The Hunger Project Ghana (THP-Ghana) has officially launched the “Enhancing Food Security, Wellbeing and Livelihoods of Households Project” in Asenema in the Eastern Region during an inception workshop.
The one-and-a-half-year initiative, generously supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Australia, aims to significantly improve food security, strengthen livelihoods and enhance the overall wellbeing of more than 4,000 community members.
As part of its goals, the project will tackle the challenge of food insecurity through a strengthened agricultural value chain, enhance the delivery of inclusive maternal and child health care services and improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.
The workshop brought together traditional authorities, community partners and representatives from the Okere District Assembly, including officials from the Department of Agriculture, Ghana Health Service, District Education Office, Business Resource Center and the Development Planning Unit.
Speaking on behalf of the Country Leader, Francis Osei-Mensah, the Monitoring and Evaluation Lead at THP-Ghana highlighted the vast agricultural opportunities within the Asenema area, particularly in subsistence and commercial crop production.
“Asenema is known for processing cassava into gari. However, inadequate equipment, poor processing facilities, limited storage capacity and the absence of value addition compel farmers to sell their produce in raw form at unprofitable prices.
This project will address these pressing challenges by building on Asenema’s commitment to ending hunger and poverty,” he stated.
Furthermore, Esther Peasah Fiscian ,the Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation Manager at THP-Ghana, urged stakeholders to champion the organization’s vision, commitment and action (VCA) approach.
She explained that the approach empowers communities to define their development vision, commit to shared responsibility and take collective action to achieve lasting change.
She added that it was important for community partners to feel a sense of ownership towards the project to ensure sustainability beyond the initiative’s implementation period.
Providence Nyonyo, Development Planning Officer for the Okere District Assembly, acknowledged the long-standing partnership between the assembly and THP-Ghana.
She reaffirmed her outfit’s commitment to ensuring the successful implementation of the project for the benefit of residents in the Asenema area and the district as a whole.
