Conscious effort needed to empower rural women — NGO

The Executive Director of Maaltaba Peasant Women Farmers’ Cooperative (MPWFC), a Bolgatanga-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Lydia Miyella, has called for conscious efforts towards empowering rural women to contribute to national development.

She said there was the need for more commitment from relevant stakeholders towards empowering rural women to engage in productive business to transform their lives.

She said: “Undoubtedly, rural women are endowed with a lot of potential and that with the right support to them, they will be able to contribute to the growth of rural communities for the benefit of all”.

She was speaking at an event the organisation held last Tuesday in commemoration of this year’s International Day of Rural Women in Yameriga in the Talensi District in the Upper East Region, which was themed: “Rural women cultivating good food for all”.

Celebration

The International Day of Rural Women, established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in its resolution 62/136 of 18 December 2007, is observed on October 15 every year.

The day recognises the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.

It was marked with a procession of some women through the principal streets of the town holding placards with inscriptions such as “support rural women with irrigation system”, “recognise and respect rural women”, “rural women farmers support food security”, “equal opportunity for rural women” and “women in agric: the future of sustainable farming”, among others.

Ms Miyella said rural women faced myriad of challenges including limited resources to social, economic and cultural barriers, adding that “recent data from the Ghana Statistical Service revealed that 1.5 million women in rural areas are engaged in vulnerable employment”.

Challenges

Despite these challenges, she said rural women were the cornerstone of food systems, economies and societal advancement and added that rural women possessed invaluable knowledge and potential which would improve their lives if well harnessed.

“We firmly believe in the importance of empowering rural women, as it will ensure food security, environmental sustainability, equitable opportunities and resilient communities,” the Executive Director stated.

Participants’ concerns

In an interview, some of the participants urged the government to prioritise irrigation system particularly in rural communities as it would readily make water available to them to engage in all-year-round farming.

Owing to climate challenge, they mentioned that the availability of the irrigation system would address the challenge of accessing water to irrigate their crops and further appealed for the provision of good agricultural lands to them to contribute to the growth of the agricultural sector.

Writer’s email:gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh