Better farming techniques enable elderly couple to care for orphans

The Grace and Alex Narh live in rural Akorley community in Ghana 's Eastern Region. The Narhs, both 75 years of age, generously provide care for children left homeless by parents suffering from or have died of HIV/AIDS. The region has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in Ghana.

Currently, the Narhs are assisting nine orphans, four girls and five boys. They provide the
children with food, clothing, health and school needs. In addition, they are supporting orphans who had lived with them to acquire skills in dressmaking, masonry, carpentry and metal works.

The couple's commitment to providing care to orphans began in 1996 when USAID's Food for Peace program, through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), introduced them and other poor farmers in the area to improved mango cultivation.

Prior to the USAID/Ghana initiative, the Narhs were subsistence farmers with half an acre of corn and pepper. Rainfall in the area is poor and unreliable, resulting in low crop yields. Corn, their main crop, yielded 350 kilos per acre. Income from their farm could not even provide the basic needs of this childless couple.

The Narhs acquired skills in new farming methods and were provided with resources such as improved corn seeds and mango seedlings, fertilizers and tools to increase crop production. The couple started growing mangos on one acre, which they intercropped with corn for food and income. Over the period of ten years, Grace and Alex have been able to expand their mango farm to 31 acres. Today, they sell 75 tons of fresh mangoes annually valued at approximately $4,600 per ton. They also produce mango seedlings and sell at reduced prices. They have provided seedlings on credit and transferred their farming practices to over 20 farmers to encourage them to increase their incomes.

From a modest income of about $100 a year, the couple's income has risen to $30,000 annually in the past five years. The Narhs who had lived in a rented room of 14 feet square have built a three-bedroom house with a kitchen, dining hall and living room, and an additional house for the orphans. Their breadth of support is not limited to orphans; they provide needy families in Akorley and nearby communities with food. "USAID has given us a firm footing and we can care for children as our own," said Alex.