Cultivating Fonio Grass

Summary

AMAATI is supporting marginalized rural women in the rural savannah to grow fonio, an ancient West African cultivated grass, on abandoned and degraded community lands.  AMAATI’s aim is to create sustainable livelihoods for women farmers and a land management system where the land can be regenerated to grow fonio and other crops.
 

Challenge/Problem

In sub-Saharan Africa, a majority of rural people living in poverty depend on natural resources such as land for their livelihoods. As a result, the region has experienced the world’s most severe land degradation. Globally, 12 million hectares of land are lost each year, including 20,000 hectares of productive land in Ghana. Climate change is worsening land degradation, and 90 per cent of farmers in Ghana are smallholders who cannot afford the technology to adapt to climate change. Women and children are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability and land degradation on agriculture production.
 

In Ghana, women make up 52 per cent of the agricultural labour force. However, the only land available to them is often already degraded. This land’s inability to support food crop cultivation compromises women’s food security. To reduce the plight of women in Ghana AMAATI supports rural women to grow fonio, a neglected indigenous food that grows well on marginal land without fertilizer, in the savannah regions where much of the land is abandoned and degraded.
 

Solution

AMAATI is a Ghanaian social enterprise that works on the revival of fonio in Northern Ghana. The company first identifies marginalized rural women, organizes them into groups of 20, trains them in improved agronomic practices and climate-smart agriculture, and assists them in acquiring degraded lands to cultivate fonio. The enterprise provides farmer groups with improved seeds and supports them with interest-free credit to acquire other inputs. The marketing department of the enterprise buys the raw fonio from the designated farm depots at guaranteed prices. Then 25 women at AMAATI’s factory process the fonio for local and international markets.
 

AMAATI works with traditional chiefs to ensure vulnerable women in their communities are supported with land. In partnership with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, AMAATI also establishes demonstration farms and provides extension services to ensure quality standards. AMAATI also works directly with input dealers to provide tailored services to youth and women in fonio farming.
 

In 2017, the government of Ghana enabled AMAATI to reach more farmers under the graduate innovation program, which aims to support innovative, scalable solutions that have high social and economic impacts. Through this program, an additional 500 vulnerable landless women were supported to cultivate fonio in areas of rural savannah where food insecurity is high. 
 

The main beneficiaries of this innovation are women and young people. AMAATI supports women in creating sustainable livelihoods, reducing gender inequalities, and addressing their limited rights to land, credit and natural resources that hinder sustainable development. For young people, AMAATI provides employment opportunities, access to markets and higher incomes, and motivation to work as future fonio farmers.   
 

Among health-conscious consumers, fonio is gaining popularity as a superfood. Rich in amino acids, protein and iron, it is gluten-free and has a low glycaemic index that makes it suitable for diabetics. It is drought-resistant, can grow without the support of fertilizer and restores organic matter in fallow soil.
 

Results

- In Ghana, this innovation is currently being implemented in rural savannah zones spanning six districts and three regions (Upper East, North East and Northern).
 

- AMAATI supported 3,100 farmers in 2020, 80 per cent of whom were women. At least 2,480 women have access to land, and 60 per cent of them are inter-cropping with other crops to increase incomes.
 

- Through continuous training on agronomic and post-harvest management, outputs have increased by 10 per cent, indicating increased crop values and incomes.
 

- According to an AMAATI survey, AMAATI received only 30 per cent of fonio produced. The remaining 70 per cent remains with households for their consumption, indicating at least 3,100 households have increased food access, thus reducing hunger.
 

- Twenty-five women are permanently employed in processing fonio for the market. These jobs have diversified their income streams and improved their livelihoods.
 

- Over 4,000 acres of farmlands are under positive land management as a result of the intervention.
 

- AMAATI is currently selling 200 tons of fonio per year, with 70 per cent going to local markets and 30 per cent abroad.
 

Lessons Learned/Potential for replication  

Given that the tradition of women’s access to land spans so many cultures in West Africa, AMAATI’s approach can be replicated throughout the region to enable women in agriculture to improve their livelihoods.

Growing fonio on degraded lands has been encouraged because of the regenerative nature of the crop. The fonio residues left on the field play a significant role in improving soil fertility. This lesson can be applied to other areas in Africa where degradation is common and increasing.

AMAATI has identified that influencing policy through community chiefs and leaders helps women farmers get access to land. This facilitation could cause a domino effect across local leaders in other regions.

Next Steps

AMAATI plans to support 50,000 smallholder farmers, at least 80 per cent of them women. AMAATI will partner with other non-governmental organizations that work with women and youth to improve livelihoods and increase employment.

In addition, AMAATI wants to diversify their product lines and enter other countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, where initial assessments indicate a vast market for fonio and fonio-related products.

If 1 million hectares of degraded land could be made arable, women will have access to land that could feed 150 million people, ensuring food security and sustainable income to the rural poor.