This project expands economic opportunities for small-scale farmers in Ghana by enhancing their productivity and deepening market access and participation. The specific objectives of the project include:

1. Increasing the production base of important indigenous spices, medicinal plants and horticultural crops including Grains of Paradise, Griffonia and Voacanga and providing employment and income to selected farmers;
2. Implementing sustainable collection practices of selected wild harvested NTFPs to generate complementary income;
3. Increasing productivity through applied research, improved quality systems and technology transfer;
4. Increasing human and enterprise capacities;
5. Providing assistance in trade facilitation and market development for regional and export trade.

This project focuses activities within 10 communities by supporting 50 farmers to cultivate an additional 40 acres of spices and other non-timber forest products. More than 200 collectors are trained to sustainably collect about 60 MT of selected wild-harvested medicinal plants. Direct jobs are created for 250 farmers/collectors (100 women and 150 men) with income of over $232,000 generated.

Deliverables

Illustrated posters about good production and harvest practices, by crop: Each poster is a two-sided PDF intended for A3-sized paper, with a production calendar and photographs to illustrate good and bad practices, from nursery site selection to postharvest practices.

• Bird's eye chili
• Voacanga
• Grains of paradise
• Griffonia (collection practices)