Supporting Smallholder Farmers in Rural Communities for Sustainable Livestock Farming

In the rural farming community of Nsuta-Atonsu, Farmer St. Farms has evolved from a modest livestock operation into a model for sustainable agricultural growth, demonstrating what’s possible with the right mix of innovation and support.

Just a few months ago, Farmer St. Farms was operating under the common constraints of many rural livestock farms across rural Ghana. Today, through the support of Farming in Africa (FIA), a beneficiary of the Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF)’s Matching Grant Fund, the farm has overcome infrastructure limitations and seasonal feed shortages, significantly boosting its productivity.

Nana Asare Bediako, the farm manager, explains, “The farm was not operated in this manner that you are seeing now. Previously, we used to grow maize to feed livestock. But thanks to this partnership with FIA and GIZ-ABF, we have been introduced to drought tolerant bracheria grass which serves as the feed for our livestock all year round”.

“There are so many benefits Famer St. Farms has enjoyed from this partnership that all cannot be numbered but few that I can mention is the use of artificial insemination to produce goats with better quality and more offsprings.” - Nana

Key improvements at Farmer St. Farms

• Modern livestock housing: Spacious, well-ventilated goat pens now provide a healthier environment for animals and make daily operations easier and more hygienic.
• Drought-tolerant brachiaria grass: This resilient grass ensures a reliable, high-quality feed supply throughout the year, even during the dry season, helping maintain strong, healthy livestock.
• Improved farm layout: A newly organized layout separates areas for feeding, breeding, and animal care. This reduces labor, improves efficiency, and simplifies management.
• Hands-on staff training: Farm workers have received hands-on training in animal care, disease prevention, and sustainable practices, boosting farm quality and productivity.
• Improved breeds through artificial insemination: The farm has introduced stronger, higher-producing goat and sheep breeds for better fertility, healthier animals, and more consistent growth.

Godfred Benneh, an artificial insemination expert, performs a procedure on a goat at Farmer St. Farms.

A farm that teaches others
According to Nana, the changes have not only improved productivity and animal health but have positioned Farmer St. Farms as a demonstration site for other local farmers and agricultural students, and young entrepreneurs to learn from the farm’s innovations and apply the best practices in their own operations.

“One of our objectives is that seeing the way livestock production is worrisome in our community; we want to build something here that new and upcoming farmers can also see and learn from”.

Looking forward
For Nana, the success of Farmer St. Farms is proof of what can be achieved when local knowledge is combined with investment and training. He urges continued collaboration:

“We want to say thank you to all the funding organisations in all they are doing, and I want to encourage them to continue these initiatives because with these collaborations, we see improvements in our farms and if farmers see more improvement in their farms, it encourages them to continue to farm”, highlighting the importance of these collaborations to the livestock industry."

Funding support
This activity is part of FIA’s project, “Livestock Value Chain Intervention Initiative”, financially supported by the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) within the framework of Matching Grant Fund (MGF) under ‘Business Support Facility for Resilient Agricultural Value Chains” implemented by the GIZ project, Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF)