UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Government

Name of Ministry/Agency:	Department of State

Country:	United States of America

Name of Focal Point:	Hiram Larew

Initiative Title:	Increased Incomes for Smallholder Farmers in Ghana through Agricultural Exports

Internet links:	http://www.microlinks.org/ev02.php?ID=20389_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC

Scope:	Regional: - Africa

Status:	Ongoing

Timeframe:	Start: End:

Lead Institution:	U.S. Agency for International Development

Stakeholders/Partners:	Women farmers

Relevent issues:	- Food security and sustainable agriculture - Enhancing agricultural productivity through adequate and sustainable inputs - Community-based and indigenous approaches to food production - Diversifying agricultural production systems - Gender equality

Objectives/Challenges:

In Ghana, the Trade and Investment Programme for Competitive Export Economy (TIPCEE) Program helps smallholder farmers improve their incomes from exports in a variety of value chains (including mangoes, pineapple, cashews, and papaya). It has helped pineapple farmers increase the quality of export pineapples and find new European customers. Small farmer production was hampered by quality concerns and difficulty in meeting customer requirements for traceability (i.e., knowing the source and treatment of each pineapple). Yields per hectare were far less than industrial plantations targeting the same markets.

These challenges are being addressed through innovative uses of information and communications technology, including:

• Use of GIS (geographic information system) maps to support traceability requirements and improve production planning and monitoring for each smallholder farm.

• Developing a “packhouse to field” software application for use via a PDA (a handheld personal data assistant) and a cell phone network to meet traceability requirements more efficiently and increase the precision of the smallholder farmer’s agricultural processes.

• Introducing bar coding of data on pallets in packhouses in the field for transfer to the port on a digital “stick” carried by the truck driver rather than via costly electronic networks.

TIPCEE is also leveraging investments by Ghana Investment Fund for Telecommunications (GIFTEL) to increase cell phone coverage in its target areas, so more smallholder farmers can use these new information and communication tools. GIFTEL receives dedicated revenue from a tax on telecommunications services providers used to extend coverage to areas where there is insufficient demand to prompt providers to provide services themselves.

Lessons Learned:

By finding practical ways to use information and communication technology, smallholder farmers can integrate into supply chain systems, be a competitive alternative to industrial farming, and manage processes (pre and post harvest) much more efficiently. This technology alone is not the complete solution, but coupled with a deep understanding of how the value chains work for the target crops, it can be a powerful tool.

Summary:

Key Results -

Working with 11 commodity value chains, more than 25,000 rural households have benefited from TIPCEE project interventions and values of exports have increased by nearly $20 million.