The farming season is from June to October every year.
(Pictures and description provided by our cousin Kugoriamo Gabriel)
The process of farming usually starts with plowing the ground and then planting the seeds.
In this picture, young men and boys from Nania village are plowing the ground. After they finish plowing, all land plots are divided into smaller portions. An acre of land has 4 plots and each plot is divided into 10 portions.
In this picture, young women of Nania village are sowing millet on their acre of land. She is using the hoe to dig a hole. She places 3 to 8 seeds in the hole in case some fall to germinate. She then covers the hole. She will continue to do this in intervals of about half a meter.
With the quality of millet that they are using on this land, they are expecting to harvest more than 10 times the input.It takes at least a week for the seeds to start germinating. After the plants begin to germinate, they apply fertilizer by placing a measured quantity by each plant. While the plants are growing, they tend to the plants (e.g., weeding) for them to yield more fruit or seeds in the harvest.
Each year, a good harvest consists of rice, maize, millet, beans pepper, tomatoes, sweet potato, okra, and other crops.
Each plot serves 2 people.
- Grass spray ⇒ GHS 20 per plot = USD 3.48 per plot
- Millet ⇒ GHS 8 per bowl, 4 bowls per plot = GHS 32 per plot = USD 5.57 per plot
- Maize ⇒ GHS 5 per bowl, 4 bowls per plot = GHS 20 per plot = USD 3.48 per plot
- Labor ⇒ GHS 20 per person, 2 persons = GHS 40 each day = USD 6.96 each day = GHS 400 per season = USD 69.60 per season (10 workdays per season)
- Fertilizer ⇒ GHS 230 per bag, 2 bags per plot = GHS 460 per plot = USD 80.01 per plot
- Total per plot = GHS 932 = USD 162.67 per plot each year (serving 2 people for the year).
For example, a residential compound (housing area) of 12 family members in Nania may have 5 plots for their family. The approximate annual costs for a family of 12 would be GHS 932 / USD 162.67 x 5 plots = GHS 4,660 / USD 813.35.
However, a successful harvest also depends on the amount of rain they receive during the farming season.
Please remember to check in on your family members to see what they need (e.g., fertilizer) to help in the farming. If you need help in thinking of ways to support long-term solutions, consider giving to our Water for Paga, Ghana campaign where we are raising money to purchase community boreholes for reliable water supply.