Ghana Institute of Organic Farming (GIOF)

At the core of SEISUD's mission is the empowerment of local farmers and young people through education. To achieve this goal, it became clear that a formal center of learning was required in Sirigu, that would pair full-time academic students with an extension programme for farmers. Thus, the Ghana Institute of Organic Farming was created.

Project history

The Ghana Institute of Organic Farming was conceived as a center of learning in the Upper East Region to promote improved and sustainable agricultural methods in the area. SEISUD provided the initial impetus and conception and provided contacted its partner organizations to get the project started.

In May 2011, with funding from Wilde Ganzen, Equal Opportunity Fund (EOF), and the Ghana Organic Agriculture Project (GOAP) (all based in The Netherlands), we commenced work on two classroom blocks and a kitchen. In addition, we completed construction on a poultry house, a pig house, and several compost/waste sheds. Construction was led by another Dutch organization, Stichting Bouwen, who used innovative methods to construct the buildings from local materials.

By July of 2012, construction on the main buildings was complete. Later that same year, we held the first farmer's workshops at the Institute. An organic garden was added, with assistance from an American Peace Corps Volunteer based in Sirigu. And we obtained 30 exotic guinea fowl from Belgium in order to improve the local stock.

Status

During 2013 we commenced formal operations, with regular staff meetings and the issuance of admission forms for our full-time students. We expect to begin classroom training for long-term students in the second half of 2013.

For more information on the Institute, please review the GIOF website.