Richard Kofi Appoh

History: Young Expert at RUAF Foundation - Ghana
YEP period 2013 - 2014, batch 1

Position after YEP

Research Officer at IWMI Ghana

YEP Role

My role as a Young Expert for RUAF was to work on the following five tasks with support from local IWMI-Ghana staff and RUAF backstopping:

• Analyse urban water demand of Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, and Ouagadougou (cutting across several agro-ecozones from humid to semi-arid) and how this will affect urban and peri-urban agricultural water needs given increasing rural-urban water competition and the increase in informal water markets
• Assess how far safe wastewater use could reduce the pressure on freshwater resources
• Analyse the value of urban and peri-urban agriculture by assessing its impact on poverty alleviation, employment and the support of ecosystem services
• Map resource flows, including key food commodities such as vegetables, around the same cities to determine the role and significant of urban versus peri-urban versus rural farming in terms of food security and nutrition
• Contribute to information management, including the RUAF website on urban and peri-urban agriculture, and development of targeted training and awareness materials for various stakeholders on water use efficiency, low-cost wastewater treatment options and the use of alternative water sources from rainwater harvesting to address water shortages.

Skills

My areas of expertise are watershed management, on-farm water management, water resources management, dry-season gardening and organic agriculture.

Nationality: Ghanaian
Education: I graduated with Master of Philosophy in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. I have one publication and developed five technical manuals for training Peace Corps Volunteers Ghana.

Experience before YEP

I am an Agro-Environmental Scientist with work experience in scientific research, teaching, training and program management.