An Overview Of Our Solution
Yes greenhouse village is a multipurpose vegetable production and training center where prospective consumers can access clean, healthy, quality and fresh vegetable product produced through the controlled environment (greenhouse) system of farming.
We also train and empower youth in Greenhouse technology farming.
The main source for vegetable in Ghana is through the open field system of farming which at most at times is contaminated and unhealthy due to the following Excessive use of chemical and no control over the weather,Improper packaging and preservation methods and Lack of sustainable and reliable storage facility
Prospective clients prefer to patronize vegetable product which are produce through the greenhouse system as well as imported ones.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Africa
General Information
Organization type
Gubernamental
Population impacted
10,000 people
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
3 hectares
Production quantity
100 tons
People employed
20 people
Solution
Describe your solution
Yes greenhouse village is a multipurpose vegetable production and training center where prospective consumers can access clean, healthy, quality and fresh vegetable product produced through the controlled environment (greenhouse) system of farming.
We also train and empower Ghanaian Youth in Greenhouse technology farming and entrepreneurship skills in order for them to take farming as a career.
Vegetable production in protected environment (greenhouse) does not harm the environment because it does not involve harrowing and ploughing of the vegetation. A small land surface areas is all it needs to produce maximum yield per acre and so much land is conserved.
Seedlings are planted in polybags or plastic containers and not much of inorganic fertilizers are applied to warrant runoff into rivers and lakes, causing pollution. Thus protected farming as we are undertaking is safer and gives long life health to the environment as a result our farming methods promote soil health, minimize water use, and lower pollution levels on the farm.
Due to production of vegetables all year round prospective consumers are assured of a sustainable source of healthy and quality vegetables
Implementation
Describe your implementation
A study conducted by the Ghana Agricultural Producers and Traders Organization and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)in the country revealed that Ghana imported about $120 million worth of vegetable produce in 2015
The greenhouse village is a source of fresh,quality and healthy vegetable product as well as a training center for training and empowering youth in agribusiness,
The output/yield produced in one greenhouse facility is 5 times what is produced in a one acres open field farm and one acres piece of land can accommodate 4(four) large greenhouse facility thereby minimizing the use of land as well as chemical use is also minimal thereby reducing environmental pollution and land degradation.
Vegetable produced through the greenhouse farming facility has a long shelf life compared to the one produce through the open field system.
Since we started operation we have been able to supply about 100 tons of vegetables to our retailers and also trained 50 youth.
Our main obstacle we faced in setting up the green house village was finance but the Government of Ghana came on board to partner and set it up.
External connections
Greenhouse farming or protected environment farming is a fairly new technology in Ghana and is quite expensive to set up considering the per capital income of Ghanaian.
We have been able to set up the Yes greenhouse village which contains 12 greenhouse facility and a training center in partnership with the following organization.
• Youth Enterprise support - Ghana
• Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program - Nigeria
• Envirodome U.G limited - Ghana
• West Africa Agriculture Program
• University of Ghana Agriculture Research Center (FOCHREC)
Due to the success of our operation partner organization are putting up a proposal in order to use our green house village for training of youth in agriculture which will go a long way in promoting and encouraging youth in agriculture.
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
With the greenhouse farming technology production of vegetables is done all year round regardless of the climatic condition.
We are able to produce between 25,000 tonnes of vegetable annually in one 240 meter square greenhouse compared to open where one needs to cultivate at least between 10 to 20 hectares in order to get the same amount of vegetable.
in our greenhouse farming system we use less chemical as compared to the open field as well as less land space therefore having High yields, good quality produce and constant supply of produce guarantee all year round without depending on the climate and also preserving the land .
Describe the context in which you are operating
With the greenhouse technology, a small area of land is needed and the use of water is minimal and efficient. It requires less labour and minimal application of fertilizer since most substrate used are organic.It is also appealing to the youth.
it is a known evident that consumers are interested in high quality safe and healthy product.
our operational methods include the following:
• Less use of land
• Less/minimal use of chemical since A fertigation system would be used for fertilizer application, this would ensure consistent
and accurate application of fertilizer
• Controlled environment with regards to rain, sunshine, insect as well as pest penetration.
• Controlled irrigation and temperatures
• less labor as compared to open field/rain fed farming.
• An all year round production thus employed staff are assured of an all year round sustainable employment
• Consumers are assured of all year round supply of healthy and quality vegetables which has a longer shelf life which is 21
days as compared to the openfied product which has a 14-day shelf life.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
Greenhouse technology farming is a controlled system of farming through which the climatic and weather condition are drastically controlled.some of the positive impact it has had on the environment includes the following:
• In the greenhouse farming the planting medium/substrate used is called the
coco-peat as a result the soil is not affected in any way in terms of land
preparation whereby chemicals are sprayed to kill the weed after which the
weed are burned and this have a negative impact in the environment
• chemical application in the greenhouse is very minimal as a result the
vegetable are always healthy and less contaminated
• Controlled irrigation and temperatures since we are able to control the amount
of sunshine and rainfall the enters the greenhouse.
Currently we have trained and empowered 50 youth in the Greenhouse farming technology as a result some has been maintained and others has been empowered to accesses greenhouse facility from the West Africa Agriculture Program.
Language(s)
English,Twi and Ga
Water
water use in the greenhouse is controlled as a result water body around our operational center are not polluted and are always safe.
Food Security/Nutrition
Yes greenhouse village is a sustainable source of food security as well as a reliable source of quality, healthy and fresh uncontaminated vegetable product.
Economic/Sustainable Development
Prospective consumers don’t need to travel to the city for healthy and quality vegetable product and this has improved on economic growth of the community as well as youth in the community trained and empowered to take greenhouse technology farming as a career.
Climate
our main priorities will be Integrated Pest Management and weather control since a greenhouse is to prevent pest and insects from establishing on the crop, have control over rainfall and sunshine penetration as well as control the use of chemical in the greenhouse as a result environmental pollution which affects the climate is drastically reduced
Sustainability
Yes greenhouse village is a Public Private Partnership(PPP) between the government of Ghana,Envirodome UG limited and Agrizone Ventures.
It is funded by the government of Ghana through youth enterprise support(YES -Ghana), constructed by Envirodome UG Ghana limited and managed by Agrizone ventures.
The project is economically sustainable since it depends on market based revenue that is generated from the sales of vegetable produced from the greenhouse village.
Return on investment
The project is funded by the Government of Ghana at a cost pegged at $200,000 and includes 12 large greenhouse facility and a training center where youth from around the country who have interest in agriculture are trained to be expert in vegetable production through the greenhouse farming system.
Since the inception of the project about a year ago we have been able to generate close to $21,000 in revenue.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
This project is the second of it kind in the country since the greenhouse farming technology is fairly new in the country with organizations like Dezingoff Ghana limited, Envirodome UG limited and West Africa Agriculture Project setting the pace in promoting greenhouse technology in the Country.
This project depending on it success in the very long run will be replicated at other part of the country in order to encourage youth both literate and illiterate to take agriculture as a career.
It could also be replicated at other part of the world whereby government will undertake a deliberate attempt in encouraging and promoting agriculture as a career by partnering other organization especially agriculture based organization in undertaking such a project..
Greenhouse farming technology is cash intensive as a result Governments, NGO's and international organization should support any such initiative in order to promote agriculture and food sustainability.