FELICIA YEBOAH

Crops: maize, beans, pepper, plantain, cocoyam and cassava

Felicia Yeboah is a busy mother of eight, the financial head of her household and a conservation agriculture (CA) farmer. 

Felicia has built a highly productive no-till farm and reinvested the profits from her surplus yields to expand the family’s acreage.

This farming system has provided a path for Felicia to generate a healthy income for her family while also managing the daily responsibilities of caring for her children and household. “I was not getting enough produce from the slash and burn practice; therefore, there was less for home consumption.” Felicia explains that “No-till farming has helped us get enough food to eat and extra foodstuff to sell. This has actually bettered our livelihood.” 

CA farmers typically increase their disposable income by 25% in the first 2 years.*

Felicia’s proudest achievement is providing for the education of her children. “I have eight children, four boys and four girls. Two of my children recently completed senior high school, and I am paying for their education through my farm.”  

Another positive outcome of CA is a reduction in family labor; this provides time for children to attend school rather than work on the family farm.

With CA farming, the labor-intensive and time-consuming tasks of traditional farming approaches are significantly reduced; the use of mulch cover reduces weed growth on fields.

Felicia is a focused business woman who is continually diversifying her crops and expanding the opportunities for her family. “I plant different crops such as maize, beans, pepper, plantain, cocoyam, cassava and a whole lot of other crops so that I can get lots of returns to care for my household. It helps me get different varieties of foodstuff from the farm at all times.”

*Based on HGBF | CNTA Data, 2016