[Français ci-dessous] The caravan visited the inspiring Obrobibini Peace Complex, nicely nested in the lush hills next to Busua, a coastal village in Ghana. The learning centre of the association is surrounded by a productive agroforestry system, designed according to the principles of dynamic/syntropic agroforestry and aims at setting an example for the region as…
[Français ci-dessous] The caravan’s period in Ghana was very inspiring! We crossed different climatic zones, from the drier savannah in the north to the rainforests in the South West, and many different cultures with their own architecture, food and traditions. Before we continue to Benin, we would like to briefly summarize our Ghana stage! On…
[Français ci-dessous] The caravan visited a group of farmers working with the organic resource management for soil fertility project (ORM4Soil), which is testing the effects of organic inputs on yields and soil fertility. A group of around 20 farmers from Kade, in the eastern region of Ghana, is using three local organic resources which were…
[Français ci-dessous] Some participants of the food systems caravan conference in Accra went on an excursion to the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant, a public-private partnership started in 2012. The participants were able to see how urban organic residues, mainly from households, are separated at the facility in order to produce compost. Plastic and metal…
[Français ci-dessous] The third whole day conference organized by the food systems caravan took place in the campus of the University of Ghana, in Accra, and had as a title “Transforming Food Systems in Ghana: The potential of Agroecology in times of climate and biodiversity crisis”. The conference counted with the presence of around 70…
[Français ci-dessous] The caravan was warmly welcomed by the rural communities of Durbar and Kalbeo, near Bolgatanga, for a couple of sessions dedicated to traditional food which counted with a degustation of around 15 indigenous food dishes. The activities marked the World Food Day, which celebrates the founding date of FAO of the United Nations,…
[Français ci-dessous] The caravan visited the Bolgatanga Girls Highschool and gave an open class in the big assembly of the school, for around 1000 students. The class was also attended by some teachers, and focused on the topic of sustainable food systems and its contextualization concerning global complex problems such as climate change, biodiversity crises…
[Français ci-dessous] We participated in a small conference at the Millar Institute for Transdisciplinary and Development Studies (MITDS), attended by 55 students and academics, about the contributions of research for the development of rural areas. Professor David Millar shared some insights from the r4d FoodSAF project, including a newly developed barometer for the assessment of…
See you Burkina! Welcome to Ghana [Français ci-dessous] The Burkina Faso stage of the caravan is over! We just crossed the border at Paga to Ghana, with the landscape remaining very similar, but English is now the official language. It was a remarkable period in Burkina Faso, with great team work, knowledge sharing, inspiring experiences…
[English below] La caravane a rencontré une vingtaine d’agriculteurs impliqués dans le projet Yamsys (systèmes d’ignames), près de Léo, pour partager quelques idées sur deux projets du R4D – ORM4Soil et IFWA – et pour se renseigner sur leurs expériences avec Yamsys. Les ignames sont une culture traditionnelle en Afrique de l’Ouest, importante pour la…