Crouched in a row of pepper plants peeking from the soil, a 24-year-old farmer named Olivia is cutting weeds with a small knife.
“When I think about how small a seed is, how it’s put into the soil, how it germinates then turns out to be food for so many people, helping to reduce malnutrition and saving people from hunger — it amazes me,” Olivia says.
Like many other countries across Africa — and the rest of the world — Ghana is grappling with soaring food, fuel and fertilizer prices, all compounded by the Ukraine crisis. Drought is making it even more difficult for girls and their families to access food, creating the worst hunger crisis seen in years. Traditional agricultural practices aren’t enough to protect crops anymore.
Read: What the war in Ukraine means for Africa
That’s why a new generation of entrepreneurial women farmers in Ghana is using green skills to shake up farming, producing nutritious food and creating sustainable livelihoods for their communities. After working with Plan, these young women like Olivia now have the skills to strengthen their country’s food systems, fight hunger and adapt to climate change.
As a teenager, Olivia noticed that despite the prevalence of agriculture, malnutrition levels in her community were high. She says people were prone to eating one particular meal all the time.
“[The meal] was usually made from maize, without variety, and it led to high levels of malnutrition,” Olivia says.
Olivia learned about food and nutrition in high school, and went on to study biochemistry at university. Then, she attended a green skills training, led by Plan, which she says confirmed her interest in environmentally friendly farming techniques.
During the Plan training, Olivia learned about how to farm sustainably, with practices like mulching, compost-making and using natural fertilizers. She also acquired business skills, like building savings and planning out marketing.
Now, Olivia sells her cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, cabbages and chili peppers to her community — and even to restaurants in Ghana’s capital city, Accra.
“The training from Plan International changed my life,” Olivia says. “As a farmer, I realized I could brand my products, and that would help me reach out to more customers. Plan provided me with a bicycle so I could reach the farm and safely transport my products to my customers. They also helped me build a fence to prevent animals [from] invading my crops.”
“Plan International’s Green Skills program was designed to address youth unemployment,” Plan International Ghana’s Youth Engagement Facilitator, Abigail, explains. “It has a special focus on farming in a way that protects the environment. So, the projects equipped young people, especially women, with employable skills and alternative, unique methods in farming that are environmentally friendly.”
Green skills training from Plan has come at a key time for young farmers like Doris, who says she loses sleep over the climate crisis.
“What we’re experiencing in Ghana right now is not good, it’s very worrying,” Doris says. “As a young female in agriculture, it’s hard to explain the negative effects of climate change on us as farmers.”
This year during COP27 in Cairo, the U.N. climate change conference, Plan International advocated on behalf of young people like Doris, saying they need tools to participate in emerging and changing sectors of the workplace. In particular, the green economy represents a ripe opportunity for young people to both gain employment and drive the transformational changes required to tackle the climate crisis. Plan also called for increased training and education on green skills and climate change, as well as increased opportunities in the green economy, and urged governments to take action.
“Climate change is severely affecting us,” Olivia says. “You can’t even predict the rain pattern, and currently it hasn’t been raining. By this point in the year, we’re supposed to have finished uprooting crops, but because we don’t have rain, we’re not always able to do that.”
Now, with Plan’s support, young farmers are learning how to cope.
“Our Green Skills course equips participants with the skills to overcome the challenges of unpredictable weather patterns and farm all year round, by adjusting to the weather changes and planting crops to get maximum yield,” Abigail says.
Christiana, who grew up helping her father on his farm, benefited from Plan’s green skills training at a time when her farm was failing. Thanks to Plan, she was able to buy a pumpkin blender and a seed oil extractor.
“I was almost collapsing when Plan came in,” Christiana says. “They gave me much-needed support.”
Now, Christiana is planting seeds of hope for others — she supplies local communities with food, hires other young women to work on her farm and helps coach her community members to set up businesses of their own.
As the saying goes, “a forest starts with one tree.” One small action can build a better world for girls, young women and entire communities. Will you join Christiana and create a ripple effect of positive change by donating a Gift of Hope?