1. Two (2) communities were selected for the project. These are Peki Dzake and Opokuase. The chiefs and opinion leaders in both communities accepted the project and some chiefs are among project beneficiaries.

2. An opportunity was given to interested farmer households to register for the project. Those who registered were screened through peer reviews and person interviews. This was to ensure that the right people who will be committed to the program are selected. 12 farmer households were selected from Peki Dzake whiles 10 were selected from Opokuase. These 22 households have a total population of 112. These 112 people are expected to benefit from the project in the short term.

3. A 3 member project oversight committee has been put in place in all 2 communities. The committee members include a chairman, secretary and store keeper.
This workshop was held in both communities to create awareness on the project with the objective to win massive community support for the project and also orient the beneficiaries (participants included household heads, mostly men and their wives or other member if the wife is not available) on the implementation schedule including activities to undertake, budget (donor & community contributions), timelines, and expected outputs and results.

4. At the end of the training participants knowledge and understanding on the project was enhanced in terms of the support package, objective on their farming activities, impact on their incomes in the short and long terms as well as knowledge to be acquired through the process. They realized the amount they are contributing through their labour and local resources. These boosted their interest and a lot of farmers came in wanted to join the project. All the 22 farmer households represented by the men benefited from the capacity building. They were expected to brief their wives at home. After the training, the farmers appreciated agroforestry as a practice that improves productivity through increased output of tree products, improved yields of associated crops, reduction of cropping system inputs, and increased labor efficiency and improves soil fertility.

5.The farmers agreed to develop agroforestry systems with the following tree crops citrus, coconut, oil palm and cocoa. The farmers expressed interest in both communities to develop 12 acres of agroforestry system with citrus, 12 acres of agroforestry system with coconut and 4.5 acres with oil palm. For those interested in cocoa, it is yet to be finalized.
After the training, both communities identified sites for the development of nurseries. The sites have been cleared and were supplied with some materials like wire mesh to fence the sites. The farmers have begun apportioning the nurseries? area among households to ensure ownership and maintenance culture.

6.Training of trainers? workshop was held for 2 lead farmers, 2 extension officers and 2 project managers from SSG and facilitated by GEF. The trainers later organized and trained the farmers in both communities on the organic fertilizers? nutrient components, benefits and application.
After the training, farmers submitted 5 crops they will be cultivating this season and the acreage they will be using to demonstrate the organic fertilizers. The crops are maize, tomatoes, okro, pepper and yam

7. 52 bags (25kg) of Aishwariya organic fertilizer in granule form, 26 liters of New Suryamin, 11 liters of Bio-Phos, 7 liters of Bio-Zinc, 5 liters of Bio-Potash and 5 liters of Megacal have been purchased and supplied to the farmers in both communities.
Aside frequent monitoring and engagement of the farmers by the project oversight committees (POC), SSG conducts weekly checks on the progress of work through field visits and interactive meetings with the farmer households. This has helped in keeping the farmers up to task and boosts their interest in the project.

Achieved Results during the second phase if the project
1. 827 tree crop seedlings were supplied to the 22 farmers to develop agroforestry systems.
5 of the farmers acquired additional 74 seedlings to expand their farms
All 22 farmer households developed about 6 hectares of agroforestry systems

2.17 farmer households benefited from training and improved their knowledge in grass cutter rearing.

3.The 17 farmer households were provided with 2 live grass cutter cuttings (male and female), a housing cage and a transporting cage as startup for them.

4. One farmer has developed an additional housing cage for himself and making arrangements to purchase the grasscutter cuttings on his own. This show that the farmers are interested in the project

5.Two village savings and loan association has begun operations (men group in Peki Dzake). They have saved an amount of One Thousand One Hundred and Ninety Seven Ghana Cedis (GH¢1,197.00) and supported six (6) of their members with credit (loans)

6. The remaining three (3) associations are putting in structures to begin operations but all resources and materials to operate the scheme have been provided for them.

7.The farmers meet every fortnightly on their savings and loans scheme and also discuss the project and address any challenge.

8.The project team also embarks on regular monitoring to assess progress of the project activities.

Two (2) nurseries established in Pokuase and Peki-Dzake communities for the production of plant and crop seedlings for the developing agroforestry

Grasscutter livelihood enterprises established for twenty (20) farmer households Pokuase and Peki-Dzake communities

Twenty (20) agroforestry systems developed by farmers in Pokuase and Peki-Dzake communities.



Undertake Clean up exercises

Two clean-up exercises have been undertaken at Cocobeach and Teshie Salem. All 25 waste pickers, community members, and staff of the Municipal Assembly actively took part in the exercise. Waste generated was segregated into plastics and other waste. The plastic waste was sold to SESA recycling company. A total of 400kg of plastic waste was generated during the Clean Up exercises.

Organize sensitization programs at schools, churches, mosques, and other institutions using trained volunteers.

Sensitization programs have been conducted to educate community members on waste segregation and the management of single-use plastics in 11 schools, 1 church, 2 mosques, 1 taxi rank, and 1 football academy. A total of 2626 people were engaged, and their knowledge improved on plastic waste management.

Acquire and install bins to accommodate the different types of plastic waste and supply the local groups with tricycles (one for each Municipality) to collect plastic waste to designated places





44 Bins were acquired and distributed to 11 schools and 1 mosque within the municipality. The bins have been labeled as ?Plastics Only? and ?Other Waste? to promote the habit of segregation. The Municipal Director of Education together with heads of beneficiary schools promised to put the bins to good use. Annex 5 provides the distribution list



One (1) tricycle has been donated to the Municipal Assembly to aid in transporting plastic waste collected by trained waste pickers to designated buy-back centres.



Hold consultation with stakeholders on appropriate policies and regulations to support single-use plastics and the implementation of the Integrated Zero- Plastic Strategy

28 Key stakeholders such as Importers, Manufacturers, Distributors, Consumers/ waste generators, Waste pickers, Upcyclers, Recyclers, Regulators, and landfill managers in the plastic value chain have been engaged in a 1-day consultative workshop on November 3, 2022, to make input into strategies and measures to inform the formulation of an appropriate policy to help in managing plastic waste in the Municipality.

Support the review of the Municipal Environmental Policies on plastic waste and identify gaps.

In the absence of existing Municipal Specific policies, Socioserve-Ghana facilitated the development of a Waste Management Policy for the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly. Following the stakeholder consultation, a draft policy document was prepared, and a Stakeholder validation meeting was held on November 29, 2022. Stakeholders such as importers, manufacturers, distributors, consumers/waste generators, waste pickers, recyclers, regulators, and landfill managers, participated in the workshop. They were presented with a draft policy on plastic waste for them to identify gaps and suggest recommendations to enhance the finalization of the policy. A total of 25 stakeholders took part in the meeting

Monitoring

Monitoring visits were conducted by Socioserve-Ghana to inspect sites allocated by the Assembly for the establishment of a buyback- centre. This was done together with the Municipal Environmental Officer, Opinion leaders, and the project manager for COLIBA recycling services.



Activities planned but not completed in this reporting period and reasons for delay

All planned activities were undertaken during the period



Activities planned to be completed in the next reporting period.

The activities listed below would be undertaken in the next reporting period:



Formulate the relevant regulations and byelaws on single use plastic and the implementation of the integrated zero-plastic strategy

Support the Municipal Assemblies to implement guidelines and regulation on zero plastic management strategy.



Experience, lessons learnt and issues in this reporting period.

Below are some experiences and lesson learnt during implementation:

Due to the involvement of the Municipal Assembly from the planning to the project implementation stages, it made it easier for Socioserve-Ghana?s request for a land to establish a community buy-back centre to be granted.

The policy on plastic waste management prepared for the Municipal Assembly captured all pressing issues facing waste management in the Municipality. This was due to the participatory approach adopted by SSG to involve key stakeholders in the plastic value chain. This policy document will serve as the basis for development of byelaws in the next period.

The challenge of language barrier was eliminated due to the involvement of volunteers in sensitization programs. Also, schools and other institutions visited were welcoming because of the involvement of officials from the Municipal Assembly.

The Municipal Director of Education applauded Socioserve-Ghana for the timely intervention and expressed gratitude to the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme. She promised to ensure that the beneficiary schools will practice waste segregation.