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MEDA, with funding from the Government of Canada, implemented a 6 year project in the tree crop sector of Ghana.
The goal of the FEATS project was to improve the economic wellbeing of women and men farmers in strengthened tree crop industries in Ghana.
The project aimed to directly benefit 100,000 women and men farmers, and 35 small enterprises and their employees. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were supported with matching grants to expand their operational and technical capacities to grow quality seedlings, while farmers are provided with trainings and purchase discounts to acquire and plant quality seedlings in an environmentally-sustainable manner.
Ghana’s workforce and economy are heavily dependent on agriculture. Over 1.6 million families are engaged in the cultivation of tree crops. However, tree crop production has seen a significant decline due to diminishing yields of aging trees and an inadequate supply of quality planting materials. The declining productivity has significant implications for Ghana’s export industry: this could leave over one million families in Ghana without a stable income.
Ghana’s tree crop farmers suffer from low yields because of older plants and low quality planting materials. Because of this, there is a strong need to reinvigorate unproductive farms and requires a strong quality seedling supply chain that produces affordable and accessible seedlings for farmers. However, with low capital, substandard infrastructure and inefficient business operations, nursery SMEs are unable to produce quality seedlings and in the right quantities to meet farmer demands.
The FEATS project was underpinned by four pillars:
FEATS operated within 11 regions – Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono, Bono East, Eastern, Oti, Volta, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, and Western and directly supported 108,692 small and medium-sized farmers (42.4% women). The purpose of the final evaluation is to measure the impact of the FEATS project on its clients.
Mennonite Economic Development Associates is an international economic development organization that creates business solutions to poverty.
MEDA International is a Canadian non-share capital not-for-profit corporation incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act.
Mennonite Economic Development Associates is a 501(c)(3) status non-profit organization in the United States: EIN 23-7398678.
Mennonite Economic Development Associates of Canada is a registered charity in Canada: No. 107 691 057 RR0001.
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