Annual Report 2017: January-December

Introduction:

This report captures key activities carried out and results achieved by the Foundation for Community Empowerment Programme (FOCEP) ranging from the period of January to December 2017. The report summaries key activities and results achieved during the period under review.

1. Objective
2. Enhance farmers’ knowledge of improved production technologies for maize, rice, soya and groundnut
3. To improve livestock (small ruminants) production and productivity of 415 (274 women and 141 men) in the Builsa South and North districts December, 2017.

• To improve crop yields of 415 households in the Builsa South and North districts by December, 2017

2017. To promote tree growing among 415 households in the Builsa South and North districts by December, 2017.
2018. To organize screening for school going children for early identification and detection for appropriate intervention
2019. To provide capacity building training for religious and traditional leaders on disability rights and social inclusion

1. Planned Activity:
2. Establish one Farmer-led –demonstration farms
3. Organize Farmer field days on best practices

• Train FBOs on their roles in marketing and aggregation

1. Enhance farmers’ knowledge of new technologies through participatory variety demonstration plots with side-by-side technology comparisons as well as  organized farmer visits and training
2. Build capacity of farmers on Good Agronomic Practices (GAP’s)
3. Build capacity of farmers on animal health and animal husbandry practices

• Support farmers to acquire seeds, tractor service and fertilizer
• Build the Capacity of out-growers on tree growing

1. Purchase and distribute small ruminants for women
2. Organize screening for school going children for early identification and detection for appropriate intervention
3. Provide capacity building training for religious and traditional leaders on disability rights and social inclusion

1. Result:
2. 40 women supported to establish groundnuts demonstration plots at Chuchuliga
3. 20 (13m, 7f) group leaders participated in sorghum demonstration field days. Their knowledge has been enhanced and are expressing commitment to go into sorghum production next farming season.

• Three farmer led participatory maize seeds variety demonstration plots established.

1. 42 (26f, 16m ) farmers knowledge enhanced on maize production through participation in field days. Farmers observed the performance of each variety and shared experiences on maize production
2. 131 households supported with farm inputs eg fertilizers, manure, seed, and ploughing services to adopt zai micro- dosing to cultivate maize. 131 households adopting the zai micro- dosing technology.
3. 258 (196f, 62m) farmers knowledge enhanced on animal health and husbandry practices.

• 295 (97f, 198 m) practicing good agronomic practices.
• Purchased and distributed 600 small ruminants for 274 women

Out growers

The Foundation for Community Empowerment Programme continued it’s out growers training on the post-harvest losses, GAP’s, marketing, and business networking from January 2017 to March 2017 in partnership with ADVANCE and Ghana Grains Council [GCC]. FOCEP also engage out-growers in a farmer to farmer training where staffs visit farmers on their fields and homes to train them and also show them farmers videos in the evening s for them to learn more knowledge about sound agronomic practices to enable them scale up their farming activities. FOCEP also trained out-growers on village loans and savings association and the kalijiisa No2 group started it in February 2017 in which most of them used it to buy fertilizer and hire labourers to work on their farms during the 2017 farming season, the group has been formed with 8 males and 13 females. FOCEP trained a total of 415 out-growers from January 2017 to march 2017 in which 271 were female and 114 males, the communities in which this trainings were carried out includes  Namonsa, Bilinsa, kalijiisa No1, and  kalijiisa No2,

The FOCEP supported 16 out- growers with groundnuts seeds, land and ploughing service with mode of repayment to be in kind, most of the women accepted the idea but Foundation for Community Empowerment were not having enough seeds to reach more people than the 16, their fields were ploughed and harrowed by 23^rd June 2017 and they all planted.

THE ROLES OF TRADITIONAL AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN PROMOTING THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

FOCEP during the period under review organized a one day training workshop on disability rights and social inclusion for 26 traditional and 18 religious leaders to build capacities. This was organized on the 9^th of August, 2017 as part the project implementation activities within the first quarter.

The Executive Director told the religious and traditional leaders that this intervention is being implemented by FOCEP in partnership with Star-Ghana with funding support from UKAID, EUROPEAN UNION and DANIDA to build the capacities of traditional and religious leaders to enable them understand issues on disability rights and social inclusion. The Executive Director, urged the traditional and religious leaders to use their authority to thrust aside obnoxious cultural practices and beliefs that infringes on the rights of persons with disabilities and rather play a key role in ensuring that persons with disability are included in the development planning process in their respective communities and institutions. The participants were made to understand that disability is no respecter of persons, any person can become disabled at any time, old age and disability have direct relationship, so we should make our homes disability friendly and “disability is not inability.

The Executive Director also informed the religious and traditional leaders that there exist a lot of resources in the district, for instance the disability common fund, but how many leaders know about the fund and can facilitate for the vulnerable to benefit. In a concluding statement the Direcor said ‘’if you are planning as a leader and you don’t include persons with disability in your plans then you have failed in your planning process”.

FOCEP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ADDRESSING RELIGIOUS AND TRADITIONAL LEADERS ON THEIR ROLES IN PROMOTING DISABILITY RIGHTS AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

1. AWARENESS CREATION

The Cerebral Palsy mothers and their family’s members received health talk from FOCEP staff on cholera, personal and environmental hygiene, rights of persons with disabilities, causes of disabilities, myths surrounding disabilities, antenatal care, immunization and disability prevention. Six sensitizations were organized Sandema, Sirigu, and Chiana in collaboration with Afrikids and International Service.

Below are the statistics during the community awareness program

Table 1.0:  Sensitization Statistics

1. EARLY DETECTION/INTERVENTION

During the period of January – December 2017, the following were the cases detected and intervened during the screening period. The multi-disciplinary team screened a total number of 1263 children 5 schools in Kassana Nankana West in partnership with Afrikids. Males were 661 and females were 602. Out of this number, a total of 957 children had different impairments. Out of the number with impairments, a total of 46 children have been referred to medical institutions for proper medical care whilst 910 were treated on the spot. Out of the 46 cases referred, all were follow-up.

EAR

Otitis media = 9

Ear-wax = 867

Others = 2

Treated on the spot = 871

Total = 1749

EYE

Conjunctivitis = 44

Cataract = 1

Low vision = 6

Others = 17

Number treated on the spot = 39

Total = 107

PHYSIO

Burned contractures = 2

Osteomylitis/infection = 2

Limb deformities = 3

Total =7

CHALLENGES  

During the period under review, the project implementation had some challenges such flooding of some farm lands and also making some of the roads inaccessible thereby making it difficult to reach out to selected communities to implement the planned activities. As a result of the floods, the project implementation had to suspend the community sensitization intervention to the month of November and December.

CONCLUSION

The entire management team is very grateful to all its development partners Christian Blind Mission and BUSAC Fund for the financial and technical assistance offered to the organization during the period under consideration which has led to the many successes chalked. FOCEP is looking forward with a renewed spirit to continue to collaborate with key stakeholders in the ensuing years. FOCEP is monitoring the various interventions to track progress and performance of yields in a bid to improve food security and increase incomes of small holder farmers.