Africa

Joshua Amponsem
Executive Director, Green Africa Youth Organization
Ghanaian

Can you tell us about the organization you lead?

Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) is working on two initiatives right now. The first is a circular economy project called Sustainable Community Project. We are focusing on converting agricultural waste into charcoal briquettes. Instead of just burning the waste and producing a lot of CO2, charcoal briquettes can be used for cooking, eliminating the need to cut down trees for fuel.

We have another project at GAYO which is called Water 4 Climate Adaptation. Through this project, we provide water boreholes so that people in very dry areas can water their plants. During extended dry periods, the boreholes give communities access to underground water and tree cover to provide a microclimate and humidity for their crops.

How did you get your start?

At my university we learned a lot about environmental management, climate change, pollution and integrated coastal zone management. My university was right on the coast of Ghana, where we could see a lot of pollution happening nearby. I wanted to take the knowledge from the classroom and make it as practical as possible. Take it to the communities into the coastal land where the pollution was happening.

How is the agriculture industry evolving in Ghana?

If I think about Ghana and I think about the village where I grew up, where almost everyone is a farmer— practices are being shifted from slash and burn to better ways of cutting wheat, allowing it to stay in the soil to preserve humidity and soil moisture content.

The agriculture industry is still very young in Ghana. We do very little processing in the country. To practice more sustainable forms of agriculture, we have to increase our use of processing. New innovations that can extend the shelf life of crops are allowing farmers to store their crops for a longer period and to reduce post-harvest waste.

What does ‘sustainable agriculture’ mean to you?

Sustainable agriculture is agriculture that works to mitigate the effects of climate change and remove CO2 from the atmosphere in a very adaptive way. Despite climate change and its impacts, this agriculture system would survive.

What advancements or breakthroughs do you anticipate in next 25 years?

In terms of youth engagement, our hope is to recruit a lot of young people and provide young people with green jobs. Within the past year we have been able to provide over 20 jobs for young people. Within the next five years, we want to provide at least 100 green jobs for young people.

Any words of wisdom or advice?

Young people need to be part of the policymaking process which ensures adaptation of sustainable practices in the long run. Young people always have to ask for the space to speak, they always have to seek out or get invited, and then there’s no assurance that what they are saying is really getting anywhere.

This can only be solved if young people get involved in politics, and if young people have access to a space to have power in the policy developing process.

Evans Okomeng
Founder and CEO, Millennium Farms
Ghanaian

Can you tell us about your work on youth engagement and farming?

I founded Millennium Farms in Ghana. My organization is a startup farm to encourage youth to change their perception about farming and get interested in it. I believe the future of farming is big. It’s no longer just for the uneducated and the poor. We need people to understand the science of agriculture. Because it’s moving from the traditional system to something that needs more science.

What is your background?

Growing up in Ghana, it’s common to pursue an education in medicine or law. I pursued a career in biotechnology and molecular biology. I became so engrossed in the course and wished I could better understand the practical aspects. That led me to found Millennium Farms. I was a Cornell Alliance for Science Global Fellow as well.

What can you tell us about Ghanaian farmers’ experiences with climate change?

In our country, many farmers are facing droughts, pests and diseases. Droughts are more common in the north, where farmers depend on the rains of the rainy season to grow their crops.

Pests and diseases are a huge concern in the south of Ghana. Recently we have been affected by Fall armyworm and many crops were ravaged by this pest.

What does ‘sustainable agriculture’ mean to you?

When I hear the word “sustainability” the first thing that occurs to me is climate change. Using agriculture to mitigate the effects of climate change on our environment and in the world, like I practice on my farm, is key.

What advances or changes do you see in the next 25 years?

In the next 25 years I can see more farming being moved from the field into greenhouses. I predict that aeroponics, hydroponics, agroponics, drone technology and serious mechanization will all become key parts of farming. Ghana is very adaptable to new technologies and information, and youth can use this to ensure a more sustainable future.

What advice do you have for youth wanting to get engaged in advocacy?

Youth are the future of this country, and they need to receive accurate information about GMOs and the science of genetic modification. As a pro-GMO activist, I find it quite worrisome when the wrong information is out there.

A decade or two from now the majority of Ghanaians will be more knowledgeable about sustainable agriculture, but we must work now. Youth getting involved will go a long way in impacting policy in this country.

Sussana Phiri
Farmer, Malo Abwino
Zambian

Can you tell us about your organization Malo Abwino?

Malo Abwino is all about creating space where food, and how it gets to our table, is easier for young people to understand. Growing up, we had fields we could go to, but now land is more limited. I’m working to create opportunities for young people to come and experience what happens on a farm.

How did you get your start?

It’s been a buildup of most of my life experiences, my upbringing, being a teacher, and then moving to a farm and experiencing food strains head on. At every stage of food production—from input acquisition, to post harvest, all the way to the market—the community is involved somehow. Sometimes in a very good and very motivating way, but some moments were very heartbreaking.

Food production always involves communities so we must make sure that we grow enough for everyone to eat. Nobody should be living on scraps. No one should have to go to school hungry.

What does ‘sustainable agriculture’ mean to you?

Sustainable agriculture is about the future. If we want agriculture to thrive, we must work for it now. We all have to take responsibility so that the next generation has food in abundance.

How are youth getting involved in sustainable agriculture in Zambia?

I love talking about this! I am so excited about what we are working on. I am part of a continent-wide network for youth called the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and am working on the CAADP Youth Network Zambia Chapter as an executive in the media and communications department. It’s inspiring to work with other young people who have accepted that things are not the way they used to be and that we need to evolve every day.

How are environmental changes impacting agriculture in your country?

There are so many threats to food security right now. Fall armyworm has the ability to compromise the quality of maize crops. Pests and diseases are a huge problem for me as a farmer; they compromise my livelihood. Climate change is also a big problem. There has been a shift in when the rainy season starts and ends, and the instability of agroecology is very concerning right now. Through the adoption of climate-smart agriculture and conservation farming, farmers are having bigger yields than they used to. We are encouraging farmers to use maize stocks to cover the soil to prevent soil erosion and to adopt drought-tolerant crops like cassava.

How do you think the lives of female farmers in your country could evolve in the next 25 years?

 I am optimistic about the future. The majority of women farmers right now are rural women who in mainstream society may be considered illiterate. In my organization, we consider them people who are literate at what they do. Societal problems are heavier on women but, in the future, women will be able to demand from the authorities what they want. The future is bright. I am anticipating that women farmers will rise up to occupy their spaces and change the future for women farmers.

Any other predictions?

 I’m seeing a force of women farmers who can demand what they need in order to provide better and higher quality food for their children.

Maureen Muketha
Founder, Tule Vyema
Kenyan

Can you tell me about your organization Tule Vyema and what you have been working on recently?

Tule Vyema is Swahili for “Let’s Eat Right.” We work to end malnutrition through education and advocacy. Our latest efforts aim to work with women who will cultivate indigenous vegetables to ensure continuous supply of nutritious foods to the market.

We also hope to equip more community members with nutrition knowledge that will improve their quality of life, especially in hard to reach populations.

How did you get your start in your advocacy for nutrition?

I come from an area of Kenya that has some of the leading cases of malnutrition, so this led me to study nutrition for my bachelor’s degree. I wanted to change this narrative, and I realized it’s up to me to make this change happen.

I learned through my studies that the only way to completely eradicate malnutrition is to address it from the community level, through raising awareness on proper feeding habits and practice. This was the main thing that led me to found Tula Vyema.

What does ‘sustainable agriculture’ mean to you?

To me it means adopting and practicing environmentally friendly, but also profitable, farming methods.

Climate change could have far-reaching consequences for the environment and for humanity. How is the climate crisis impacting nutrition and food security? Are some countries being hit harder than others?

Climate change is very negatively affecting nutrition and food security. Growing seasons are changing, which affects food production and food prices. Arable land near the sea will be lost due to increased flooding and disease will spread quicker and more widely. Farmers will have to adapt.

Some countries will certainly be more affected than others, with developing nations being hit hardest because they are least able to manage the consequences. Climate change will worsen existing problems and threaten the already fragile situation in developing nations.

What challenges related to malnutrition are impacting Kenya? Could biotech crops help to improve nutrition in Kenya?

Kenya is suffering from both under-nutrition, over-nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, so there are a lot of issues that need to be solved. Biofortification of staple foods, like Golden Rice, would help nourish our population by providing a source of vitamins the population would not normally consume.

What successes or accomplishments have you been a part of during your years of championing, and what challenges or barriers still exist that need to be overcome?

We’re seeing community members make more informed food choices. This in turn helps improve health and food security in general. Our community members—especially single mothers—become more economically empowered through the sale of surplus vegetables.

However, we still have community members who cannot participate in our initiatives due to financial reasons or language barriers.

What do you do to engage and encourage youth to advocate with you?

I encourage youth to view agriculture as a food system with many chains—each of us has a role in that chain. Not everyone can be a producer. But there are many roles anyone can play, for example as agriculture distributors, or marketers, or for the tech savvy—inventors of agriculture apps.