Women Farmers Stakeholders Engagement Meeting Organized Bolgatanga –UER

Gender gaps with regards to women’s policies in the field of Agriculture and land related issues, have been identified as some of the obstacles bedeviling the full realization of women empowerment.  

As part of measures to address the said challenge and bridge  the gender gaps and to protect women’s economic livelihood, a day’s stakeholders engagement meeting has been organized by the Network for Women Rights in Ghana NETRIGHT on the theme ”Strengthening the Voices of Rural Farmers for improved Livelihoods.]

The workshop organized in collaboration with the Women and Orphans Movement WOM in Bolgatanga, brought together about 45 women organizations, women leaders and  women farmers and other development partners across the three Northern regions.

The workshop was aimed at raising critical awareness and sensitivity to gender gaps in order to solicit for public support for reforms in the Agriculture and land sectors to enhance women’s livelihood.

In the light of this, NETRIGHT which is made up of Civil Society Organizations from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions including the International Federation of Women Lawyers FIDA, Ghana is calling on the government to as a matter of urgency; pay much attention to the livestock sector so as to help improve the livelihood of rural women farmers.

 Speaking to GBC online, the Director of Women and Orphans Movement Ms Fati Abigail Abdulai explained that the forum organised by NETRIGHT and sponsored by the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), seeks to identify and discuss specific issues in the land and agricultural sectors, within the three northern Regions and to develop strategies including those of their counterpart in the southern sector for onward submission to the Government for redress.

Ms Abdulai, said the Gender Analysis of Agriculture and Lands Sectors Project initiated and sponsored by NETRIGHT and AWDF is a major step towards the achievement of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in these sectors as espoused in the National and International Laws.

A member of the NETRIGHT and Co-founder of “Cowtribe Technology”, an NGO Ms Alima Bawah stated that majority of women in the rural settings are into livestock production such as ruminants and poultry.  

She indicated  that the lack  of  veterinary officers  in the rural areas to provide  technical know- how to the rural women farmers on how to effectively rear livestock coupled with the challenge of  vaccinating these livestock were some  of the major threat to livelihoods of rural women farmers.

The Director of Savannah Integrated Development Aid SIDA Hajia Alima Sagito, who delivered a presentation on the topic “Promoting Gender Equity in the Agricultural Sector –Policy Issues”, stated that, in spite of the fact that Women contribute about 70 per cent to food production in the country and formed 52 per cent of the agricultural workforce, they were marginalised when it comes to agriculture policies and interventions. 

She attributed the problem to gender inequalities in the agriculture sector, limited access to agricultural information and technologies with regards to women and fewer opportunities for training and exposure to extension services.

Hajia Sagito indicated that the marginalization on the role of women in agriculture in Ghana has been the bane in the industry and unless the government takes a bold decision and the political will to prioritize gender issues, by ensuring that gender equality is practised at all levels of the agricultural and lands sectors.

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