Plastic Waste Recycling

One of our major project intervention area is Rural Enterprise Development and Climate Change. Over the years, the growing implications of climate change have brought it to the centre stage of development programs. In the verge to promote food and livelihood security.

META Foundation works with communities, groups and cooperatives as a strategy to deliver development interventions. The META Foundation uses enterprise as a strategy to reducing rural poverty and contributing to healthy environment through trainings, alternative livelihoods, clean energy activities, plastic waste recycling among women, sustainable agriculture practices and tree growing.

The implications of climate is getting severe hence must be checked. Strategies such as plastic waste recycling ♻ are gear towards enhancing a healthy environment and creating livelihoods for the vulnerable.

Plastic recycling refers to the process of recovering waste or scrap plastic and reprocessing the materials into functional and useful products. This activity is known as the plastic recycling process. The goal of recycling plastic is to reduce high rates of plastic pollution while putting less pressure on virgin materials to produce brand new plastic products. This approach helps to conserve resources and diverts plastics from landfills or unintended destinations such as oceans.

The Need for Recycling Plastic
Plastics are durable, lightweight and inexpensive materials. They can readily be molded into various products which find uses in a plethora of applications. Every year, more than 100 million tons of plastics are manufactured across the globe. Around 200 billion pounds of new plastic material is thermoformed, foamed, laminated and extruded into millions of packages and products. Consequently, the reuse, recovery and the recycling of plastics are extremely important.

What Plastics Are Recyclable?
There are six common types of plastics. Following are some typical products you will find for each of plastic:

PS (Polystyrene) – Example: foam hot drink cups, plastic cutlery, containers, and yogurt.

PP (Polypropylene) – Example: lunch boxes, take-out food containers, ice cream containers.

LDPE (Low-density polyethylene) – Example: garbage bins and bags.

PVC (Plasticised Polyvinyl chloride or polyvinyl chloride)—Example: cordial, juice or squeeze bottles.

HDPE (High-density polyethylene) – Example: shampoo containers or milk bottles.

PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) – Example: fruit juice and soft drink bottles.

Currently, only PET, HDPE, and PVC plastic products are recycled under curbside recycling programs. PS, PP, and LDPE typically are not recycled because these plastic materials get stuck in the sorting equipment in recycling facilities causing it to break or stop. Lids and bottle tops cannot be recycled as well. “To recycle or Not to Recycle” is a big question when it comes to plastic recycling. Some plastic types are not recycled because they are not economically feasible to do so.

Networking of Schools: ECI Penpal Initiative

Excellence College International in Walewale has established pupils pen pals with Stella Maris Academy -Holy Rosary in the United States.

Donation to META Foundation

META Foundation received play toys, chairs, school bags, white writing boards and other assorted clothes etc from Lion’s club in Germany for support to Excellence College International in Walewale and other rural school kids in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

Many in Kassena-Nankana West depend on fuelwood for cooking

A research conducted on “Clean and Sustainable Energy for Agribusiness Development” in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region, has revealed that 55 per cent of the population in the area relied on firewood as source of energy.

The users of firewood as energy include the caterers of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) and the Senior High Schools (SHSs), traditional homes, food vendors, pito brewers and shea butter processors.

The research was conducted by Meta Foundation with funding support from the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund and its donor partners, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union (EU),

The Programme Manager of the Meta Foundation, Mr David Amozebega, who disseminated the findings at a stakeholder’s forum on Thursday, at Paga in the Kassena-Nankana West District, explained that the survey was to find out the awareness level of the existence of clean energy technologies.

He said it was also meant to find out the alternative sources of energy available to the people, challenges in the integration of clean energy technologies, identify stakeholders and duty bearers in promoting the use of clean energy as well as make recommendations for further action.

The research revealed that people were aware of the devastating effects of traditional source of energy on health, crop production and the environment, but do not have access to modern source of energy.

“There is enough legislation at the national level to encourage the production, promotion and usage of renewal energy sources, and their various technologies, but this is not being implemented properly to benefit people at the grassroots, particularly the rural women,” the findings indicated.

It warned that the poor rainfall pattern would continue to decline if pragmatic steps were not taken to check the current spate of firewood harvesting and charcoal production.

The research stated that attempts by the past government to develop and promote the use of clean energy technologies in the area did not yield the needed results.

The findings recommended that government authorities at the local level, particularly the municipal and district assemblies should take steps to integrate the country’s renewal energy action plan into their medium term development plans and policies.

“This can be done by ensuring that government’s policies such as the School Feeding Programme (SFP), free Senior High School (SHS) and Community Nutrition Centres use improved cook stoves or renewal energy”, it stressed.

The findings advocated the need for the Ministry of Health to partner local authorities, traditional rulers and landlords to educate residents on the effects of indoor pollution.

It urged Meta Foundation to collaborate with other civil society organisations and community based organisations to advocate knowledge transfer and the mobilisation of local resources for the fabrication of improved cook stoves at the local level at affordable cost.

OUR PARTNERS VISIT

UNDP, AFP, the Ministry of Environment and Science and Technology and innovations and the department of Agriculture teams visit to interact with beneficiaries of the Adaptation Fund Project implemented by META Foundation.

A VISIT BY OUR PARTNERS

1 of 15

META FOUNDATION AWARDS TO SOME BENEFICIARY FARMERS WITH INPUTS

META Foundation worked with SNV- Netherlands Development Organisation and Fidelity Bank with small-holder farmers to create opportunities and improved access to affordable financial services by small-holder in Northern Ghana. The pictures are small-holder farmers who have won awards for the active use of banking systems to transact business. The intervention is a USAID smart Agri-finance Project and is focused on agriculture financing and implemented by META Foundation.

META FOUNDATION AWARDS TO SOME BENEFICIARY FARMERS WITH INPUTS

1 of 13

DENMARK EMBASSY VISIT

META Foundation works with registered Farmer and agro-based associations/cooperatives. META worked with Tikaranongu Cooperative Farmers and Marketing Union to access funding from BUSAC Fund on an advocacy action on “Women access to productive lands” in some selected communities along the White Volta in the West Mamprusi and Talensi Districts. These are pictures of the Denmark embassy teams community visit to interact with beneficiaries on the advocacy actions by the Tikaranongu Association.

DENMARK EMBASSY VISIT PICTURES

1 of 13

Climate Adaptation Dam commissioned for rehabilitation in Bongo Adaboya

Government’s effort to mitigate climate change and find rural dwellers a sustainable livelihood, through the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation MESTI, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme UNDP has handed over, to a contractor a broken and silted dam at the Adaboya community in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region for rehabilitation.

The Minister of Environment Science Technology and Innovation Prof. Kwabena Frimpong at the Dam site at Yidongo

The climate change interventions project is being implemented by UNDP, in partnership with Ministry of Environment (MESTI), and sponsored by Adaptation Fund.

The Project formed part of the Adaptation Fund.

The Projects has earmarked a numbers of broken down and silted dams in 50 communities across five regions of the Northern Ghana for rehabilitation to alleviate the peoples’ vulnerability to climate change.

Adaboya is one of the farming communities with a total population of about …….that is suffering from acute water problems in the District. In an interview with Radio Ghana, the MESTI Professor Boating indicated that, the project was in line with government’s policy of One Village One Dam.

He expressed the hope that it would help the community members to BE engaged on their farms and prevent the youth from drifting to southern sectors of the country in search of non-existence jobs.

The Minister stated that, under the project, the beneficiary communities are also being empowered and supported to establish fish ponds and nursery to enable them grow trees to deal with the climate change issues. He explained that.

The National Project Coordinator of the Adaptation Fund, Peter Dery, stated that, the project involves the rehabilitation of 20 major dams, repair of cannels, and de-silting of water sources to enable them collect more water during the rainy season as well as the planting of tress near water banks to preserve and create the needed moisture for more rains.

He added that project component also include the drilling of boreholes, installation of solar irrigation systems, creation of buffer zones with fence, community wood lot, creation of fire belts, and the building of capacity of women groups in shea butter and groundnut oil extraction.

He said erratic rainfall coupled with the harsh weather, which always dried up most of the water resources of the area were the major climate impact of the five regions of the north and expressed optimism that project would help amel iorate the situation.

Mr. Dery stated that the project was being funded with an amount of eight million dollars ($8m) from the Adaptation Fund Board of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The UNDP Assistant Resident Representative, Louis Kuukpen, explained that the Climate Change Interventions Project which begun in 2015 and expected to end in 2020.

He said the UNDP was happy that the project was making some significant gains in the areas of the attainment of some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly climate change and environmental degradation.

The Chief of Adaboya, Naba Osman Atampugre, commended the implementing donor and partners.

He said It would help the community a lot especially in their farming and providing water for the livestocks and building activities.

The Director Meta Foundation David Azupog at the Yidongo Irrigation site

The Director of the implementing NGO, Meta Foundation David Azupogo said that, they have been collaborating with Adaptation Climate Change, Department of Agriculture, together with MESTI, and UNDEP in Yidongo and other communities in the Bongo District, to empower the women do dry season farming.

Mr Azupogo indicated, the results has been remarkable.

Four Climate Change Adaptation Projects launched in Bongo

Our Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have launched four climate change adaptation projects in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region.

The NGOs include META Foundation, LINK Ghana, Rural Education and Agriculture Development International (READI) and the Community Self Reliance Centre (COSREC).

The Adaptation Fund Sub Projects, made up of Dry Season Gardening, Integrated Beekeeping and Environmental Protection (IBEP), Fishing and Tree Growing Projects would benefit selected communities such as the Yidongo, Gorigo, Adaboya, Vea, Amanga, Kunkua and Aliba all in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region.

The one year sub projects, with emphasis on women are aimed at increasing households’ incomes and ensuring food security.

The projects had funding support from the Adaptation Fund Project (AFP) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Environment Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) through the Upper East Regional Directorate of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the institution in charge of monitoring and supervising the projects.

Launching the project at the Aliba Community, Mr Peter Ayamga Ayinbisa, Bongo District Chief Executive (DCE), lauded the projects and stated that the District experienced adverse effects when it came to climate change.

He expressed optimism that not only would the interventions help empower the communities to adopt to climate change, it would also help contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of addressing hunger, poverty and climate change.

Mr David Amozebega, the Programme Manager of META Foundation, said his outfit which was in charge of the Dry Season Gardening would build the capacity of the communities to establish seedlings in the areas of tomatoes, pepper and onions and support them with modernized agricultural practices to conduct farming activities during the dry season.

He indicated that considering the role of women in food security and household livelihoods interventions, the project would at least have 60 percent of the beneficiaries being women and added that, the project would work to ensure that the youth and the vulnerable groups, such as physically challenged persons become integral part of the project.

Mr Daniel Kansake, the Northern Regional Manager of LINK Ghana, stated that LINK Ghana with its Bee Project, would implement some key activities including the procurement of beehives and accessories for the beneficiary communities, conduct beekeeping training, sight, clear and install hives, build the capacity of the communities members to trap bees, the management of hives, harvesting and marketing as well as conduct Gender Baseline Analysis.

He said the project, which would target 150 farmers made up of 100 females and 50 males, had the overall objective to improve environmental sustainability and household income of about 150 farmers through bee keeping.

The Regional Manager expressed worry about the situation where many farmers set fire in the bush in attempt to trap bees for honey and indicated that the practice often led to contamination of the honey and bush burning.

He said the project would promote environmentally friendly methods of honey production and apiculture and increase the production of high quality honey for both local and international markets.

The Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Bonaba Salifu Atamale Lemyaruum, who is also the Vice President of the Regional House of Chiefs, impressed upon the beneficiary communities to embrace the project and stressed that the selected projects for the District had the greatest potentials of creating wealth.

UE/R workshop on Agriculture Technology Transfer ATT Project ends

Statistics has shown that only 10 per cent of farmers in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions of Ghana used certified seed for farming.

The remaining 90 per cent still rely on the saved seed for crop production. Ghana’s Agriculture will not thrive well and compete favorably in food production if farmers continue to rely on uncertified seeds for farming. Seed is considered key and a basic technology for crop productivity.

There is therefore, the need to look at ways of increasing technologies that can help bring about improved farming, and sustainable crop production, that will increase smallholder farmers’ income in Northern Ghana and for that matter Ghana as a whole.

It is based on this that, the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) with funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implemented a project known as Agriculture Technology Transfer (ATT), in Ghana.

The 5-year project did not only increase the utilization of certified and agriculture technologies which resulted into increased maize, rice and soybean production in Northern Ghana, but it has developed a solid seed sector for Northern Ghana.

A day’s learning event organized under the theme “Celebrating ATT Contributions to Agriculture Transformation in Northern Ghana” and held in Bolgatanga to herald the end of the project, call for investment in agriculture sector.

The implementation of , Agriculture Technology Transfer ATT started in 2013, in Northern Ghana which comprises Northern, Upper West and Upper East Region.

With funding support from the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Feed the Future (FTF) initiative, a US Government’s global hunger and food security programme, which focuses on global agriculture transformation.

The 5-year project led by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), an international public research-based organization working to alleviate global hunger by introducing improved agricultural practices and fertilizer technologies to farmers and linking farmers to markets, did not only improved accessibility to certified seed and agriculture technologies for smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana but it has improved seed value chain in Northern Ghana.

The workshop brought together researchers, directors of agriculture, representatives of farmer groups, seed growers and processers’ and agriculture related Non-Governmental Organizations among others.

The aim of the learning event was to bring partners together to learn from the project’s best practices, share ideas about how to sustain the project successes and legacy left behind.

It was also to stimulate discussions among stakeholders about agriculture transformation and investment in Northern Ghana to increase productivity and farmers’ income level and make necessary recommendations to improve agriculture productivity in Northern Ghana. .

Chief of Party, ATT Project of IFDC, Musah Salifu Taylor

Speaking to Radio Ghana, the Acting Chief of Party (Ag. COP) of ATT Project Musa Salifu Taylor indicated that, since its inception in 2013, ATT has been transferring various agricultural technologies and innovations to smallholder farmers including the use of certified seeds which are high yielding, drought tolerant and early maturing varieties.

Also, the project has also transferred best agronomic practices, agriculture mechanization, integrated soil fertility management approaches, soil testing and analysis that have helped increased productivity in the project’s focus crop of rice, maize and soybean.

Mr. Taylor stated further that, erratic rainfall pattern fueled by climate change is one factor the project considered in its interventions.

This explained why the project adopted multi-faceted approaches such as the promotion of high yielding crop varieties such as Sansasema and Wandata, introduction of Urea Deep Placement (UDP) technology, construction and furnishing 3-ultra modern seed laboratories in Northern, Upper West and Upper East regions, support to private seed companies and capacity building to private and government agencies in seed production among others.

Mr. Musa Taylor Regarding the five year mandate, working to transform Agriculture in Northern Ghana, Mr. Salifu explained further that ATT have been able to help established about five private seed processing companies, increased the number of farmers that used certified seed from 11 percent to 38 percent, established an Irrigation Dam for Savannah Agriculture Research Institute, (SARI).

The Executive Director of Meta Foundation David Azupogo

The Executive Director of Meta Foundation, agriculture related Non-Governmental Organization, David Azupogo and a beneficiary of ATT, expressed satisfaction of how his organization is strengthened by ATT’s assistance.

He indicated that, his outfit has benefited through capacity building for data management in the office and field, integrated soil fertility management that will help farmers adapt good agronomic practices that could lead to improve yields, access to improved seed and input to farmers and climate change issues among others.