PHYSICAL AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Location and Size

Talensi-Nabdam, one of the newly created districts was carved from the Bolgatanga District with Tongo as its capital.  It has a population of about 94650, bordered to the North by the Bolgatanga District, South by the West and East Mamprusi Districts, Kassena-Nanakana District to the West and the Bawku West District to the East. The district lies between latitude 10.15° and 10.60° north of the equator and longitude 0.31° and 10.50.

Topography and Drainage

The district has gentle slopes ranging from 1% to 5% gradient with some isolated rocks while some upland slopes range around 10% at the Tongo and Nangodi areas. The district is drained mainly by the Red and White Volta and their tributaries.

Geology and Soil

The rocks fall within the Birimian, Tarkwaian and Voltaria types of Ghana.  There is evidence of presence of minerals especially gold.

Climate

The climate is tropical with two distinct seasons, the Wet (rainy) and Dry (no rain). The rainy season is erratic, and runs from May to October each year with an annual mean of 950mm. The dry season is long and stretches from October to April. Temperatures can be with a maximum of 450 C in March and April with a minimum of 120C in December.

Vegetation

The vegetation is guinea savannah woodland consisting of short widely spread deciduous trees and a ground flora of grass, which get burnt by fire or sun scorch during the long dry season.  The most common economic trees are the Shea nuts, dawadawa, baobab and acacia.

The district has three gazetted forest reserves covering a total area of 455.21 sq km; Nyokoko (established in 1954), Tankwiddi East and The Red Volta were respectively established in 1956.

Environmental Situation

The natural environment is fairly degraded as it faces threat of severe drought with high temperatures and perennial outbreak of bush fires.  It is evident that high population densities (especially in towns) with high demand for land for constructional activities, extensive cultivation, over-grazing, erratic rainfall and the extent of devastation do affect the natural environment thereby exposing it to desertification. Illegal surface mining is a major threat to the environment by degrading land and pollution of water bodies.

Water Supply

Access to portable water is indeed a problem and the District Assembly and other development partner are working to collectively find a solution. Small Town Water System (STWS) have provided boreholes and hand-dug wells for many communities in the district with support from NGOs (ADRA, Rural Aid and WorldVision Ghana).

DEMOGRAPHICS

Age and Sex Distribution of the Population

Age group	Population	Sex distribution (%)
		Male	Female
< 19 years
20 – 29 years
30 – 39 years
40 – 49 years
50 – 59 years
60+ years

Sex and Rural-Urban Distribution of the Population

Sex	Population	Percentage Distribution (%)
		Rural	Urban
Male	50, 014
Female	50, 865
	100, 879

Labour Force

The labour force in the district comprises agricultural labour, non-agricultural labour and casual labour. Under agricultural labour, family labour claims over 60% usually comprising men, women and children of age 15 years at least. The remaining 40% goes to non-agricultural labour and casual labour. The demand for labour is at its peak in the rainy season, when more farming activities are being carried out.

AGRICULTURE

The District Agricultural Development Unit is geared towards ensuring food security all year round in collaboration with other development partners. Agriculture plays important roles in the socio-economic development of the Talensi-Nabdam District, aside food security; it provides employment and incomes for over 90% the population. The district has arable land area of 56% (49,200 ha) and 9,000 farm households with an average land holding of 1.2ha per household which falls below the National Average of 4ha. About 90% of its population is peasant farmers who grow mostly food crops.

Crops

The main crops cultivated by farmers during the rainy season are:

• Cereals: millet, sorghum, rice, maize
• Legumes: groundnuts, cowpea, soybean, bambara beans
• Vegetables: tomato, pepper, okro, garden eggs,
• Tubers: Sweet Potato, frafra potato.

Achievements

Main season:

Crop	Ha	Total coverage			Yields (MT/Ha)
		Male	Female	Total
Rice					1.94
Maize					1.38
Sorghum					1.55
Millet E/Late					0.98
Groundnut					1.21
Cowpeas					0.52
Total

Main season:

Crop	Ha	Total coverage			Yields (MT/Ha)
		Male	Female	Total
Tomato	114.33	142	3	114
Onion	4.97	146	8	154
Pepper	11.0	10		10
Water Melon	40.0	40	15	55
Maize	23.0	7	2	9
Okro	11.1	60	9	69
Leafy vegetables	3.1	31	8	39
	207.5	436	45	4450

Achievements

Livestock

Apart from crop production, livestock and poultry rearing is the second most important feature in agricultural development. Almost all farmers are engaged in the rearing of at least one type of livestock and poultry. Livestock serves as a good source of income for farmers especially when there is crop failure. Production is largely at the subsistence level. The livestock reared include poultry (guinea fowls, fowls, ducks, and turkeys), cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and donkeys.

Projects

Project	Start	Ending	Achievements	Remarks
Livestock Development Project (LDP)	2005	2010	80 farmers received 800 sheep-stock as credit-in-kind
Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP)	2009	2014	Four (4) Producer Organisations were linked to the Bank for support and cultivated 147 acres for seed under dry season irrigation.	64 men and 22 women benefited
Block Farms Project	2008			On-going

Talensi Nabdam District Agriculture Development Unit

c/o Talensi Nabdam District Assembly

Post Office Box 576

Tongo via Bolgatanga

OFFICE CONTACT:+233-382-091078

PHYSICAL AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Location and Size

The district is located in the north- eastern part of the Upper East Region between Latitude 100 10’N and Longitude 00 10’W. It is bordered to the east by the Republic of Togo, to the north by Burkina Faso, to the west by Bawku Municipal and to the south by East Mamprusi district Assembly. Garu-Tempane is the district capital.The district has an area of 1,230 sqkm and a population density of 99 persons per sqkm

Topography and drainage

The District marks the highest point of the Upper East Region. Areas bordering the White Volta is generally low and slightly undulating with gentle slopes and heights between 120 – 150m above sea level. The rest of the district is a series of plateau surfaces of average height of 400m with isolated peaks of 430m above sea level.

Geology and Soil.

The soils within the district are mainly developed from granite rocks which are shallow and low in soil organic matter content. The three main soil types found in the district are red and brown sandy loam and clays, moderately deep pale brown coarse sandy loams with biotic granites and gray sandy loams and clays in rivers valleys.

Climate

The climate is characterized by a uni-modal rainy season from May /June to September/October. The average amount of rainfall during the period is between 800- 860mm per annum. The lowest mean temperature is 180C occurring in December/January and highest mean monthly temperature is 400C occurring in Match/ April.

Vegetation

 

The vegetation is mainly the Sahel savannah type consisting of scattered drought resistant tree and grasses which often gets burnt during the long dry season. The most common economic trees found within the district are the dawadawa, baobab and the shea tree.

Water Supply

About 46 per cent of the population have access to portable drinking water by Ghana water Company Limited (GWLC). The rest get their water supply through boreholes and hand dug well in the Municipality.

Environmental Situation

The environment is made up economic trees, grasses and water bodies which are scatters all over the area. Some parts of the environment  especially along the white volta basin are generally prone to flooding situation during the raining season.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Age And Sex Distribution Of The Population .

The estimated total population of the district is 125,280 with a population density of 99 persons per square kilometres.  The district has total land area of 1230sqkm

Sex  And Rural – Urban Distribution Of The Population

Majority of the population is in the <19 and 50-59 year group. This affects the productive capacity of the District. The labour force is however compensated by the large number of hard working women in the district.

The population of the district is primarily rural and scattered in dispersed settlement which is about 90 per cent rural and about 10 per cent urban.

Labour Force

Household size in the district is relatively large (7) and this has increased the labour force of the households. Though these large households could mean availability of family labour force, it has some financial implication in terms of feeding, healthcare, education, clothing etc.  However, Agriculture employs about 70 % of the labour force.

AGRICULTURAL

Crop Sector

Farming is the predominant occupation of the people in the district with the total farm population ranging between 80 and 90%.  Farmers in the district engage in cultivation of cereals, legumes vegetables as well as tree crops.

Achievement

Under the block programme, the district supported 805 beneficiary farmers comprising of 269 males and 536 female covering an area of 176 ha of both soya and rice in 2010.

Under NRGP, BESSFA rural bank in the district supported 206 farmers made up of 135males and 71 females covering an area of 82 hectares in maize and soya production.

Achievement in the crop sector  of total area cropped in hectares, yield in MT/Ha and production in (MT) is summarised in the table below from 2008-2010.

Crop Statistics

Crop	2008			2009			2010
	Area	Yield	Prod.	Area	Yield	Prod.	Area	Yield	Prod.
Maize	3613	1.6	5781	5265	1.31	6898	5660	1.6	9056
Rice	3190	2.6	8358	2433	2.8	6813	3904	2.6	10150
Millet	11433	0.48	5602	7400	0.44	3256	6000	0.49	2940
Sorghum	9714	0.77	7480	11916	0.72	8579	8800	0.76	6688
G/Nuts	10152	1.0	10254	7804	0.44	3434	6980	1.0	8980
Cowpea	2672	0.98	2619	8118	0.56	4546	5900	0.50	2950
S/Potato	1300	11.20	14560	695	11.2	7786	600	9	5400
Soya	3646	1.0	3063	2148	0.64	4374	2100	0.8	1680
Total	45720		57717	45779		42376	37844		42824

FISHERIES

Fishing is not a key economic activity in the district however, significant fishing has been recorded along the White-Volta river, and at dam sites other permanent water bodies..

LIVESTOCK

Livestock and poultry rearing is an economic activity for the people of district and the practice is Mixed farming where majority of farmers cultivating crops also keep some livestock and poultry. Key livestock types include: Livestock, small ruminants Poultry and Piggery

Achievement

The livestock credit in kind has been able to provide farmer groups with … number of animals.

PROJECTS

Start And End Time.

There was /is  a number of NGOs and Bilateral Organizations  as well as MOFA funded projects operating in the district in a specialized areas.  The start and ending period of the Projects are as indicated in table 4 below

MOFA Related Projects

NGO/AGENCY	DATES	NAME/AREA OF OPERATION
Community Based Rehabilitation	On-going	Catering for persons with disabilities.
ZOVFA	On-going	Zouri Organic Vegetable Farmers Association
Preby Agric.	1970 On-going	Provision of micro credit to farmer groups
RSSP	On-going	Development of lowlands to boost Rice production
BESSFA RURAL BANK	On-going	Provision of financial Services
CARE INTERNATIONAL	2000 – On-going	Capacity Building
PAGEV	2006 – On-going	Capacity Building

Achievements

These projects have increased the incomes of the rural folks through provision of improved technologies, capacity building and provision of credit facility. This has gone a long way in improving the livelihood of the farmers in the district.

PROGRAMMES

The below shows the number of Programmes been implemented in the district.

PROGRAMME	DATES	NAME/AREA OF OPERATION
NRGP	2009 – On-going	Northern Rural Growth Project
Youth In Agriculture	2009 – On-going	Bulk-Farm
LDP	2003 – 2010	Livestock Development Programme
BLOCK FARM	On-going	Provision of Inputs for Block Farm beneficiaries

District Potential

The District has vast potentials of many shea trees, forest reserves, many lowland valleys which can be developed with irrigation facilities to boost rice production. The presence of a financial institusion BESSFA, and a large number of cooperating FBOs are also very conducive recipes for development.

Contact Address

PAUL S. AYAGIBA

DISTRICT DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE

C/O P.O. BOX 44

GARU-TEMPANE

TEL: +233-245-369622

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Location and Size

Builsa District is one of the nine districts in the Upper East Region. It is located in the south-western part of the region and lies roughly between latitudes 100 15’N and 100 20’N and between longitudes 10 05’W and 10 35’W.  It is bounded to the North by Kassena Nankana West Distirct, to the East by Kassena Nankana East District, to the West by the Sissala East District and to the South by West Mamprusi District. The District capital is Sandema with major towns being Chuchuliga, Fumbisi, Wiaga, Kanjarga, Gbedema, Wiesi, Gbedembilisi, Siniensi, Kadema, Doninga, Bachonsa and Uwasi,

With a total land area of 2,220 square kilometres, the district accounts for over a quarter of the total land area of the Upper East Region thereby making it the largest district in the Region.

The district capital is Sandema.

DEMOGRAPHICS

The demographic characteristics of Builsa District have some common features with other rural Districts in Ghana.  The major demographic indicators and their implications for development are discussed below:

Size And Density: Builsa District had a population of 66,357 in 1984.  This increased to 75,375 in the year 2000 showing an average annual growth rate of about 0.82% over the 16-year inter censual period.
The total population consists of 51.8% (or 39,996) females and 48.2% (38,379) males. The sex ratio, defined as the ratio of males to females, is 93.2.  The population density based on the land surface is presently about 33.94 or 34 persons per square kilometer as against 30 persons per sq km in 1984.  The population density of the Upper East Region in year 2000 was relatively higher, about 104 persons per sq km.

AGRICULTURE

The Builsa District, which is one of the eight districts of the Upper East Region, has a total land area of 2,220km2 with a current population of 80,035 projected from the 2000 Population and Housing Census figure of 75375. It has a population density of 36 persons per km2.

Total cultivable area is 37,000ha. The people are predominantly small holders growing a range of rain-fed food crops.  The main food crops are cereals (maize, rice, sorghum, millet) and pulses (cowpea and groundnuts). The people are also engaged in livestock and poultry production.

The vegetation is guinea savannah.  The soils are degraded, low in organic matter content and nutrients due to continuous cropping and other land degradation activities such as bush burning. The methods of cultivation are the hand hoe, animal traction and tractor; however the predominant method is the hand hoe. The District has a single maximum rainfall regime expanding over a period of 5 months with annual totals ranging between 700-1,000mm (Uni modal).  The dry period extends for 7 months with a mean temperature of 25-30°C.

There are four main forest reserves and several woodlots in the district. The forest reserves can be found around Kandema, Bachonsa, Wiaga and Kadema. These reserves are rich in flora and fauna. The Bachonsa Forest Reserve is an extension of the Gbelle Game Reserve in Tumu. Several game can be found in this reserve.

Shea nut and dawadawa are the economic trees found in the district as in other parts of the region. These trees grow widely in the bush and those found on farms are protected by the farmers. Shea and dawadawa picking and subsequent processing to shea butter and dawadawa are the main off-season activities of most rural women. Cashew and mango are grown to a limited extent in the district but huge potential exists for promoting and increasing their production.

Major Agricultural Stakeholders

The District Agricultural Development Unit is solely responsible for delivery of extension messages/agricultural technologies and sound innovations to farmers for sustainable agricultural production to ensure food security.  The DADU does this in collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders such as the District Assembly, ACDEP, Presby Agric, CRS, SARI and BUCO Bank.

LAND USE, VEGETATION, SOILS AND CLIMATE

Land Use Specific to Agriculture

Land Use	Ha	%
Total Land Area (TLA)	153,400	73.4
Agricultural Land Area (ALA)	104,400	50.0
Area under cultivation (2010)	48,819	46.8
Total area under irrigation (2010)	37,000	17.7
Area under inlands	18,000
Other forest reserves, savannah woodlands, etc.	–	–

Agro-Ecological Zones

Lying within the northern savanna zone, the District is characterized by a short rainy season and prolonged dry season. The rainy season lasts from May to October. Rainfall is inadequate and unreliable coupled with periodic dry spells of drought and high temperatures which offset the amount of rainfall. Total rainfall is between 800mm to 1,200mm per annum. The activities of man over the years have affected the original vegetation cover. Exploitation of tree cover for fuel wood, bad conservatory practices as well as drought has promoted environmental degradation.

Soils are generally poor with little organic matter content and poor nutritional status. They are coarse textured with loosely packed stones and concretion. In the dry season, rivers and streams generally dry up. Most of the trees cover being deciduous shed off their leaves in the dry season. The effects of the agro-ecological conditions affect cultivation of crops and rearing of animals.

The major crops grown in the rainy season include rice, sorghum, millet, groundnuts, cowpea, soya beans, maize and okra among others. In the dry season, onions, tomatoes, maize, watermelon, okra, pepper and other vegetables are cultivated along the Tono Dam around Chuchuliga and at other irrigable dam sites in Wiaga and Kunkwah. There are other dam sites which are not utilized due to some challenges such as unfenced irrigable area, broken dam wall, damaged valves etc. It is expected that these challenges would be addressed in the future in order to increase dry season farming and consequently increase food production in the district.

Apart from crop farming, livestock rearing is a major economic activity. Livestock reared in the district include cattle, sheep, goats, guinea fowls and fowls, turkeys, ducks, pigs and donkeys. There are a number of dug-outs in the districts for livestock watering. However these are inadequate and therefore affect livestock rearing in the lean season. As a result, most animals especially cattle stray into the bush in such of water and food, resulting in theft and loss of animals during the dry season. Construction of more dug-outs in the district would be a step in the right direction to boost animal production.

Rainfall Distribution by Agro-Ecological Zone

The District has a single rainy season (unimodal) starting from May to October where the monthly totals increase gradually from April/May until a maximum is reached in July to September. Monthly totals then fall sharply with a prolonged dry season which occurs from November till April. The area experiences a mean annual rainfall varying from 800mm to 1,200mm. A feature of the rainfall pattern is its variation and unreliability.

Agro-Ecological Zone	Mean Annual Rainfall (mm)	Growing Period (Days)
		Major Season	Minor Season
Guinea Savanna	800 – 1,200	May – October	Nil

Climate (Annual Average Temperature Distribution)

Climatic conditions in the District remain normal over the past years.  Dry and hazy harmattan winds are usually experienced during the first quarter of the year especially in January. The harmattan air is warm, dry and dusty. Dry and sunny weather conditions are also experienced in the district.

Average maximum temperatures are highest in March and April and lowest in December and January. The highest temperature may occur at any time just before the onset of the rains in March, April or May.  Available records indicate that mean monthly temperatures vary from 21.9oC to 34.1oC. The temperature in March can rise up to 450C.

Topography

The relief of the District is related to its geology. The topography of the area is undulating and sloppy ranging from 200m to 300m. These are found in the northern part of the district particularly around Bachonsa and Chuchuliga areas. At the southern portion of the district slopes range from 150m to 200m in the valleys.

Sissili, Kulpawn, Besibeli, Tono, Asibelika and the Azimzim are major drainage points in the district. However, there are other dams and dug-outs for drainage. Floods, sheet and gully erosions are widespread in the area especially near the banks of the rivers and in the intensively farmed areas due to the terrain and soft surface soils of the district. This makes most roads inaccessible during the rainy season.

All the small streams dry up in the dry season but as regards the main river (Sissili), there is continuous flow of water.

 

Soil Types

The soils of the District have less accumulation of organic material in the surface horizons. This feature which is common in the interior savanna zone of Ghana is mainly due to high temperatures and the rapid rate of decomposition. Annual burning of the vegetation cover at the onset of the farming season and after harvesting reduces the amount of the soil organic content.

The predominant soil types of the Builsa District are those associated with ground water laterite developed over granite formation. Generally, soils developed over granites and sandstones have in the main light top soil varying in texture from coarse sandy, clay, and loam to silty clay in the valley bottoms with variable amounts of gravel.

The soils are loose, porous coarse textured and easy to cultivate. They are however easily eroded and poorly supplied with nutrients. The soil has a low moisture retention capacity due to its sandy nature. Internal drainage is relatively excessive but dies out rapidly during drought periods with adverse effects on crop growth.

Farming System

The main farming systems are mixed farming and mixed cropping. Farming households have an average of 1ha around the dwelling places and with 2ha of bush farms which can be up to 6km from dwelling house. Though there is only one rainy season in a year, most of the farmers also engage in dry season farming. Crops mostly grown in the main season are millet, sorghum, groundnuts, rice, maize, soya beans and cowpea. Those cultivated in the dry season include onions, watermelon, tomatoes, pepper, okra, and other vegetables. These crops form major cash crops for these farmers.

The methods of cultivation are the hand hoe, animal traction and tractor tillage. The most predominant is the hand hoe.

Livestock reared in the district include cattle, sheep, goats, guinea fowls and fowls, turkeys, ducks, pigs and donkeys.

Most rural dwellers depend mainly on agriculture and agriculture related activities for their livelihood. Incomes from these crops are spent on school fees, hospital bills and family upkeep, funerals and other festivities.

Land Tenure Systems

Land owners title arrangement amongst the people is in the form of family ownership or clan ownership. This means that land is either owned by families or by clans. No individual per se has complete right to ownership of land. On the other hand, it is the use of the land that an individual can claim ownership of. This means that an individual from his/her family or from elsewhere can be given right to the temporary use of a particular piece of land. Whiles legal control of land in the district is vested in Chiefs ritual control is in the hand of Tindanas (priests) who perform rituals and sacrifices as and when necessary for the prosperity of the land.

Women do not own land but can have access, negotiating through a man to cultivate what is often referred to as women crops (groundnuts, vegetables).

 

Farm Population

The District had a farming population of 31, 562 farmers made up of 15,761 males and 15,801 females in 2010 who engaged in agricultural production based on Multi-Round Agricultural and Livestock Survey conducted in 2010.

Labour Force

The Builsa District has a total labour force of 81,785 based on a projection of 0.82% growth rate of the figure obtained in the Population and Housing Census conducted in 2000. The labour force is engaged in both agricultural and non-agricultural activities. Of this population 38.59% were actively involved in agricultural production in 2010 with the remaining engaged in other activities.

Labour Distribution

Labour distribution in the district is summarized in the table below.

Economically Active Population

District	Total Labour Force	Agricultural (farming, forestry, fishing & Hunting)				Non-agriculture (mining, manufacturing, services, etc.)
		Count	Share of Labour Force	% M	% F
Builsa	81,785	31, 562	15,761 males 15,801 females	19.27	19.32

 

 

AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT

Crop Sub-Sector

• Principal Agricultural Produce

Tree Crops

–          Mangoes

–          Cashew

–          Teak

Roots & Tubers

–          Frafra potatoes

–          Sweet potatoes

–          Yam

Cereals

–          Millet

–          Sorghum

–          Maize

–          Rice

Fruits & Vegetables

–          Onions

–          Tomatoes

–          Pepper

–          Okra

–          Leafy vegetables

Legumes

–          Cowpea

–          Soya beans

–          Bambara nuts

 

Area Planted to Selected Food Crops (Ha)

Year	Crops
	Millet	Sorghum	Rice	Groundnuts	Maize	Sweet potato
2001	8,587	20,843	11,313	18,269	1,046	102
2002	15,530	36,150	3,200	40,950	4,575	–
2003	15,940	34,804	3,136	37,471	3,750	182
2004	15,300	35,400	9,500	38,000	3,750	2,450
2005	18,735	34,800	21,772	42,676	2,205	1,090
2006	14,237	33,198	9,829	34,415	3,285	2,555
2007	11,893	13,153	4,345	13,366	1,253	172
2008	3,511	19,232	3,072	24,088	1,438	–
2009	8,349	10,213	8,975	9,027	3,068	–
2010	9,250	11,720	9,190	9,910	3,171	1,200

 

Frequency of Cropping for Annual Crops

Crops such as millet, sorghum, rice, maize, soya beans, groundnuts are cultivated once in the district since the district has a unimodal rainfall regime.

 

Production of Selected Food Crops (MT)

Year	Crops
	Millet	Sorghum	Rice	Groundnuts	Maize	Sweet potato
2001	7,429	23,969	22,625	23,969	1,569	715
2002	6,540	25,720	9,600	19,700	1,730	–
2003	9,564	27,843	13,171	30,726	1,688	1,680
2004	14,229	53,100	16,625	31,160	1,688	25,823
2005	15,737	44,685	31,569	33,287	1,411	11,270
2006	7,119	16,599	11,795	20,649	1,643	27,594
2007	2,973	6,971	3,085	7,752	414	1,849
2008	5,837	42,310	5,837	45,767	3,307	–
2009	12,024	18,385	21,536	11,735	4,909	–
2010	12,025	16,408	22,975	11,694	4,439	12,000

Average Yield (Ha) of Selected Food Crop Rainfed (2010)

Millet	Sorghum	Rice	Groundnuts	Maize	Sweet potato	Soya bean	Cowpea
1.3	1.4	2.5	1.18	1.4	10.0	1.0	1.14

Livestock Sub-Sector

Apart from crop farming, livestock rearing is a major economic activity in the Builsa district. Below is a table indicating livestock numbers from 2004-2010.

Livestock Population

Year	Cattle	Sheep	Goats	Pigs	Poultry	Donkeys
2004	26,502	20,575	22,076	1,576	72307
2005	27,709	24,346	24,034	1,884	72505
2006	28,154	24,966	25,687	1,946	75898
2007	29,947	22,221	23,974	1,310	79364
2008	30,845	22,887	24,693	1,349	81743
2009	31,770	23,573	25,433	1,389	84,195
2010	41,180	33,335	35,373	2,601	171,899	2,185

The livestock and poultry figures were estimated from an annual population growth rate of 3%. However, 2010 figures were obtained from a livestock census carried out in the district.

The population figures of poultry include local fowls, guinea fowls, turkeys, ducks, pigeons and ostriches.

Many farmers are now taking animal rearing as a business and therefore are now practicing good animal husbandry practices and seeking veterinary services to improve their production.  Most farmers have also increased the number of animals they are rearing.

Number of Agro-Processing facilities

Type of Agro-Processing Facility	Number
Corn/rice mills	37

 

Tractor service providers

There are about 30 tractors in the district, out of which 25 are serviceable. These provide services to farmers during the major season. However, only a few of the farmers are able to access the service due to high service cost among others.

Most of the tractors are owned privately by individuals and groups in the district. Two of the tractors are owned by the Builsa District Assembly and another two by PAS. The rest of the tractors are owned by private individuals and groups.

 

NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS(NGOs)

Name of NGO	Location	Area of Intervention
PAS	Sandema	Food security, Capacity building
ACDEP	Bolga	Capacity building
CRS	Bolga	Food security

 

Support from DA, NGOs, Projects and   Other Service Providers.

Organizations/ Agency	Support/ Service Provided
Builsa District Assembly	Co-ordination of departmental activities and provision of social amenities
PAS	Provide  agricultural inputs support and small ruminants to farmers/ farmer groups and technology delivery
BUCO Bank	Micro-financing to farmer groups
CRS	Agricultural inputs support to farmer groups
ACDEP	Provide capacity building trainings to farmers, linking of farmers to markets and banks.
DOC	Group formation and development
NADMO	Disaster and relief management

 

7.0  AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS & PROGRAMMES

 

LIVESTOCK DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

The Livestock Development Project started in 2004 with the objectives to increasing food security, creating employment and increasing income levels of farmers in the northern part of the country. It was co-funded by Government of Ghana and AfDB. The project had five major components including:

• Development of Animal Production
• Development of Animal Health
• Credit Provision
• Capacity Building
• Project Management

Under the project, farmers were given credit both in cash and kind to enhance livestock production as well as increase livestock related activities in the district. 16 farmer groups comprising 62males and 70 females were given cash credit. For the credit in kind, 120 farmers () were given small ruminants with each farmer receiving either 10 sheep or goats. Farmers are to pass down the same number of animals received to other farmers after two years of receipt.

Two dug-outs and a borehole have been constructed in the district specifically at Dulogsa, Nyansa and Sanwansa respectively under the project. Farmers and staff have also undergone several trainings to build their capacity.

 

BLOCK FARM PROGRAMME

This project seeks to increase food security in the area of rice, maize, sorghum and soya bean production in the country.  It also has the objectives of creating employment especially the youth and increasing income levels of farmers. It was initiated in 2008 by the Government of Ghana. The project provides farmers/farmer groups with inputs in the form of seeds, fertilizer, tractor and combines harvester services and weedicides. Farmers are expected at the end of every major season to repay an equivalent of the cost of inputs received either in cash or kind (produce).

Under the programme, districts are allowed to grow crops with comparative advantage in terms of production. Builsa district has comparative advantage in rice production due to its large lowland area. This tells why the district has been involved in rice production under the programme since 2008. However, recent trends had shown that the district has a potential for maize production and therefore can consider cultivating maize under the programme.

The support to farmers has increased the number of rice producers as well as rice production in the district.

NORTHERN RURAL GROWTH PROGRAMME

The Northern Rural Growth Porgramme was initiated by Government of Ghana and funded by African Development Bank. The programme started in 2009 in some piloted districts. It then extended to other districts in 2010.

The overall goal of the programme is to achieve sustainable agricultural and rural livelihoods and food security for the rural poor in Northern Ghana. The main focus is to develop a profitable and inclusive agricultural value chain.

Under the programme, farmers/farmer groups are linked to financial institutions to access credit in the form of inputs to improve production of crops such as maize, sorghum, soya bean and some selected vegetables. Cash credit is not given under this programme.

In, 2010, BUCO bank assisted farmers in Builsa district with credit under the programme. The project assisted farmers to increase maize production in the district.

 

EMERGENCY RICE PROJECT

 

It is a project initiated by the Catholic Relief Services, USAID and SARI in collaboration with MOFA. The project targets the most vulnerable in the district.

The project provides beneficiaries with rice seed and subsidized fertilizers to improve rice production.

FAO DRY SEASON FARMING

 

The FAO Dry Season Farming came to support vulnerable farmers who were heavily affected during the 2007 flood disaster. The floods destroyed most crops resulting in food insecurity in the district.

The objective of the programme was to ensure food security at the household level and increase income of most vulnerable farmers. The programme supports beneficiaries with seeds, fertilizers and water pumping machines for dry season farming.

 

FERTILIZER SUBSIDY PROGRAMME

 

The Fertilizer Subsidy Programme was initiated by the government to reduce the burden of high cost of fertilizers on farmers and subsequently increase food production to ensure food security in the country. The programme started in 2008 with coupon system where famers collect fertilizer coupons from MOFA and use it to buy fertilizers at a reduced/ subsidy price.

Currently, the subsidized fertilizer is no more operated under the coupon system but rather sold in the open market at the reduced price on way bill basis. This is normally done only in the major season, after which the programme is withdrawn till the next major season.

OTHERS

Investment Opportunities

Pressure of land is relatively less severe compared to other Districts of the region even though there are high concentrations of population in the District Capital and among some of the major towns leading to an average land holding falling below a hectare. There exist vast stretches of rich and fertile lands yet to be exploited. With the elimination of onchocerciasis more land has been freed for cultivation. These lands are suitable for cultivation.

Mineral deposits (gold) located in Kadema and Bachonsa are a potential source of employment and income for the working population.  There is however the need for the Minerals Commission to register and regularize the operations of the small-scale miners in order to control the negative environmental effects of their activities in the District.

The clay deposits found in Sandema, Fumbisi, Kadema and Gbedembilisi could be exploited for the development of the pottery, ceramics and paint industries. There are some noted towns in the District with long histories in pot making (e.g. Fumbisi, Kanjarga) and the entrepreneurial skills of these indigenous people could be tapped through credit support for input acquisition and training.

The forest reserves of the Sissili in Bachonsa and other forest reserves could be developed into a tourist centres. These have tremendous tourist potential and can serve as Game and Wild Life Reserve. Other important tourist attractions points such as The Abuga crocodile pond in Uwasi, Slave trade history, sites (Doninga slave market) could be developed to attract tourists.

Dietary Pattern/Habits of Households

The rate of nutrition is one of the major problems in the socio-economic development of the district. Due to the low level of income among majority of the population, people do not pay much attention to nutritional content of the food they eat. They quality of the food is not as important as the quantity. Malnutrition is therefore a health problem among growing children. Levels of malnutrition vary among growing children and within villages in the District. The prevalence of malnutrition is explained by pre-harvest hunger which occurs between April and August when most families are forced to reduce meal intake to either once or twice a day.

Number of Major Market and Market Days

The main markets in the District are located at Sandema and Fumbisi. Other relatively undeveloped markets are Chuchuliga, Kadema, Wiaga, Siniensi, Kanjarga and Doninga. Agricultural market information is collected from the two major markets.

Most of the markets do not have markets sheds and most of the structures in the markets are made of mud with thatched roofs and these structures are often pulled down by heavy winds and also prone to fire outbreaks.  Revenue generation in these markets is relatively low.

The Fumbisi market has its market day which comes every 6 days whiles Sandema market falls every 3 days. The Fumbisi market is well patronized by people from all over the country due to the relatively low prices of major staples in the district