Who, What, & Why?

Who We Are? What We Do? Why We Do It? Why It Took So Long?

We are the Unified Technology & Agricultural Program (UTAP / UTAPAFRICA), a non-profit and non-governmental organization for empowering African communities while keeping indigenous cultures intact. We provide instruction on agricultural methods to grow agricultural entrepreneurship through research, technology, and resources to attain water security. We involve a cooperative and resilient education plan and business skills to operate on a level that meets agribusiness and profit needs. We are friends and members of the pilot community with varied global and local knowledge of what works and what does not work. Africa is a disparate continent of different vegetation. The semi-arid area constitutes more than 30% of the continent of mainly two seasons (a wet & dry seasons. There issue of water scarcity during the dry season between November to April annually with associated problems is the norm.  Water is the primary driver of all other factors affecting most of savannah Africa stretching from Senegal all the way into Somalia. We are physicians, physicists, computer scientists, agricultural engineers, chemists, environmentalists, mechanical and electrical, business experts, and other allied scientists of varying levels of education, experience, and insight into the most vulnerable areas of Africa society, especially the semi-arid areas. We (from the inception of UTAP) have worked since 2006 to change the trajectory of water, food, education, and environmental interventions to secure collective water infrastructure as a primary focus. The programs, policies, strategies to improve water availability, include drainage engineering to collect and store water for use during the lean season. Human deforestation activities and poverty have contributed significantly to the current deforestation and worsen by global warming problem.

Deploying and investing in our pioneering model, the term communal capitalism. We dare to re-imagine the possibility to help foster breakthroughs in traditional areas like farming. We help improved water storage and environmental improvement through reforestation along the White Volta river. We dredged lakes for water volume to harness agriculture during the dry season. We research and scale holder agribusiness and our continued educational opportunities for young people in communities. We believe that sustainable development and cultural sensitivity are inexorably intertwined. Leveraging the community’s culture, we can easily foster economies and group cohesion to achieve transparency and create income for the most underprivileged areas. The fusion of culture and development will help combat poverty and move our communities towards security in the semi-arid regions and the world.

Slogan: Community Excellence built on Transparency and Accountability (CETA)

The lack of water in Africa for drinking and irrigation is a common concern for many people. Several West African countries have unconsciously neglected their northern areas. The areas are predominantly semi-arid and very poor compared to the general indigenous populations. According to the World Commission on Environment and Development statistics, more than one-third of Africa is under the threat of desertification. (Online source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/Z5700E/z5700e03.htm)

Many of the volunteers originally lived in the Arigu community or other nearby farming communities in Northern Ghana. They are excited and eager to contribute to rural communities such as this community where the fertile farming land brings farmers far and beyond.

It is imperative to create an environmentally friendly community model where water, food, and small-scale business security can be available to curtail migration to the cities as is happening across Africa. In reversing the youth migrations to greener pastures, crop production increases, leading to better access to education and medical care, and a decrease in the exodus of young people to the cities and dangerous journeys to Europe. The combination creates a self-sustainable community model that meets the needs of all individuals concerned.

UTAP has created an environment where built knowledge through concerted years of an educational drive. We have cultivated a community of diverse and skilled professionals who leads with integrity, serve as ethical stewards, and advocate for progress.

It took UTAP from its inception in 2002 until 2019 to get all the necessary talent and a well-structured community of professionals in every conceivable field process in the community for succession planning and continuity. Education remains primary to our success.

People of interest in the community had sponsored and encouraged over 100 community youth through junior/senior secondary school (recently made free (2020) by the government). The sponsorship and students’ selections were on the family’s financial needs and ability to pay fees in the community. The funding came solely from our socially conscious businesses, friends, and community members that saw the importance of education and contributed money. The focus on female education had long been an integral factor in the community. Consequently, most females have at least a high school education.

We strongly believe our model will go a long way in solving the missing pieces of responsibility, accountability, and transparency that have been a common failure of most African projects. UTAP believes, is the beginning of a substantial route to real-time development in Africa.