Don’t discriminate against women ; In acquisition of farmlands
Women farmers at Binaba in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region have called on traditional authorities and the government to evolve strategies that will ensure that women are not discriminated against in the acquisition of fertile farmlands in order to increase productivity.
Advertisement
They pledged their commitment to contribute significantly to agricultural development in the community and the country in general, when given the needed support.
The women made the call during a community forum to mark the International Women's Day celebration at Binaba.
It was organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ADVANCE II Programme, on the theme, "Women: Making it happen in Agriculture".
A farmer in the Kassena Nankana West District, Madam Janet Ali, encouraged women farmers to be assertive and share their ideas with other women, pointing out that it was important for "women to come out of their shells because they have the capacity to change the fortunes of the country in agriculture".
Madam Ali, therefore, urged men to support women in the agricultural sector to make the needed impact in the field, for the benefit of Ghanaians, particularly those in the rural communities.
Discrimination
The Bawku West District Officer of the Women in Agricultural Development of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Madam Margaret Achana, said she had been working in that department for more than 30 years and had come to the realisation that women held the key to ensuring significant change in the agricultural sector.
She, however, expressed concern about discrimination against women in the acquisition of fertile lands to increase production.
Madam Achana advised her colleagues to not be discouraged but to sustain their keen interest in increasing agricultural production through good agronomic practices.
According to the Upper East Regional Co-ordinator of the USAID ADVANCE Programme, Paa Kwesi Awuku-Darko, since the inception of the programme in the region in 2010, women's understanding of good agronomic practices and the use of improved seed varieties had improved significantly, leading to an increase in crop yield.
For instance, he said, in maize production, women in the Binaba area used to produce three to five bags of maize per acre but were currently producing 10-15 bags of maize per acre.
The Gender Advisor of the USAID ADVANCE Programme’s Tamale Office, Madam Ayisha Mikey, noted that women played diverse roles in agriculture; from cultivation, harvesting, processing to marketing, but "due to gender imbalance, a number of women are unable to contribute their full potential towards improving their own lives and that of their families".
Background
In 2013, the International Women's Day was celebrated under the USAID ADVANCE I Programme at Gindanbou in the Upper West Region. In 2014, the event was marked in Tamale, while this year's celebration at Binaba highlighted and celebrated the contribution of women to the agricultural value chain.
Activities outlined for the celebration included a community forum, competition to test the understanding of women in good agronomic practices, pesticide usage and financial literacy.
There was also a food exhibition and deserving women's groups were given prizes.
The USAID ADVANCE Programme is a five-year project with the aim of scaling up agricultural investment to improve competitiveness in the production of maize, rice and soyabeans to ensure a greater degree of food security among the rural population in the north.