The 8 pictures above are showing the first day of the TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE (TCYL) workshop, held at our farm at 22.4.2024
Britta Wolff explained the farm concept to the small scale farmer women and the students from UCC and the state of the art of the implementation of the new DIVAGRI technologies (biogas, intercropping, SLECI, greenhouse).
Nina Mapili, the workshop leader from Switzerland, started some warm up excercises with the participants and explained her workshop concept for the next 4 days at the University of Cape Coast campus.
pictures above:
A few more Community of practice (CoP) meetings in April 2024:
– Invitation event for 6 of our farmers who were chosen to take part in the woman empowering workshop (TCYL), held by Nina Mapili.
– Our farm manager Isaac Dadzie (right) explains the difference between our different citrus fruits to women of the small scale farmers of Baifikrom and Cape Coast.
– Talking shop, exchange of ideas and “peer-to-peer learning" training between small scale farmers in our new greenhouse: son of our neighbor farmer Willis (studies biotechnology and agrotechnology = the new generation of farmers!) explains his understanding of the new installed SLECI to two other small scale farmer friends Kwame (left) and Fii (right).
Learning practice alliances (LPA) discussions in April 2024 in Accra, Ghana: LAF Britta Wolff arranges various stakeholder contacts for the DIVAGRI goal of relocating production of the technologies, previously produced in Europe for the Ghanaian small farmers to the respective target countries, here Ghana.
Meetings with various Ghanaian companies that are successful in the agricultural irrigation sector, such as AQUAGRO Ltd. (see picture), Duraplast Ltd., Dizengoff Ltd.
They act as multipliers and are well connected politically.
The picture shows the AQUAGRO business founder Mr. Kofi Forson (second from left) with his son, who took over the business of the AquaGro company, Jan Siering on the left, Britta Wolff on the right side.
Mr. Forson worked abroad for years and was energized by the recognition of the enormous potential for improvement in the agricultural irrigation sector in his home country of Ghana. In 1995 he founded AQUAGRO and deals with Israeli and Italian irrigation systems, especially drip irrigation.
Stakeholder meeting in April 2024 in Ojobi, Ghana: LAF delegate Britta Wolff puts Jan Siering from University of Wismar (RSI) in touch with local companies.
Initiation of business contacts with local companies, such as the company MAGGLO, which uses the local raw material laterite for various products and may be considered as a manufacturer of SLECI clay bodies.
Dr. Maik Springmann participates in February 2024 at the important meeting from the water board in Cape Coast. The purpose of the meeting is the protection of the Agege lake against contamination by pesticides and herbicides through small scale farmers who are still not trained enough how to conduct agriculture without chemical additives.
It is a great trend that the Ghanaian authorities have now understood that the drinking water protection areas must be valued more vehemently. It's great that we now have official support for this ecological principle that we have been following for over 20 years!
If farmers dont want to follow our concept and the general ecological principles, then it is necessary to create a puffer zone around lakes like the Agege.
Nana Baifi from Baifikrom accompanied us in March 2023 with his entourage to the “Learning Practice Alliance" stakeholder meeting at the University of Cape Coast to learn more about the DIVAGRI project aims and to start a closer networking.
Since the beginning of the DIVAGRI project we are handing out leaflets to interested farmers from our neighbourhood and the next village Baifikrom.
The leaflets explain our collaboration with the UCC and the CSIR in Kumasi.
Maik met in the last years many stakeholders to promote our farm idea with the ecological and sustainable concept behind, like here the Nana Baifi (left picture).
The right picture shows a meeting in the village council of Mankessim.
Maik is promoting the DIVAGRI project at all the important stakeholders of the local community, as here in November 2022 to Daniel Tetteh, Mfantseman Municipal Assembly Saltpond (left picture) and to the director of the Agric department of the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly Saltpond (right picture).
Meeting in November 2022 at Lake Agege Farm with Rockson Atanga, Agric Agent Mankessim Operational Area