The European Union and the German Government have concluded a major agricultural resilience initiative that has strengthened the capacity of farming communities in Northern Ghana to cope with climate change and improve their livelihoods.

The Resilience Against Climate Change (REACH) project, funded by the European Union and Germany through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supported smallholder farmers and vulnerable communities in adapting to climate-related challenges since 2020.

Implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) under the European Union’s Ghana Agriculture Programme, the project focused on climate-resilient agriculture, improved food systems, and enhanced local planning.

The closing activities included visits to beneficiary communities in Buka, Babile, Duori, and Duang, followed by an official ceremony in Wa in the Upper West Region.

Speaking at the ceremony, Head of Infrastructure and Sustainable Development among the EU Delegation to Ghana, Ms. Paulina Rozycka, emphasised the urgency of building resilient agricultural systems.

“Climate change does not respect borders. Its effects are felt most acutely by those who depend directly on the land,” she said.

The Head of Infrastructure and Sustainable Development noted that the EU had supported farming communities across the region as part of broader efforts to promote climate-resilient agriculture in Northern Ghana.

One of the project’s visible successes can be found in Duori, where a 200-meter irrigation canal now channels water from a local dam to farmlands. Before the intervention, farming in the community halted during the dry season. Currently, about 100 households cultivate vegetables such as cabbage throughout the year on nearly 100 acres of land, providing both steady income and food supply during dry months.

Community involvement played a central role in the initiative. Through a participatory planning process known as Community Action Planning, residents identified irrigation as their most pressing need and contributed to the design and management of the infrastructure.

In Duang, the project addressed another major challenge: post-harvest losses. Farmers in the area often struggled to store their produce and were forced to sell immediately after harvest at low prices. To solve this, the REACH project installed a solar-powered cold storage facility capable of preserving up to 10 tons of vegetables annually, including tomatoes, okra, green pepper, and onions. Managed by a local unit committee and funded through user fees, the facility allows farmers to store produce until market prices improve.

Another key component of the project is the transformation of the Babile Agriculture Station in the Lawra District into a training hub for agricultural extension officers and practitioners. The station now features a 12-bed hostel, a 15-acre conservation agriculture demonstration field, solar-powered boreholes, a rehabilitated dam, and mechanised farming equipment.