Asanko Gold Ghana Ltd has expanded its Community Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) to reach 80 smallholder farmers in the Ashanti Region. The beneficiaries are drawn from 12 communities in the Amansie West and Amansie South districts.

The second phase of the programme aims to improve agricultural productivity, strengthen food security, and help farmers cope with rising input costs, changing rainfall patterns, and limited access to agricultural extension services.

Isaac Kwakye, Asanko's Social Responsibility Manager, said the initiative was designed to strengthen agriculture and support livelihoods in the company's host communities.

He explained that providing farmers with inputs, training, and technical support would help improve farming practices and increase food production.

"We thought it wise that if we can help our farmers improve agricultural practices, if we can support them with farming inputs, it will go a long way in augmenting their farm produce, which in the end will bring more food to the area," Mr Kwakye said.

He added that beneficiaries from the first phase would continue to receive agricultural extension services to help them sustain and build on the progress made, while new farmers are brought onto the programme under Phase Two.

Justice Fenteng, General Manager of Asanko, noted that agriculture remains an important source of food and income for households in the company's host communities. He said farmers continue to face high input costs, weed-control difficulties, changing rainfall patterns, and inadequate access to technical support.

Under Phase Two, each participating farmer cultivating at least one acre will receive weed-control inputs, Wellington boots, a raincoat, a cutlass, and a knapsack sprayer.

Mr Fenteng said the items were selected to support farmers in key activities including land preparation, weed management, and safer working conditions. He stressed that the intervention was not only about distributing inputs but also about equipping farmers with the knowledge to use them effectively.

Beneficiaries will receive practical training in improved and climate-resilient farming methods, covering farm planning, weed management, responsible use of inputs, safe handling of equipment, and approaches to adapting farming practices to changing rainfall patterns and other weather conditions.

Illegal mining driving youth away from agriculture

Esther Afoakwa, Assistant Director of Agriculture for the Amansie South District, said illegal mining was contributing to declining interest in agriculture among young people in the district. She noted that farming was increasingly being left to older people as some young people turned to mining activities for income.

"The state of agriculture in the district currently, due to illegal mining activities, we are finding some challenges because the youth are not into agriculture. It is only the aged who are into agriculture," she said.

Ms Afoakwa welcomed the intervention, saying the support would help farmers improve their activities and strengthen household livelihoods.

A beneficiary from one of the participating communities expressed appreciation for the initiative. "We are grateful to Asanko for the support. It will help us improve our farming activities, and we hope the company will continue to support farmers in our communities," the beneficiary said.