Researchers at the Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-CRI) are introducing farmers to the plethora of technologies that will diversify their incomes and boost productivity.
Under the DIVAGRI and Agritourism projects, farmers will be supported to add tourism activities to their farms to attract visitors while promoting interest in agriculture across the country.
Agritourism is gradually being seen as a promising venture that can diversify farmers’ income and promote rural development by allowing visitors to experience farm life and traditional practices.
Under the “Revenue Diversification in Africa Through Bio-based and Circular Agricultural Innovations” (DIVAGRI Project), the Crops Research Institute seeks to expose farmers to climate-smart farming practices.
Project Coordinator, Dr. Shadrack Kwadwo Amponsah, explained that DIVAGRI seeks to help farmers create multiple income sources.
He noted that many farmers face challenges like climate change but can use the knowowledge from the training to reduce its impact.
“A farmer is able to reorganize his farm in a way that can attract tourists to come and see what they have to offer and even have a small accommodation where people can travel from near and far and to also learn,” he said.
He also emphasized that the initiative could help address issues like land encroachment and illegal mining.
“Now you realize that agriculture is not becoming attractive to the youth and even children because they don’t actually see them every place is being taken over by settlement and infrastructure,” he explained.
Farmers from Ejisu and Ejura are the first beneficiaries of the Agritourism training and will serve as pioneers to mentor others.
Founder of Agritourism, Jacqui Taylor, highlighted the environmental and economic benefits of the initiative, noting that climate change is prompting the need for diversified business models in farming.
She added that encouraging the youth to stay in rural areas through profitable ventures like agritourism is key to sustainable development.
“Economic diversification is very important; it also provides opportunity. Not everybody wants to be a farmer. Some are social, extrovert and so Agritourism provides that opportunity for them to interact with tourists or entrepreneurial opportunities,” she said.
Senior Research Scientist and Agricultural Economist, Dr. Eyram Amengor, emphasized the productive use of some waste products to transform farming practices.
Using the CRI cottage as an example, he explained how a former fishpond now supports multiple systems like biochar production, crop cultivation, and wetland water recycling.
“This cottage that we are in today started more or less just like a fishpond but now we have different sections. We have where we do the biochar, we have where we grow the crops with the effluence from the fish and we the wetland where we refine the grey water that come from the fish to get fresh water to be able to put back,” he said.
He added that visitors are drawn to the site not only for food but also for its innovative agricultural systems, noting that “what is missing is to put a money value to it so that when they come, they pay a token to the things around.”
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