Supporting rubber smallholders in West Africa

Resourcetrust Network is a founding member of the AFi Coalition, and has been supporting smallholder rubber farmers in West Africa since 2018. The organisation is finding ways to increase farmer income while protecting natural environments. 

In Western Ghana, Resourcetrust Network has been working with rubber smallholders near country’s Cape Three Points Forest Reserve. The 5,200 hectare protected area is Ghana’s last remaining coastal rainforest, and one of few such forests in West Africa. This globally-significant biodiversity hotspot is home to endangered monkeys, rare birds, and many other species. 

The reserve is under threat from charcoal production, illegal logging and mining, and wildlife poaching. Additionally, a half-kilometre buffer zone around the forest is being converted to tree plantations for the harvesting of natural rubber. For most farmers in the area, rubber is their primary crop. Some also cultivate oil palm, cassava, plantain, and other food crops. 

Rubber farming is an important source of income for the area’s smallholders. This income is used to support daily living expenses like food and clothing, pay for children’s education, finance housing construction and improvements, and cover healthcare and other essential needs. 

Engaging smallholders to support livelihoods and conservation 

With funding from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, Resourcetrust Network is collaborating with smallholder rubber farmers near the Cape Three Points Forest Reserve on activities that generate additional income and support biodiversity conservation. 

As part of the project, Resourcetrust has conducted training sessions for 190 smallholders from eight communities around the reserve. The trainings covered topics including application of the Accountability Framework to rubber farming activities. Using the Framework, smallholders and others in the rubber supply chain can respect human rights and protect forests.

One way smallholders are preventing buffer zones from being converted to rubber plantations is by installing beehives for the harvesting of honey. Beekeeping does not harm the natural environment, and provides an additional income source for farmers. The project identifies farmers with forest buffer zones between their farms and the reserve to train as beekeepers. It gives them the beekeeping equipment they need, and assists with installation, monitoring, and management of their hives. Additionally, the project supports the new beekeepers with marketing their honey for sale.