the Northern Regional Coordinating Council to support the project to ensure its success for the benefit of especially rural people.

Ms Susana Martins, Programme Officer, Infrastructure and Sustainable Development at the European Union (Delegation of the European Union to Ghana) said the support was in line with the European Union’s objectives to amongst others create jobs for the vulnerable.

Mr Daniel Kansake, Chairman, Jwa-lam Advocacy Group, who spoke on behalf of the grantees, expressed gratitude to the donors for the support and assured them that they would focus on their project proposals to amongst others promote sustainable agriculture and create livelihoods for community members.