NISCOPS
Project Detail
The NISCOPS Project is a collaborative research between SOLIDARIDAD and IDH, Nigeria. In Ghana, SOLIDARIDAD and CIRAD (International Research Partner) have chosen CSIR-Oil Palm Research Institute as National Research Partner (NRP). The Programme envisions to create a framework through existing National Initiatives to contribute to climate policy objectives including Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Climate Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals and market access and scaling up sustainable and climate-smart oil palm cultivation by smallholders.
- Partners: SOLIDARIDAD, IDH
- Sector:Agriculture
- Start Date:2020
- End Date:2024
Background
Oil palm has been identified as one of the strategic sectors by the Ghanaian government because of its potential contribution to the economic development of the country and delivery of the Government’s SDG commitments. It is a sector dominated by smallholders, currently running at about 60% of total production and 85% of the total planted area, managed under diverse cultivation systems. Ghana is a net importer of palm oil, but it nevertheless does export products to several African countries, as well as small amounts to the US, UK, Netherlands and Germany.
The NI-SCOPS programme has prioritised 8 jurisdictions and established the NI-SCOPS National Advisory Committee (NAC). The areas have mitigation impacts with co-benefits in productivity and adaptation. NISCOPS contributes to Ghana's revised NDCs to be submitted to the UNFCCC. These contributions have been in the areas of regenerative agriculture, agroforestry and improved oil palm processing towards GHG emission reductions. Solidaridad, as the implementing partner, has worked in collaboration with the NAC to develop three National Key Performance Indicators for monitoring and reporting on climate change in the oil palm space.
Partnerships
The NI-SCOPS programme in Ghana closely collaborates with the Ministries, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) through MOUs which have been signed with 7 MMDAs. These MMDAs are supporting the implementation of climate actions through their departments (Agriculture extension, Women in Agriculture Development, and Environment and Health). Solidaridad has also ensured that NI-SCOPS is linked up to other ongoing initiatives. As part of its climate adaptation activities, it has a livelihoods programme, which has helped it to make connections with Proforest’s BOPP. The General Manager of BOPP is also a member of the NI-SCOPS National Advisory Committee. Likewise Solidaridad is a member of the Africa Palm Oil Initiative (APOI) platform (TFAAPOI). As part of mobilizing private sector co-funding for NI-SCOPS, Solidaridad has co-designed a 5-year Climate Resilient Oil Palm Project (CROPP) with Anglogold Ashanti. The overall objective of the project is to mitigate climate change impact while developing the local economy of the company’s operational areas
to reduce dependency on the company.
to reduce dependency on the company.
Key Performance Indicators for Ghana
The indicators are
- KPG1: Productivity - % increase in palm oil produced per hectare
- KPG 2: Adaptation – Increase in diversification and innovation
- KPG 3: Mitigation - % Contribution to national mitigation target
Technical Assistance Provision
Main achievements for the first year of the programme include:
- Profiling of 6634 (50%) project beneficiaries.
- Distribution of more than 305,000 improved oil palm seedlings, covering more than 2000 hectares, with match support provided by four project partners.
- Baseline survey and methodology for KPI monitoring established, in cooperation with the National Advisory Committee (NAC).
- Collaboration with 7 climate vulnerable oil palm districts in 6 oil palm growing regions to integrate and embed climate change mitigation and adaptation actions into the district plans to address the impacts of climate change in the districts, while increasing productivity sustainably.
