Life in northern Ghana is shaped by a harsh and unpredictable climate. Days are growing hotter – temperatures above 35°C are becoming more common, rising by over 13 percent each year. When the rains come, they are often intense and sudden, followed by longer, unforgiving dry spells. For many communities, these changing patterns make it harder to grow food, earn a living and care for their families. People with psychosocial disabilities are particularly vulnerable, often facing stigma and limited access to resources that could help them cope.
The NGO Basic Needs Ghana has been working to support community members with psychosocial disabilities to adapt to these climatic challenges. One of their initiatives is to grow and scale-up dry season gardens.
“People with psychosocial disabilities are the poorest and the most vulnerable people in our society. They are discriminated and stigmatized simply because of their condition, which is no fault of their own... It is just that opportunities have not been made available.” – Sandow Stanislaus Azuure, programme officer at Basic Needs Ghana.
In just four months, Basic Needs Ghana, in partnership with local communities, established ten vegetable gardens, across ten acres of land. More than 200 vulnerable individuals – people with psychosocial disabilities, caregivers and widows – now actively cultivate and manage these gardens. What began as a response to climate pressures has become a source of empowerment, enabling participants to grow food, earn an income, and reclaim their dignity through meaningful work.
The rural setting of Tamale with clay compound houses. Photo: Basic Needs Ghana
With the support of Basic Needs Ghana, the community is learning to create rich and resilient soils that can withstand extreme heat and heavy rains. The gardeners manage this in a variety of innovative ways. For instance, nitrogen fixing plants improve the nutrition of the soil, allowing for more plants to grow. Waste from the plant stems and leaves turn into organic compost and work back into the soil, improving its structure. Moreover, the biodiversity of the soil is increased as natural pesticides do not harm the natural organisms living there. Within just nine months, the community members can see the difference in their land and in themselves.
"I was devastated by a flood that ruined my farmland and property. This initiative was opportune. Since I cultivate vegetables, I now make GH₵500.00 [US$32] every month. I use the earnings to pay for our medical bills and to support the upkeep of my family. This initiative restored my honour and dignity.” – Zaliya Shaibu, a community member from Takorayili, in the North East Region.
Gardening is a form of occupational therapy that results in an improved health status and enhanced confidence of the community members. The earnings from selling vegetables encourage farmers to be active within their community.
A carer from Bihinaayili community harvesting her produce for sale and consumption. Photo: Basic Needs Ghana
More than half of the 200 new gardeners are women. For many of them, the gardens have not only provided food security but also a renewed sense of independence and purpose.
“It was difficult to get fresh vegetables to eat, but I am now a vegetable farmer. I have fresh vegetables to cook and feed my family. Our vegetables taste incredibly good, and most people acknowledge this, hence the reason they buy directly from us. This is indeed a lifesaving initiative, not only for me and my family, but for the entire group.” – Manmoya Buligtii, a widow from the community of Baare
The gardens are created with business in mind, feeding the families but also selling produce. The women who develop the gardens are assured future control of the land by Basic Needs Ghana. They can decide what they do with the vegetables and make their own choices about what to sell and what to eat.
“We are engaged with communities to understand the problem and then, together, we come out with a solution. We discuss and agree on the way forward. How will we do it and what way will we do it better and cost effective. We are able to come together.”– Sandow Stanislaus Azuure
The community-led approach is rooted in local knowledge to ensure they get the maximum out of their produce. Through hands-on training, the community is equipped with skills in good agronomic practices and climate-smart agriculture, promoting sustainable agriculture and increasing crop yields. Basic Needs Ghana conducted ten community consultations and a comprehensive study to guide data driven action. With the backing of local chiefs and opinion leaders, each community released one acre of land for dry season vegetable gardens in Zaazi, Nyoglo, Bihinaayili, Voggu, Kpalsogu, Gbullun, Takorayili, Bugiya, Baare and Gbeogo.
The communities prepared and cleared the land (ten acres) for the first ten gardens and decided what was best to plant. They advised Sandow and his team where to get the best seeds and how to buy them. Animals were brought in, to add to the value of the gardens.
The first goats arrive at the Zaazi community in the North Region of Ghana. Photo: Basic Needs Ghana
“What has worked very well for us is that we have not gone in the communities like we know it all. Instead, we go and learn from the community and the community comes onboard. In terms of clearing the land, building the fences, sowing the seeds, this is done by the local people. We are using Indigenous knowledge. We release the initiative for them, and they assume ownership for the initiative. That alone works for us. If you can go into the community and mobilize them.” – Sandow Stanislaus Azuure.
Basic Needs Ghana is sure that their advocacy will continue and that relationships will grow from one decade to the next. Where communities can see the change, it will be easier for them to join in too. The initiative is proving the importance of engaging the community, supporting the most vulnerable, building skills, creating livelihoods and adapting to a changing climate.
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Basic Needs Ghana is supported by a grant under the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator. Supported by financial contributions from the Adaptation Fund and the European Union, the UNDP-AFCIA programme has awarded 44 micro and small grants to locally led organizations across 33 countries worldwide, accelerating their innovative solutions to build resilience in the most vulnerable communities.
UNDP-AFCIA is one of two featured programmes under the Adaptation Innovation Marketplace (AIM), a multi-stakeholder strategic platform that promotes scaled-up adaptation at the local level.
