Thursday 24 March 2011

Farmer Mus and the OVF Farming Bluff

According to the oneVillage Foundation (OVF), the Jukwa Farmers Coop in Ghana is a successful farming cooperative established, run and promoted by the OVF. Its only online reference to this co-op, however, is from the onevillage wiki, which is run by the OVF itself.

According to this wiki, the Jukwa Farmers Coop was founded in 2004 based on the vision of a "a thriving market in Africa to produce healthy food sustainably". Also refered to as the Srowi Mixed Farmers Cooperative Society (SMFCS) in Jukwa, the goals of the co-op were "providing a livelihood for local farmers", to expand to other communities (!) and to teach villagers and farmers "how to market traditionally-produced crops as organic". This is a project that the OVF has been raising funds for, as stated on its blog:
Additional Funding Needed: We still need funding to complete the project. This includes completing the building, installing the hardware and paying for staff and fuel to operate the facility. If you can help please email us at info@onevillagefoundation.org
http://blog.onevillage.tv/?p=1437 (September 2009)
Throughout OVF's numerous websites, there is a lot of talk about the impact that OVF is having on the Ghana agricultural society, but nothing specific. These facts do not seem to disturb the OVF in any way, who, glorify their impact amongst local farmers in the following terms:
The enormous economic, social, financial and ecological benefits to be derived from the implementation of this project in the life of the project beneficiaries – Jukwa farmers, cannot be underestimated. Progress Report on Srowie Mixed Farmers Cooperative in Jukwa-Cape Coast, Ghana
During the 2009 Service and Learning Program, the 10 visiting university students from the National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) were taken to Jukwa to visit the OVF's farming activities and to interview the people at the site. As part of their assignment given by the OVF, the students' reports and findings were compiled into a short video entitled Jukwa rural farming. In the video, the students refer to the OVF agricultural interest in Jukwa as a "model of social innovation and enterprise incubation". Having observed the "farming work", the students write about their experience:

"It is a story from Taiwan to Ghana... It is also a story from the urban to the rural village... We lived in the Jukwa. In the beginning, we visited the palm oils factory, to know how to make palm oils."
Jukwa rural farming
Although the topic is farming, the students are taken to a palm oil factory site, where they are introduced to a local farmer, whom they get to know as "Farmer Mus". The NTHU student in charge of the interview asks this Ghana farmer what he thinks about the "brain drain", to which Farmer Mus replies that:
"Sometimes they don't want to enter the farm... they don't want to face the problem again... That's why some of the youth don't want to enter the farm. It's very nice as a youth, even you are educated, you have to enter farm - because farming work is the backbone of every countries. As a youth, if you don't enter it, we are grown-up, we shall go, ...even practice it, who is going to feed you they need to enter farming work."
Farmer Mus, Jukwa rural farming


In another summary, one of the students shared his impression in meeting with farmer Mus and another Ghana farmer named Stephen:
"In the process, I know the two local farmers, Mus and Stephen. They were really nice and kind. I am in charge of the Jwuka farming, so I had the chance the interact with them. I love them. They smelled just like the earth. That was the taste of living with the earth, embracing the deep life energy."
http://www.slideshare.net/joytang/nthu-international-volunteers-for-onevillage-ecotour-service-and-learning-program-2009-summary-report
From the documentary and the student's reaction, one would assume that "Farmer Mus" must be an authentic farmer living an ordinary life working the land in a small community Southern Ghana, but what story doesn't tell is that "Farmer Mus" - whose real name is Mustapha Adjepong - is a very active member of the oneVillage Foundation crew and figures in a number of different roles on web pages associated with the OVF's work in Ghana.
"Farmer Mus": part of the OVF crew in Winneba, Ghana
On the picture above taken outside the OVF's so-called Winnebar Open Digital Village (WODIV), Mustafa "Farmer Mus" Adjepong can be seen wearing an OVF t-shirt, standing between OVF country director Kafui Prebbie and OVF founder Joy Tang together with the rest of OVF staff in a group photo with the NTHU 2009 students.  
Farmer Mus: a part of Denkyira family
What the story also fails to tell is that Mustafa "Farmer Mus" Adjepong, who creatively told the students about the challenges of being a local farmer in a small community in Ghana, is also connected to the royal family of Denkyira - with whom OVF's founder Joy Tang shares several years of personal connections. 
OVF founder Joy Tang and "farmer Mus" attending a wedding
One can only assume that he is either a member of the royal family himself or part of its close entourage. 

"Farmer Mus" OVF founder Joy Tang at a Denkyira ceremony
Mustafa "Farmer Mus" Adjepong's multiple involvement in promoting OVF's agricultural profile earned him an official thank you note by the OVF crew:
Moose, a farmer from Jukwa warmly hosted NTHU students during their visit in Jukwa, a rural village in Ghana where oneVillage Foundation setup a rural farming co-ops project. Moose also is a tailor by trade and well-respected opinion leader in his community. He is a role model as a team player and selfless services. Thanks, Moose!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2913044922/in/photostream/
In an interview made by friend and fellow blogger Ulrike Reinhard during the latter's visit to Jukwa in the late summer of 2010, OVF's agricultural project and its cooperation with farmers Mus [called Moss in the video] and Stevenson are introduced.
"Joy Tang, a "true believer" in the internet for the good and founder of oneVillageFoundation on how ICT can help farmers. One of her projects on farming in Ghana is located in Jukwa, Ghana. At the end she is interviewing two of the Jukwa farmers: Moss and Stevenson."
Joy Tang on how ICT can help farmers, produced and directed by Ulrike Reinhard
Joy Tang presenting "Farmer Mus" for the camera

In this video, Joy Tang presents Farmer Mus as “one of the dear farmers in our group in the coop, his name is Mustapha.” Why would the OVF and its founder Joy Tang disguise one of its own co-workers, elsewhere referred to also as a secretary for OVF activities, as a farmer in Jukwa? The need to mislead the public in having OVF people pose as farmers in order to present the agricultural work of the OVF to the volunteer team from NTHU as well as to the broader public raises serious doubts as to whether the OVF in fact has ever engaged in any serious work with real-life farmers in Ghana at all? And why would one claim accomplishments in farming, when the professed purposes of the OVF are firstly people affected by AIDS and secondly the concern with connecting people to the Internet?
Left: OVF worker Mus pretending to be a farmer Right: OVF founder Joy Tang bringing the students to the "farm"

The OVF needs to come clean with these explicit deceptions of students entrusted to them as volunteers by prestigious universities such as the NTHU, as well as the greater public. There are real problems and real farmers in Africa and elsewhere which can be properly addressed by people who are actually motivated by helping them, rather than by making a name for themselves in the international community and soliciting funds based on falsehoods. Africa and all struggling farmers in the world certainly deserve better.

Joy Tang, Stephen & Mus brings the NTHU students to visit the Denkyira King
To see more of "Farmer Mus" and "farmer Stephen", see the following links:

OVF worker Mus brings the students to the palm oil production site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2880375385/
Mus the Tailor with a newly made dress for OVF founder Joy Tang: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2977177758/
Mus the Tailor and OVF founder Joy Tang discussing fabric: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2977174438/in/photostream/
OVF worker Mus accompanies the NTHU students to see the chief of Jukwa: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2912277267/
OVF worker Mus with OVF founder Joy Tang and OVF worker Stephen at the beach http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2977200038/
OVF worker Mus at the beach http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2976328739/in/photostream/
Mus & with the students at a restaurant: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2922625231/
The Mus Family with the NTHU students http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2922625223/in/photostream/

Mus with members of the Royal family of Denkyira and OVF founder Joy Tang http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2977791535/in/set-72157608420084610/
Mus with members of the Royal family of Denkyira and OVF founder Joy Tang http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2977794299/in/set-72157608420084610/ 
Farmer Stephen with Joy Tang http://www.flickr.com/photos/1village/2976307975/in/photostream/
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1 comment:

  1. James29 March 2011 at 00:10

    So "farmer Mus" is not only the a worker of the oneVillage Foundation in Ghana but also Joy Tang's personal tailor? This is outrageous!

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