Women dominate livestock trade at Agbozume market

A chorus of bleating goats rises and falls on a hot sunny day. Cats meow in cages awaiting buyers. Customers fight through the thick crowds of traders to buy one product or another and the main street has been consumed by Okada riders who chase every stopping vehicle in the hope of picking up passengers.

Cacophony of sounds from the filtered water sellers and the Ayigbe biscuit (local biscuit) sellers blends with those of bus conductors (mates) calling passengers.

A first time traveller obviously would not miss these scenes in the market of Abozume, a town in the Volta Region.

The market, which is located on the main road, attracts customers from all walks of life.

As  expected, many women preparing towards the Christmas would be moving from one shop to another to buy  different kinds of goods which are then resold on the market.

Clothing, toys, gift hampers and flowers are among the items mostly sold by the market women.

But the tables turn when you get to the Goat Market at Agbozume, located  just a few metres away from the main market,where women are engaged in the sale of livestock, especially goats, to earn a living.

Here, market women gird their loins against stubborn goats that would not follow their owners quietly by pulling them using the rope tied to the necks of the animals.

Ropes get entangled and commotion ensues between a goat and its owner.

When the Daily Graphic visited the market Wednesday, the market day, the women were competing with a handful of male counterparts to sell their livestock.

Apart from the women who sell goats, others were seen selling birds like ducks, fowl, and doves. The rest sold cats and dogs.

The trading in these animals  has been done by the women in the community for more than 50 years.  some of the women  sell  charcoal also.

The Agbozume community

Agbozume is located in the Ketu South Municipality in the Volta Region .

The municipality, which is fast growing and relatively urbanised mainly as a result of the port town of Aflao, which consists of some other major urban communities, including Denu, Klikor, Adina and Blekusu.

The municipality is dominated by an agrarian economy with almost 60 per cent of the population engaged in agriculture, fishing and commerce.

Also, about 98 per cent of the total farmlands in the district are under subsistence food crop production involving maize, cassava and vegetables. The rest of the farmland is devoted to the cultivation of non-traditional cash crops, mainly mango and chili pepper, which is meant for export.

The livestock sub-sector, however, constitutes about 10 per cent of agricultural activities. The main livestock types reared in the district include cattle, sheep, goat, pig, poultry and quite recently grasscutter.

The traders

Madam  Akos Gawube, who has been trading for the past 30 years,  told the Daily Graphic that the business was handed down to her by her parents who inherited it from their parents.

“I have been in this business for as long as I can remember and this is what I do to take care of my family,” she said.

Narrating how she got her goats, Madam Gawube said she got them from her customers who reared them in their homes.

“I go round from house to house and buy them from those who would want to sell their goats, then come back to the market to sell them,” she said.

She said depending on the number of goats she was able to sell in a day, she made at least GH¢5 to GH¢10 per head. This means that if she is able to sell 10 goats, then she makes an average of GH¢50 to GH¢100.

While the trade may be thriving, the women lack capital to expand . This makes it a  hand-to-mouth business.

Madam Gawugbe, who has five children — two boys and three girls — said she would appreciate it if she was granted loan to enable her to expand her business,  saying, “I only come out on Wednesdays and this means making money once a week.”

For 50-year-old Madam Christie Alaglo, she has been selling birds — chickens, ducks and  doves — for the past 32 years.

The trade was also handed down to her by her forefathers hence it has been in the family for many years.

She also gets her birds from owners who want to sell their birds, and then she resells them in the market. The prices of her birds ranged from GHC5 to GHC120 depending on the weight of the animal.

The mother of six, through the sale of birds, had been able to send two of her children to the University, two to the senior high school, while the rest are currently in the junior high school.

Madam Alaglo, however, expressed fury that successive governments  after every election neglected women.

“Politicians talk of empowering women but when they gain power they fail to do so. The government has to come and support us so that we can also work to pay our taxes for national development,” she said.


The market condition

The state of the market was  nothing to write home about.

While an army of houseflies was seen busily attacking a pile of rubbish left behind the market, the traders were  busily clearing a space to erect sheds.

The heavy stench from the animal droppings,  which have accumulated in  the market over a period of time, made it almost impossible to breathe.

Traders say the situation is worsened when  it rains as the stench virtually consumes the whole market making it less attractive.

The place gets muddy and sticky when it rains and shoppers and traders  end up with clots of dirt on their clothes.

Washrooms are non-existent in the market.

How the market started

The Revenue Officer in charge of the market, Mr Daniel Dogbatse, said the market was started by the chiefs in the community and handed over to the assembly later.

He said before it was handed over, the women sold under sheds built by them. Later the assembly, after they gained control of the market, constructed a structure about four years ago for the women to sell in.

However, he said, the structure could not stand the test of time as the roof began to wear out and gradually the roofing sheets started disintegrating.

Mr Dogbatse said  on a rainy day, the women were virtually drowned in the water as it filled the structure and rose to their knee.

This development has, therefore, pushed the women out of the structure to build their thatched sheds by the street. The open structure, coupled with the lack of sanitation facilities, has provided an avenue for the residents close to the market  to dump their refuse there.

Mr Dogbatse said the women had consistently reported this to the assembly but were yet to see results.

“I am just an employee here. I collect the tax and present it to the assembly. So it is the assembly that can answer your questions on what is being done about the market,” he said.

The appeal

The secretary to the market women, Madam Comfort Lavoe, called for the urgent renovation of the market as it formed part of the sources of livelihoods for the women.

She said it was unpardonable that over the years, the market had been given little or no attention by authorities in the community.

She recalled that four years ago, the market was filled with rain water such that they could not operate within the designated area given to them.

“We need help, we need support to be able to operate,” she said, adding that they paid 40 pesewas per goat and 20 pesewas per bird that were brought to the market for sale yet there had been no development in the market.

Madam Lavoe also complained about the sanitation problem in the market,  adding that their health was in danger.

Conclusion

Women's role in agriculture is growing at a faster pace than men and they are significantly taking over tasks which were traditionally thought to be the domain of men.

This would, therefore, mean that in the not-too-distant future, women will take over a significant proportion of the food chain processes, beginning from intra-household distribution to market distribution.

Agbozume women are an example of such women. Their courage to take up roles which were originally known to be played by men attests to the fact that the world is gradually changing and a new role of women is evolving.