The Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) Domestication and Cocoa Systems Diversification Project at the Lake Bosumtwe Biosphere Reserve in the Ashanti Region has organised a field training for some selected farmers.
The project dubbed ” NTFP Bosumtwe ” selected 30 farmers from 15 communities at the shore of Lake Bosumtwe and visited Abraham farms ( cocoa agroforestry farm ) at Abodwo a suburb of Bunso in the Eastern Region.
The team was led by Professor Emmanuel Opuni Frimpong, Deputy Director of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) at Fumesa, and the farm belongs to Mr Abraham Kwaku Adusei, the 2013 National Best Cocoa Farmer and 2014 World Best Cocoa Farmer with about 250 acres farmland.
Professor Opuni said the visit was a form of a farmer field school under the NTFP Bosumtwe project that allowed them to learn how cocoa can be grown alongside other tree species to enhance biodiversity, improve soil fertility for productivity, and increase resilience to pest and diseases.
He said the field school fostered knowledge exchange, empowered farmers, and inspired the adoption of diversified farming systems.
Before the visit on the farm, they went to the CSIR-FORIG demonstration plot, and the CSIR – Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute in Bunso to participate in trials and explored ways to integrate non-timber forest products into their farming systems, he noted.
The group of farmers were accompanied by an Agriculture Extension Officer from the Cocoa Health Extension Division (CHED) of the COCOBOD in the Ashanti Region, to ensure a continued technical support for the farms.
Madam Kristen Meuer, Project Coordinator, NTFP Bosumtwe said the project aimed to create demonstration plots around Lake Bosumtwe, cultivating non-timber Forest products diversifying the region’s agricultural system and landscape.
The project spans three years (July 2024 – June 2027) with funding from the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Professor Tobias Cremer, Project Leader, said NTFP Bosumtwe was not only to conserve biodiversity but also to create sustainable economic opportunities for the local communities to increase their income sources and contribute to the long-term ecological health of the Lake Bosumtwe Biosphere Reserve.
The NTFP Bosumtwe project is coordinated by the University for Sustainable Development in Eberswalde, Germany, and in partnership with the CSIR-FORIG and the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), Sunyani in the Bono Region.