NGO OFFERS ASSISTANCE TO THE POOR (PAGE 40, MARCH 15, 2010)

TRAX Ghana, a Bolgatanga-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), has been assisting many people with several programmes targeted at alleviating their hardships.
Speaking on the activities of Trax Programme Support over the past 20 years, the Director, Mr Vincent Subbey, said the Trax Programme Support (TRAX), which was established in 1989 by a group of former Silsoe College students, was a registered non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose aim was to support people in the Development of Sustainable Livelihoods within resource-poor communities in northern Ghana.
“This means the programme not only improves food security and raises income levels, but also promotes community development and effective leadership. Northern Ghana was targeted because subsistence agriculture is the main economic activity (source of livelihood) of the rural population.
“The issue of soil and water conservation is one of the most pressing problems facing resource-poor farmers. Poor soil fertility and unreliable access to water, among others, have led to low crop yield, poverty and deprivation,“ he said.
According to him, the mission of the organisation was to empower rural communities in Ghana through sustainable capacity development to achieve and sustain improvement in their environment and livelihoods.
Mr Subbey explained that the emphasis of TRAX’s interventions was clearly on empowerment, that is, improving skills, building capacities and ensuring sustainable improvements in the environment and livelihoods of disadvantaged rural farming communities.
He explained that the empowerment was carried out through animation and training sessions, demonstrations and farmer fields, video shows, as well as exchange of visits.
According to him, 20 years after its establishment, TRAX had gained a high reputation in northern Ghana for promoting Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) techniques.
That, Mr Subbey said, had helped to break the cycle of dependency of resource-poor farmers on cash, especially for chemical inputs or other external support.
He said farmers had seen crops growing on what had been bare rocks; trees flourishing on what they thought were barren soil and, most significantly, they knew that the transformation had been brought about by nothing more than hard work, familiar tools and adaptation to improved versions of the techniques (local knowledge) their ancestors used.
Mr Subbey said in 1997 farmers across the border in Togo approached TRAX in its project areas around Bunkpurugu and requested similar assistance, having seen the benefits of the work with their relatives there.
He stated that TRAX was honoured by the Bolgatanga District Assembly (now Municipal Assembly) in 1997 for its outstanding contribution to education, environmental protection and support.
Mr Subbey said TRAX received an award in 2003 from Women in Development for its contribution to development of women and children in northern Ghana.
He added that at the 2007 national celebration of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought held at Bawku, TRAX was recognised and honoured for its soil conservation practices.