Recycling waste and delivering a safe nutrient-rich fertilizer for food production
ACCRA, GHANA (11 May 2017) – To deliver a solution that meets urgent demands from both the city and countryside, an alliance of public and private sector partners launched today the JVL Fortifer Compost Plant in the community of Borteyman in the Greater Accra area. Based on research carried out by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the plant will contribute importantly to improving urban sanitation, while at the same time helping boost farm productivity.
“The establishment of this plant represents a bold move to confront with one blow two challenges that Ghana and other African countries face – on the one hand, inadequate handling of domestic waste, which threatens human and environmental health, and on the other, fragile food security, due in large part to low soil fertility,” said Josiane Nikiema, the IWMI scientist leading this work.
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the
Comments are closed.