1. Launching of the project
The beneficiary communities and other stakeholders were invited to launch the project. The launching was done concurrently with Save Humanity Foundation, an NGO working on similar project under the same funding agency. This collaboration was to coincide with the working visit of the UNDP/GEF/SGP?s Country Director and the National Coordinator. The occasion was also graced by the Honourable DCE of Banda District Mrs. Mary Konneh, traditional leaders, the district fire commander, AEAs and the district director of Agric. The Executive Director of Alliance for Community Development on behalf of the staff of SAHUF welcomed members and wished them well. The project coordinator of SAHUF also briefed participants on the project deliverables and expectations. The DCE was very grateful to both organizations for choosing to work in her district. She also thanked UNDP/GEF/SGP for the funding support. She, on behalf of her people, pledged to practice what they would be taught. She however requested that the district is deprived of many things including a weekly market to bring many people to the district capital for trading activities. Also, as a farming district, they only rely on rainfall which most of the time is very erratic. She therefore requested that the farmers in the district should be supported with an irrigation facility to enable them practice irrigation farming. The National Coordinator of UNDP/GEF/SGP entreated members to be very serious with the project and that on their next visit, members? farms shall be visited to ascertain whether they are practicing what they were taught or not. The Country Director of UNDP/GEF/SGP advised the members to take the project very seriously as it will not increase their incomes, but also protect the environment for continuous use and benefits. He also encouraged them to take the project as their own as ownership is very important and that is what will ensure sustainability. He also addressed the issues raised by the Hon. DCE and said that they would support the district to get a market, give them an irrigation facility and get them a small factory that can process cashew fruits into fruit drinks as majority of the farmers are cashew growers. A representative from the traditional council, fire commander and the director of Agric took turns to address the participants. Seven members were elected to form the Project Management Team (PMT).

2. Establish farmer field schools in the project communities to integrated crop livestock.
This activity was done with help of the AEAs in the two communities. Now all the farmers have been grouped into clusters were AEAs visit them in their farms to give them education and also take them through new ways in farming. Now farmers get feel of practical work at their farms.

3. Form and Train Project Management Team (PMT) for the Project
The eleven member PMT was invited for a day?s training on the project. The PMT was updated on the details of the project activities. The research results were discussed with the PMT. They were charged to see to the proper implementation of the project. It is composed of representations from the district assembly, farmers, district fire service, nananom and the implementing organization.

4. Establish community nursery.
25 members were selected from the two communities and trained on how to establish tree nursery. Among the things they were taken through include type of nursery, site selection, accessibility, regular source of water, type of soil, among others. Simple farm tools for making nursery such as tape measure, rake, mattock, hoe, watering can, etc and their uses were discussed. Bare root and containerized seedling types were also discussed.

5. Facilitate the formation of sustainable land management committee.
With support from the Project Management Committee some community volunteers were selected to form the sustainable land management committee. These committee members were then trained by the district director for Ministry of Food and Agriculture at the Banda Ahenkro. They were taking through new techniques and technologies in managing our land.

6. Organize training for farmers on intensive wildfire prevention and management.
This quarter also saw farmers being educated on bush fires. The district Fire Safety Officer, Mr. Osman Abubakar was the facilitator for the training of farmers on bush fires. His presentations centered on the types of bush fire, causes of bush fires, their effects, preventive and control measures and training of volunteers. Some types of bush fires that were discussed are Surface fires, Ground fires and Crown fires. Numerous causes of bush fires were brainstormed including the following: Cooking on farm Grouping hunting, Early burning practice, Charcoal production, Palm wine tappers/honey extractors, Cigarette smokers, Chain Saw operation and Falling stones from mountains. The ceaseless of bushfires continue to affect living organisms. Some of the effects are: Hunger, Poverty, Premature death, Low development, Drying up of water bodies, Low productivity, Changes in the rainfall patterns and Negative effect to human health. Some preventive and control measures that were also discussed include: Charcoal producers were advised to contact the GNFS to help them, the use of green belts or paths/roads around farms, avoid cooking in the farm, avoid smoking on the way to or in the farm and also group hunting should be stopped. Eleven (11) members were selected to form the fire volunteers and were later trained on the effective means of fighting fire. The volunteers were advised that the annual devastating bushfires in the District usually begins in the month of December and intensifies in February every year. The practice usually results in destruction of not only tree vegetation but also both harvested and non harvested farm products, thereby causing food insecurity among the already existing problems in the Banda communities. Members were therefore advised to avoid as much as possible the rampant annual fires in the district.

7. Form farmer trust groups and train them.
Farmer trust groups were formed to support community farmers on seeds and other materials that they will need. The farmers were trained on how to take loans and the plan they should put in place to pay back. Moreover, group dynamics were one of the topics farmers were thought.

8. Train farmers on simple book-keeping.
The beneficiary farmers were invited to a-1 day training on simple book keeping. This was to enable farmers prepare simple budgets and keep proper farm records. Participants were taken through the keeping of farm records. The facilitator advised participants to note down some vital information regarding their farm operations. For instance a simple financial record can be kept by just writing down date, name of item and cost of items of any purchases made. Proceeds from sale of items were also to be recorded and the difference in the cost and income of the farm shall be the profit or loss gained. They were advised to cost the labour and land used for farming even if they had them free of charge. This will enable them quantify their services in monetary wise.

Results of second disbursement

9. Prepare participatory Land-use plans.
A day?s training was organized on participatory land use plans. Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) is an interactive process in which local communities could discuss and determine how to manage the land and other natural resources in their locality A discussion was made on the land tenure systems in the area. It was realized that a large portion of the land is owned by the community. Some family heads in the area also give out parcels of their lands for shared farming (popularly called domayenkye), literally meaning operate for us to share. Some of the operator labours recounted their ordeal during harvest times and some of the landlords too were not happy about how some of the labours sometimes abandon their farmlands or divert the lands for other uses. A five member team was set up to identify the best practices that would benefit both the labourers and the landlords. The team comprised the assemblyman, one traditional leader, one landlord, one farm operator and one member of our organization. The lead was led by a consultant to draft its report. At the moment, a draft regulation has been drawn and sent to the district assembly for recommendation and approval.

Demarcate 10 acres of degraded area and place it under natural regeneration and enrichment planting
According to the district forest services division officer Mr. Adamptey Jibril, planting trees can be an effective way to restore landscapes, but they should not always think it is the only option. Other plants have characteristics that make them more useful in some cases. Bamboo, for example, can help protect sloping land, regenerate denuded areas, or quickly restore riparian zones. For example, afforestation has been accepted as an important strategy for preventing soil erosion. Participants were encouraged to desist from sand winning, bush burning and illegal lodging. Their incessant harvesting of trees was also much criticized. They were also implored to plant grasses on bare lands around their houses to reduce the effects of dust and also prevent erosion from taking up their lands.
On the types of natural regeneration, two types were discussed: seed and vegetative parts. The most important consideration for natural regeneration from seed is the production of adequate amount of fertile seeds by the trees of the area or in the vicinity. The production of seeds depends on the following: species, age of trees, and size of crown, climate, and other external factors. For natural regeneration to occur through the use of seeds, seed dispersal could also be a factor or cause.

10. Establish multipurpose woodlot plantations within farms/backyards. A day?s workshop was held to educate members on the need to establish woodlot plantations. The woodlots could be established at the backyards or on denuded soils. On that day, woodlot was explained simply as an area of land where trees have been grown. Trees that can be used for woodlots including acacia, moringa, cassia, teak, neem, milletia, cedrela and gmelina were discussed.

11. Twenty five members were selected to be trained on the establishment of woodlot plantations within farms and backyards. The selected members were trained on the proper ways of growing cashew plants since cashew is a major plantation crop in the locality. Each of the 25 members was given 1000 hybrid cashew seeds to establish 25 ha cashew plantation. Farmers were advised to leave some trees in their farms to provide shade for the cashew plants. On the backyards of their houses, 20 farmers were given 2 plants each of either mango or citrus depending on their choices to be planted.


12. Train farmers in the cultivation of tradable agricultural products.
A one day training workshop was held for farmers to discuss tra able agricultural products. The facilitator for the day was personnel from the district agriculture directorate. In his introduction of the presentation, he asked participants to state some of the crops that they grow in their farms and the reasons why they grow such crops. It was realized that the predominant crops that were grown by farmers were groundnut, yam and cashew. He acknowledged their efforts in farming. He however advised them on some common crops that they have been consuming but have not thought of growing them. Some of the crops mentioned were ayoyo, bokorbokor and chili pepper. He said that these crops are predominantly consumed by the people in their community and does not require huge capital to grow them. They also can grow throughout the year since they are not seasonal.
They were also encouraged to grow fruit crops such as mango since there are readily available markets for them. Also, they should try as much as possible to rear farm animals such as poultry (even under the extensive system) and pigs which are very prolific.
Participants were also advised to practice non-traditional agriculture such as mushroom production and bee keeping.

He advised them on some simple business techniques. Farming should be seen and considered as their business as that is their source of sustenance and that they should respect what they are doing and attach much importance to it. They should keep records of the inputs that they use in their farms as it does not only help to track their expenditure, but also, helps them to make reference in the future as to what they used and how they used them. They were advised not to always look for a large size of land before they start their farming activities.
Also, they should grow dual crops or practice mixed cropping so that in the event of failure in one of the crops, they other could cushion. They should also always include a legume to improve on the fertility of the soil.

Provide revolving groundnut seed scheme to farmers.
Groundnut is one of the major crops cultivated by the community members. To further support them in the sustainable production of the crop, they were trained on the effective means of improving yield. A staff of the district agric directorate led the training session. He enumerated the diverse benefits that plants like groundnut, cowpea, centrosema, mucuna, etc give to the soil and the environment as they improve soil fertility. It was also said that groundnut varieties such as Nketia SARI (100 days), Yenyawoso (90 days) and Sumnut 22 (100 days), which mature in 100 days, 90 days and 100 days respectively are well adapted to their side of the country and that those varieties have proven to be high yielding than the old Chinese variety the farmers have been using for years now. He advised them to avoid applying chemical fertilizers in their groundnut farms and also inter-crop them with other crops like maize. They were encouraged to keep down weeds in their farms and also use scare-crows and traps to prevent squirrels from destroying their crops.

On the second day of the training, the farmers were led through the revolving ground seed scheme or management. This according to Mr. Danso Kofi, the facilitator for the day, involves the organization providing groundnut seeds for the farmers and the farmers will give a portion of their harvest back to the organization to be given to other members of the group. At the meeting, it was agreed that 20 farmers would be given seeds to plant on a one acre farmland. After the harvest, each farmer shall give two rubber containers (locally called quarter rubber) to the organization for the other members to benefit from. Maame Atta was appointed by all the members to receive or collect the seeds on behalf of the organization.


2ND QUARTER RESULTS
During this quarter, project activities were still carried out. Capacities of 104 farmers were built on resolving fund management and the cultivation of tradable agricultural products that are of much economic importance in the locality. A draft document on the regulation of land use involving farm operators and landlords has been sent to the Banda district assembly pending recommendation and approval. Also, participants have been trained on the proper way of planting cashew seeds.
Capacities of farmers have been built on revolving groundnut scheme and some members have been supplied with ground seeds to be planted when the rain sets in.

1. 5 acres of degraded area and place it under natural regeneration and enrichment planting
2. Establish multipurpose woodlot plantations within farms/backyard. 75 farmers have been supplied with seedlings for planting.
3. Train farmers in the cultivation of tradable agricultural products. 75 farmers trained on tradable agricultural products.
4. Provide revolving groundnut seed scheme to farmers. 20 farmers were provided with revolving groundnut seeds
5. Establish Village Savings . 75 members are in the scheme