Background
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), the national apex farmer-based association as part of an ongoing project titled “Strengthening Farmers’ Voices to Promote Accountability and Inclusive Decision-Making in Ghana” with support from the Star Ghana Foundation, organized a one-day capacity building session for members of the multi-stakeholder platform (MSP) in Bimbilla, Nanumba North Municipal of the Northern Region.
The Muti-stakeholder Platform comprises representatives from the Nanumba North Municipal Assembly, PFAG district executives, Civil Society Organizations, processors, aggregators, traditional authorities, and youth and women’s groups, and was strategically constituted as part of the project approach to engage duty bearers and rights holders, tackle bottlenecks affecting smallholder farmers and deepen inclusive governance and accountability at the local level.
SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
Safeguarding & Inclusive Engagement
The training on safeguarding and inclusive engagement was led by Dr. Roger Akanbisik, a project officer of PFAG. He took participants through principles of safe, respectful, and inclusive engagement, covering safeguarding concerns, stakeholder commitments, and reporting mechanisms. He stressed that it is imperative to commit to promoting safe environment and protecting the rights and dignity of all persons involved in programmes and activities at the local level. He emphasized on protecting children, vulnerable adults, and community members from abuse, exploitation, and discrimination as key safeguarding concerns that must be prioritized. He urged members to ensure that any safeguarding concerns are addressed promptly, confidentially, and with dignity.
Municipal Composite Budget Analysis
During the district composite budget presentation, Dr. Benjamin Sarfo, Programmes Officer of PFAG, unpacked the sectoral components and their various allocations. The analysis revealed a stark structural gap, where Agriculture serves as the main driver of the Bimbilla local economy, employing about 79.4% of the district’s active population, but rather receives only 1.17% of the total budget, making it the second lowest funded sector, behind Social Services (43.4.6%), Management & Administration (23.8.%), Infrastructure (14.4.0%), and Trade & Tourism (17.1%). Interestingly, 81.6% of the agricultural allocation goes to salaries, leaving the remaining 18.4% for actual field work. Key priorities such as capital investment in irrigation, tractor services, post-harvest storage, seed multiplication, dedicated women farmer budget, FBO support, youth agro-entrepreneurship grants, and Good Agricultural Practices had no budget lines at all. Dr. Sarfo used these findings to anchor a strong advocacy agenda for the MSP going forward.
Advocacy for Accountability and Inclusive Decision Making
During subsequent session, Dr. Sarfo equipped MSP members with advocacy tools and frameworks, emphasizing that effective advocacy messages must be clear, fact-based, solution-oriented, concise, and respectful. He emphasized that good advocacy messages are the foundation of meaningful change when crafted well, thereby moving decision-makers to act. He called on the platform to leverage its collective voice to demand improved policy responsiveness, enhanced accountability in service delivery, and sustained constructive engagement with local governance structures fostering shared understanding and coordinated action to address systemic agricultural challenges in the municipality.
The participants present expressed satisfaction with the insight gained and indicated their commitment to work with each other to ensure that, farmers needs and concerns within the municipality are addressed. Mr. Alhassan Amin, PFAG focal person in Namumba North Municipal acknowledged the training organizers and termed the session as an eye opener. He stressed that “This is the first time I am learning how the Nanumba North Municipal composite budget was drafted and submitted, leaving Agriculture with only 1.17% of the total share.” He urged all participants to monitor ongoing projects and activities in the Municipality using the PFAG developed scorecard.
Other stakeholders including a District Director of Agriculture who doubles as the co-convenor of the MSP, Mr. Hamza Mohammed indicated that “the kind of information shared here can serve as a powerful tool to advocate for what farmers in this municipal demand and deserve and urge PFAG to continue their good work by advocating for inclusive agricultural development in the municipal
NEXT STEPS
In the end, participants pledged to track every amount allocated to activities within the composite budget, using the PFAG scorecard and the provisions of the Right to Information Act, to ensure allocations are used for their intended purposes. Dr. Sarfo applauded the commitment from participants and tasked MSP members to disseminate the insights from the training to other farmers and community members at the grassroots level, deepening awareness and strengthening collective advocacy across the district.
