Built-in rice-fish agricultural activity as a business: The case of Golinga irrigation system of small-scale farmers

Abstract

The purpose of the Golinga Rice-fish farming project was to improve the capacities of members of a 
Farmer Based Organization (FBO) to carry out environmentally friendly, sustainable rural farming 
business using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques at the Golinga Irrigation Project (GIP) in 
northern Ghana. The project assisted small scale peasant farmers at GIP to integrate fish farming into 
their rice cultivation. The FBO members acquired critical IPM skills from the project demonstration 
farms which they applied to their own rice plots and thus improved rice productivity from mean yields 
of 3.5 to 4.6 - 5.8 t/ha in the project area. The project evolved a strategy for managing the FBO’s two fish 
ponds which was based on low-input and self-reliance of the farmers. Mean fish yield from the two 
ponds was 2300 kg/ha which was generally higher than reported yields (500 to 1000 kg/ha) obtained 
from similar low-input fish ponds in the country. The arrangement helped to maximize water use 
efficiency and contributed to a drastic reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers and synthetic 
pesticides at GIP. The FBO members improved their capacities in integrated farming rice and fish and 
enhanced their incomes from sales of both commodities.