Communities in which WUZDA Ghana is implementing its ‘Farm Promoting Urban Waste for Livelihood and Food Security’ project were overjoyed after receiving training on organic compost preparation for use on their vegetable farms.
Six communities were gathered and taken through basic steps in the preparation of a type of compost that holds the soil together as expected and also contributes to increasing yield.
The communities that took part in the training are Yong, Duunying, Manguli, Wovogu, Libiga and Nyoglo.
These six communities sent their representatives to receive the training to help in enriching their farming activities through the use of less expensive, easy to prepare, long lasting and highly nutritious local fertiliser using raw materials that are easy to find because they are waste generated from the household.
The farmers were shown the step by step process of compost preparation; the materials that are supposed to be mixed first before which one, which is necessary because of their differences in the period of decay, according Ibrahim Amadu, Executive Director of DECO.
The participating farmers followed keenly with interest till the whole process came to an end.
The trainer Ibrahim Amadu told the farmers that after arranging the materials and watering them enough after every layer of the material, they are required to leave the mixture covered for two months before it is ready for application onto the soil.
He said within the two months, there is the need for the mixture to be stirred and more water applied to it to make it moist enough to aid in the decay process.
The materials used for the compost preparation in the training were rice and groundnut shells, animal excreta, ash and waste from processed shea butter.
The farmers were also advised to add left – over food in the preparation of the compost as it decomposes easily and within a short period.
Expression of Gratitude
The farmers were overwhelmed by what they learnt and thanked the trainer and WUZDA Ghana for organizing such an important training.
Some of them said they had been hearing about organic compost and how easy it is to prepare, but have not been involved in the actual preparation, and for them, it was the beginning of a turnaround in their farming for good.
According to Assiya from the Manguli community, what she has learnt is very new to her and she did not know there was something like preparing compost by herself in that very affordable and easy manner.
She says all that has been said is even in the household but they did not know about it, so she would make sure she shares the knowledge with all her colleague women farmers.
Ruben is also a farmer from Nyoglo. He makes a declaration of how he is going back to his community to practice effectively all that he has learnt.
He also speaks about the amount of money he sometimes has to cough out to buy fertiliser, which is why he is extremely happy about the new experience he has got from the training.
He believes preparing his own compost will help him save the little money he uses to buy fertiliser, as well as help him manage his household waste since they are what he would be using to prepare the compost.
All the farmers who participated in the training were extremely happy because they had found a new way of enriching the soil on their farms and this comes to them without any expenditure; all they need are energy and time.
WUZDA Ghana’s commitment to ensuring food security through the pilot project funded by the Bread for the World guarantees all the needed support and intervention that can help communities to practice farming that ensures good yield with healthy crops.
WUZDA Ghana 