Students and staff of the West African Centre for Water, Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA) under the Climate Resilience of Ecosystem Services (CRES) Project undertook a five-day field visit to the research sites of the project in Ghana. The 5-day field activity involved the familiarization of the team to project communities and partners, interaction with community stakeholders, identification and status of selected tree species and planting materials for domestication of selected tree species.
The team visited Savannah Fruits Company (SFC) and Organisation for Indigenous Initiatives and Sustainability Ghana (ORGIIS) in Tamale and Paga in Northern and Upper East Regions of Ghana respectively. At SFC, Mr. Felix Basing, the Operations Manager of SFC emphasized the relevance of the project on their activities as they seek to promote value addition on organic products of some selected species under CRES Project. The ORGIIS team, led by Mr. Adam Christopher, Procurement Officer, emphasized on processing, marketing and conservation of various native tree species. He stated “ORGIIS is mostly engaged in organic Baobab and Shea processing and marketing with the products being for both local and international markets”. Both project partners revealed their commitment in undertaking activities to support sustainable environment under various national and international conventions and policies.
In the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region, the team met the people of Gizaa (chief and elders), Gundaa, Jakpahi and Cheyohi at the Gizaa chief palace.
Project communities in Upper East and Upper West Regions were also visited where the team interacted with women and men groups on various tree species selected for the project. Tree species were identified in some of the communities where observations were made under various factors such as availability, fruiting, flowering, harvesting, etc.
The 5-year Climate Resilience of Ecosystem Services (CRES) Project aims to build capacity for the preservation and value chain improvement of selected native tree species in Ghana and Burkina Faso. As part of the project design and activities, Masters and PhD students have been recruited to work in five (5) work packages of the project. All project activities are supported through funding by the Danish Fellowship Centre (DFC).
