What women farmers want to know
Caity Peterson (International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) )
Lucy can hardly contain her excitement. A farmer from Dazuuri village, in Ghana’s Upper West Region, she is positive on just about everything. But this topic is one of her favourites: composting.
It is a new technique she learned from training with local agricultural extension officers, and it has revolutionised the way she works on the family’s farm.
She sits up straighter and begins to gesture in earnest. “I am always amazed about [composting] when I do it. I am always happy doing it too because I know at the end of the day it is going to benefit me,” she says, launching into a detailed explanation of the lifecycle of a compost pit, down to testing for proper decomposition by inserting a stake to see if steam is released.
Researchers with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security are taking a look at climate-smart practices such as composting, and some of the barriers that prevent them from being adopted in places like Dazuuri.
Read the rest of the entry on the Reuters AlertNet blog.
Caity Peterson is a visiting researcher based at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia, working in the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). From July 15-20, CGIAR and its partners are participating in the Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW), in Accra, Ghana. For updates from the conference follow @Cgiarclimate and #AASW6 on twitter
