Training smallholder farmers on veggies in sacks in Ghana
Within the framework of the One CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative entitled ‘Transforming Agrifood Systems in West and Central Africa’(TAFS-WCA), the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg: https://avrdc.org ) introduced a new Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) technology called sack gardening in smallholder farming communities to promote food and nutrition security.
Sack gardening, as the name suggests, is a type of gardening in which vegetables are transplanted into biodegradable sacks filled with soil for garden production. The technology can be easily implemented in and around households for easy supervision and diet diversification. This type of gardening is also an excellent opportunity for families, especially in rural areas, that respond to balanced diet, nutritional deficit and food security issues.
WorldVeg organized two field days to introduce and train smallholder farmers (male and female) and agricultural extension officers on the importance of sack gardening technology and its establishment in Berekum and Akumadan within the Bono Ahafo and Ashanti Regions of Ghana, respectively. Each field day involved up to seventy-nine (79) farmers: 37 females and 27 males from Berekum and 11 females and 14 males from Akumadan. A total of fifteen (15) agricultural extension officers also participated in the field day.
The training covered several topics, including what sack gardening is, its importance, vegetables that can be grown under sack gardening, where it can be developed, the type of medium that can be used, materials required and examples of the technology. Other topics, such as compost preparation, irrigation requirements, good agronomic practices, and nursery establishment, were also covered.
Demonstration set-up of the sack gardening was done with the involvement of beneficial farmers, and vegetables introduced in both communities included cucumber, lettuce, okra, amaranth, pepper, and tomato.
Participants in the field days showed great excitement about sack gardening. WorldVeg works to follow up on the adoption of the technology and its possible expansion to other communities to contribute to the transformation of food systems.
Figure 1
Farmers trained on sack gardening at Pruso.
Figure 2
A farmer practicing how to sow seeds in sack gardening.
Figure 3
Farmers trained on sack gardening at Asuosu.
Figure 4
Farmers practicing how to create holes in sacks.
