Helping Farmers Hold Government Accountable

A Feed the Future “Champion for Change”, Ghanaian King-David Amoah has vowed to equip Ghana farmers with the knowledge and skills to engage government and proactively become involved in policy implementation at the local level. 

While attending a training sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), King-David Amoah was challenged to develop an “outside-the-box” idea with real impact on food security in his native Ghana. As president of the Ghana Federation of Agricultural Producers and as National Coordinator for the Ecumenical Association for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (ECASARD), Dr. Amoah knew that rural farmers were unaware of the changing policy environment and its effects on their livelihoods. So he took the training to heart and vowed to equip farmers with the knowledge and skills to engage government and proactively become involved in policy implementation at the local level.

Amoah is interviewed by the press during the workshop he coordinated for local farmers. 

With support from Trust Africa, Dr. Amoah brought together representatives from 30 farmer-based organizations, plus their respective District Directors of the Ministry of Agriculture, for a 4-day residential training. Participants received instruction on new services available to them, such as subsidized fertilizer and tractor rentals. They used the USAID training materials, developed by the Africa Leadership Training and Capacity Building Program (Africa Lead), to explore national agriculture policies and learned how ordinary citizens can track public budget cycles to keep government accountable for its promises. Participants also developed new relationships with their government officials and pledged to pass on their learning in their organizations and communities after returning home. The workshop met with such success that farmer’s associations and local government from over 50 additional districts have contacted him requesting similar trainings.  

Africa Lead is the capacity-building arm of the US Government’s Feed the Future global food security initiative in Africa. Dr. Amoah attended the program’s signature Champions for Change course, during which participants learn about food security, strategic planning, advocacy, and change management.