Dry lands have a woman’s face

Kanpou and Godziir are subsistence farming communities in the Lawra and Nandom districts in the Upper West Region that most of us have never heard off or will ever visit.

With a population of 600 and in constant demand for arable land, their economic performance may be insignificant to national accounting.

But without hesitation, I can mention their achievements in attaining six out of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - that is eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and ensuring environmental sustainability.

Dry lands

The districts are semi-arid and belong to an ecosystem called dry lands. Dry lands cover approximately 48.9 per cent of the total area of the country and are in the Upper East, Upper West, Northern, some parts of Volta, Central and the Greater Accra regions. 

Although, dry lands conjure up many emotions, myths, spirituality, romance, outmoded traditions, subjugation, polygamy and male chauvinism and contradictory ideas, bleak life, floods, hunger, malnutrition, ethnic conflicts, drought and poverty, historically, they have been the living basis for mankind as the first humans originated in the savannah grasslands of eastern and southern Africa. 

And rightly so as in the 70s and 80s, the districts were hit by lack of rains, drought and encroaching desertification that constrained the production of crops, forage, wood and other regulating services such as flood and diseases control and cultural services such as spiritual, recreational and cultural benefits.

Certainly, the situation led to severe hardships for the communities, resulting in the migration of able-bodied men, thereby imposing untold hardship on the women. 

Facts about dry lands

Dry lands, commonly associated with arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humids, are home to a third of all humanity; exclusive to many endangered native plants and birds. They play a critical role in transforming atmospheric carbon into organic carbon, making it earth’s largest pool of organic carbon. 

Isn’t it amazing that such ecosystems are the bread basket of the world? Yes, 30 per cent of the crops that are cultivated and consumed in every corner of the world originate from dry lands. 

For example, maize, beans, tomato and potatoes originate from the dry lands of Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and Chile, while millet, sorghum and various species of wheat and rice come from the African dry lands and date palm and olive trees come from the Mediterranean basin.

Catch 22

The reality is that dry lands have some of the highest levels of poverty, neglected by investment and sustainable development interventions spawning severe hardship for women due to their traditional roles and knowledge in natural resource management and food security.

It is a fact that their perspectives rarely appear in the realm of decision making, most especially women in the dry land setting where cultural practices and religious norms hinder them from active participation.

In consequence, dry lands of the 70s and 80s offered the women in Kanpou and Godziir marginalisation, harsh climatic, economic and social conditions. 

The women’s story

The Chairperson of Kanpou Women’s Group, Naakuu Yelinuor, recounted her sad story. “When I got married and came to Kanpuo about thirty years ago, there was an incidence; uncontrolled bushfires, water was scarce, the land was very poor we could not produce any crop and life in the village was difficult.”

“We had to walk as far as to Burkina Faso to gather firewood and we were often harassed by Fulani men. As the land degradation accelerated, our sons and husbands left the communities to get employment in the south and neighbouring Burkina Faso. 

We were often left behind to care for the aged and children and perform community productive functions, giving us additional burden”,  she recollected.

Recollecting her predicament, Madam Winifred Yiryel, aged 60 from Godziir, related that “several years ago, we observed that our existence was being threatened by land degradation. We could not send our children to school and so we used them as scarecrows on the farms.”

We didn’t know the reason. One evening a radio news informed us that desertification had caught up with some part of the country and Godziir was mentioned as one of those communities.” 

Suddenly her despair turned into joy. “We were very happy when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced the No Burn in 1986 and the National Action Plan (NAP) to combat desertification and drought in 2005 with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) of Canada”. 

Spiritual Fire Festival

The concept of No Burn was promoted as an answer to an annual burning cycle- a spiritual festival observed by the people of northern Ghana whenever they were ready to prepare the land for planting. 

Over the years, the effect of the fire has contributed to the removal of biological diversity and led to land degradation, reduction in soil fertility and, oftentimes, prolonged droughts, thus contributing to crop destruction and low yields. 

The NAP, an international strategy, was adopted to stem the continued loss of productive land and reverse the declining trend to ensure the sustainability of life for the people.

Innovations 

The women, mainly farmers, were trained and equipped with knowledge and skills in handling various species of trees, how to grow and replace the lost ones and prepare local fertilizer with crop residue and cow dung for soil fertilization at the beginning of the farming season. 

“We were taught mixed cropping to enhance soil fertility, stone lining to prevent erosion, earth mounds to check water runoff and anti-burning strategies,” Sadiana Kepedo of Godziir said. 

She indicated that under the project, fire stewards were trained and tasked to teach other communities how to prevent fire outbreaks.

“The trainers informed us that a major cause of drought and desertification is indiscriminate bush burning. As a result, we resolved not to burn anyhow.” 

“With the help of the Nandom Naa, Naa Dr Charles Poure Chiir VII, and the district assembly we instituted a by-law to fine community members GH¢10 and GH¢20 for others when caught burning indiscriminately. This is working perfectly,” she declared.  

Oasis in the making

Because the women maximised the opportunities offered them to improve the soil and sustainably increase their productivity, the two communities have become attractive to the neighbouring towns due to its abundant water, herbal plants and natural fruits such as the black and yellow berry, ebony, shea, dawadawa and moringa.

According to traditional herbalist, Darolo Kyollu, “it has curbed the high spate of migration of the youth in the village to the south and has rather attracted other people to our communities.”

“In addition, the herbs are back and once again we are able to treat sick infants, as well as adults,” he disclosed.

Overcoming poverty

The women have come to appreciate that the environment is not a luxury but a key factor in overcoming poverty and it is an economic and social basis for livelihoods.

Amidst clapping, singing and dancing, they intoned their successes; “we are benefiting in energy and water availability, food security and nutrition, agro forestry, animal husbandry, improvements in our livelihoods and prosperity”. 

“We have the ability to send our children to school and the opportunity to pursue responsive leadership and good governance at all levels”.

The writer is the Chief Programme Officer in charge of Public Relations, Gender and Climate Change at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Email: angelina.mensah@epa.gov.gh