The Konjiehi community in the Wa Municipality has received a fenced community garden and a modern drip irrigation system to promote year-round farming and provide sustainable livel
The report indicates that the Konjiehi community in the Wa Municipality has received a fenced community garden and a modern drip irrigation system to promote year-round farming and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities aimed at reducing illegal mining (galamsey) and irregular migration.
It further notes that the facility was handed over on Friday under the FOSTERING Project (Fostering Self-Sufficient Economic Stability for Reintegration of Returnees), an initiative funded by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ). The project was implemented by Community Aid for Rural Development (CARD) Ghana in partnership with the Wa Municipal Assembly.
The intervention seeks to strengthen the economic resilience of farming communities by enabling all-year agricultural production, improving food security and reducing the economic pressures that often drive young people into illegal mining activities or risky migration.
For residents of Konjiehi, where agriculture is the primary source of livelihood, the absence of dry-season farming has long left many without income once the rains end.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mahama Rufai stated many young people had resorted to illegal mining during the dry season because of the lack of alternative employment.
“When we finish with the rainy season, we don’t have any other work to do other than going to galamsey sites. Some of us go and cannot come back,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the irrigation system would provide a sustainable source of income and reduce the community’s dependence on illegal mining.
“This project will help stop us from going to the galamsey sites so we can stay here, do some work and take care of our families,” he added.
Another beneficiary, Mohamed Fuseina, described the project as life-changing, saying it would allow women to remain with their families during the dry season instead of travelling to southern Ghana in search of work.
She explained that she previously had to leave her children behind while seeking seasonal employment but believes the new irrigation facility will enable her family to earn a living within the community.
“I won’t leave my children at home with my husband again to travel for work, and my husband also won’t have to leave us to work at galamsey sites. We are very grateful for this timely intervention,” she said.
To support production, beneficiaries were provided with farm inputs including seeds, fertilisers, Wellington boots, cutlasses, pickaxes, shovels, knapsack sprayers, wheelbarrows and reflective vests.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, IOM Chief of Mission for Ghana, Togo and Benin, Fatou Diallo Ndiaye, stated the initiative formed part of broader efforts to tackle the root causes of irregular migration by creating sustainable economic opportunities in communities of origin.
“It was designed to create an economic opportunity that improves food security and supports inclusive, sustainable livelihoods for returnees and members of their communities of origin,” she said, urging residents to work collectively to ensure the project’s success.
