Australian High Commission supports women’s groups in Yendi municipality

The Australian High Commission has handed over bee-keeping equipment worth GH¢147,720 to six women groups at Zagbang in the Yendi municipality in the Northern Region.

They also received 120 beehives with metal stands, 32 solar extractors, 24 harvesting gear, 24 smokers and hand gloves.

The beneficiary groups were drawn from Zagbang, Adibo, Zang, Gbingbaliga, Kpachiya and Zugu.

The support follows the intervention of Children Believe, an NGO, that had created sustainable livelihoods for the women through training in beekeeping.

It is one of the nine projects being supported by the High Commission in Ghana, and 18 other interventions across West Africa this year.

The project was implemented by Assemblies of God Care (AG Care) Ghana Yendi Office.

Rationale

The Second Secretary of the High Commission, Candice Hooper, who handed over the beekeeping equipment to the women groups, said gender equality was a core Australian value that influenced most of the work they did at the commission.

She said her outfit was committed to promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, adding that with women being the main actors in Ghana’s micro, small and medium enterprise (MSMES) sector, which contributes about 70 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it was important to support them.

Ms Hooper said through the donation, the women would be able to establish honey production businesses not only to support their families, but also contribute towards strengthening Ghana’s economic development.

“Skills training is recognised by the African Union as an important means of enhancing livelihood and improving outcomes for vulnerable communities,” she added. 

Challenges

The Team Leader of the Northern Field Office of Children Believe, Tamale, Frieda Bila, mentioned limited access to farmland, entrenched gender roles, inadequate employment opportunities and lack of exposure to modern agricultural methods, among others, as significant barriers to women’s empowerment in both commerce and decision-making processes.

She added that the impact of climate change had further increased women’s vulnerability in rural communities across northern Ghana.

Ms Bila said her outfit’s collaboration with government agencies to provide technical support for bee-keeping and afforestation had been significant.

For her part, the Country Director of Children Believe, Esenam Kavi De Souza, expressed appreciation to Australian Aid for their support.