OXFAM in Ghana together with its implementing partners; Shea Network Ghana, SEND GHANA and Norsacc under the Women Economic Advancement for Collective Transformation (WEACT) project, has celebrated women in agriculture.
It formed part of International Rural Women’s Day at Kpulgine in the Mion District of the Northern Region.
The project partners marked the Day on the theme: “Rural women, cultivating food for all, key for a world free from hunger and poverty”.
Ms Ubaidatu Iddrisu, Project Manager of Shea Network Ghana, speaking during the event, said rural women had so far played significant roles in the country’s agricultural sector to sustain the nation’s food security.
She said most of the rural women did not only play critical roles in the agricultural workforce, but also generated income for their families and communities through entrepreneurship agribusiness, food processing and rural tourism.
She said rural women also played key roles in investing in their children’s education, healthcare, and other essential services for their families.
Ms Iddrisu indicated that so far, the rural women’s economic empowerment project had served as a catalyst for sustainable development, poverty reduction and the realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
She called on stakeholders to support government to address challenges confronting women such as limited access to land, as well as create an enabling environment for empowering rural women to unlock their full potential.
Madam Theresa Baveng, WEACT Project Coordinator, urged all stakeholders, especially traditional and religious leaders to support women and girls to achieve their full economic potential by removing and reducing socio-cultural norms, which affected their progress.
She thanked the Chiefs for allocating land at Salankpang and Kpulgine for women for the farming purposes.
She highlighted on the WEACT Project and said it was funded by Global Affairs Canada with the aim to enhance women’s economic empowerment, well-being and inclusive economic growth in the shea and cocoa value chains.
Mrs Indrani Barron, Programme Officer, Oxfam Quebec, who is on a project visit to the country, said she was happy to be part of the celebration.
She congratulated the women for their hard work in contributing significantly to working to end hunger in families and Ghana as a whole.
She entreated rural women to keep up the demanding work to enhance the country’s food security and social independence in their homes and communities.
The participants included officials of the Department of Agriculture, Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Police Service, NCCE, Departments of Community Development and the Department of Social Welfare.
