Bilinsa women group in the Builsa North Municipality of the Upper East Region have expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation (NABOCADO) for providing them with an alternative livelihood through irrigation farming to improve child nutrition and enhance their income levels and reduce rural-urban migration under the Food Security Project.

Elizabeth Apentiik Alanlie, who spoke to Kwaching Agwaazeh on behalf of the group, described the project as a game-changer and appealed to other investors to support the socio-economic development of women to end poverty.

The project targets the children by empowering their mothers to focus on cultivating local vegetables and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) for improved food and nutrition security. The excess vegetables cultivated are sold to generate income for the women to provide other livelihood needs in the home.

Alanlie said, “The benefit of this irrigation farm is that the vegetables grown here are organic, and that protects us against diseases and makes us healthy. We can also sell some of these vegetables to support our children in school and reserve some cash for the upkeep of the home.”

The Food Security project is an extension of the Integrated Food and Nutrition Security (1-FaNS II) project, which was a five-year project (2016–2020) implemented by NABOCADO with funding from Kindermissionswerk Germany. The project worked in Bilinsa and Bandema communities in the Builsa North Municipality.

It was extended to Batuisa and Bachonsa in the Builsa South District in 2021.
The project supported these communities with fencing materials and a solar panel-powered mechanised borehole to produce and consume vegetables all year.

Production and consumption of vegetables, orange flesh sweet potatoes (OFSP), and child rights and protection are paramount in this phase.

The project also ensures that the various components of food security, which are availability, accessibility, affordability, utilisation, agency, stability, and sustainability, are achieved.