Trax Ghana works with smallholder farmers in deprived rural communities in northern Ghana to achieve food security. The organization uses Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) as a way of learning from, and with, members of target communities to investigate, and evaluate constraints and opportunities and make timely decisions regarding development projects.
The PRA approach aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of rural communities in the planning and management of development projects and programmes with increased accuracy at low costs both in terms of time and money.
Trax Ghana has played a key role over the past 12 years in hosting both local and international students who carry out field data collection for Bachelor/Master’s thesis, doctoral dissertation or on internship.
Trax Ghana is placing host to two (2) University for Development Studies (UDS) third year B.A Development Education Students, Duun Gabriel Tengzie and Yakubu Limbaktib for their 8-week Practicum/internship starting from 23rd May to 29th July, 2016.
The Practicum is an integral part of the Development Education programme of the UDS which aims at giving hand-on practical skills in lobbying and advocacy, mass mobilization and engagements, community facilitation and training, participatory research and appraisal techniques to students.
As part of their field designed work at Trax Ghana, the students will carry out “problem identification exercise” in the Kabusgo farming community under the Bongo district of the Upper East Region. The objective of the exercise is to enable the students and community members to understand the term “PROBLEM” which could be described as any negative existing situation affecting their livelihoods such as lack of irrigation dam, lack of potable water, infertile soils, lack of sanitation facilities etc.
In a participatory discussion, the students will facilitate the processes involved in problems identification and analysis such as:
- What are the key problems that confront the Kabusgo community?
- Prioritize them in order of importance
- What are the possible causes and solutions to the problems that they have identified?
- What possible actions and resources are needed for such solutions?
- Identify all concerned stakeholders in the community for collaboration in finding solution to the problems
Duun Gabriel Tengzie (left) and Yakubu Limbaktib (right) reading relevant documents as part of week one orientation schedule and planning for field work
It is also envisaged that the participatory field exercise will enlighten community members on their sense of power and their ability to influence public policies by means of lobbying and advocacy.
Trax Ghana 