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With favourable agricultural policies, women farmers can produce more
With favourable agricultural policies, women farmers can produce more

Female farmers seek favourable agricultural policies

Female farmers have called for the introduction of robust agricultural policies that favour females in agribusinesses to inject dynamism in farming practices towards ensuring food security.

The female champions in agribusinesses have, therefore, urged the government to come up with comprehensive programmes to help women access credit facilities, secure land and receive special training to facilitate their farming activities.

The policies should also seek to remove inimical traditional and cultural practices that prohibit females, particularly those in rural areas, from owning landed property and business entities.

The women made these calls through the Ghana News Agency at the Super Champions for Change Women’s Conference, organised by African Lead, a USAID primary capacity building programme in sub-Saharan Africa, with the support of Feed the Future – a US government global hunger and food security initiative.

Networking
More than 100 women across the country took part in the two-day conference where members of the Women in Agribusiness Network of Ghana (WIANG) engaged in networking, learning and information sharing sessions on opportunities and new technologies in agribusiness.

The conference was to enable the participants to improve their skills and knowledge in entrepreneurship and ways of farming as a business as well as being inspired to initiate their own agribusinesses.

The Gender Desk Officer, Farmers Organisation Network in Ghana, Mrs Helena Azu-Adjei, hailed Africa Lead for building the capacity of rural female farmers.
She said Ghanaian women required inclusive agricultural policies that would persuade them to apply their new learning skills and technologies to boost yields.

“I have had so many training sessions organised by Africa Lead and through them we have been able to seek for funds to celebrate women annually, where we invite policy makers to talk on favourable agricultural policies that will favour our women,” she said.

Favourable policies
“What I am saying is that our women now need favourable policies to move on, so putting in place the enabling environment will motivate them to produce more,” she said.

Mrs Azu-Adjei, who is also WIANG’s Coordinator, said her organisation had trained many women in Bowohomoden in the Brong Ahafo Region on food security, CAADP principles and women’s involvement in the decision-making process.

The Executive Director of Savannah Integrated Rural Development, Hajia Alima Sagito Saed, noted that leadership training was fundamental in agricultural commercialisation and mechanisation.

Hajia Saed mentioned cultivating soya beans and yam as being the preserve of men, but had been undertaken by women after they had received capacity and leadership training in agriculture.

She attributed the move to teamwork and networking following several directions by the US capacity building initiative programme, which had inspired them to venture into the cultivation of crops hitherto largely controlled by males.

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