ActionAid Ghana, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), has organized a pre-season farming forum to empower and build the capacity of women farmers in Tumu in the Sissala East Municipality.
The forum provided farming, production, marketing and agro-processing opportunities within the agriculture value chain as well as a platform for networking opportunities between the women farmers and agro -input dealers.
The Agro input dealers at the forum included the Organic Farming Aid (OFA), Agrisolve, Tractor Operators and the officials of the Department of Agriculture among others.
The women farmers were taken through the proper use of chemicals such as pesticides and the need to wear protective clothing when spraying the chemicals on their farms among others.
Madam Zenabu Nibaradun, the Upper West Regional Programme Officer, ActionAid Ghana told the Ghana News Agency that women from several communities had been brought together to share information about the opportunities that exist in the agriculture value chain and how they could access them.
She said the forum made available the opportunities in the government policy of the Planting for food and jobs and how accessible the programmes were to the welfare of the women farmers.
“We want women to know the existing opportunities and how and where they can access them easily”, she said.
Mr Bukari Basi, a Budget Analyst from the Sissala East Municipal Assembly who spoke on behalf of the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), thanked the organisers for their constant contribution towards women empowerment.
He said there was the need for the recognition of women contribution towards Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the country.
He urged the women to see farming as a business, adding that it would help them take better care of their families from proceeds from their farms.
Mr Basi noted that, “The Assembly is doing a lot to promote economic activities to create access market for more accessible transportation of goods from their homes and farms to the market centres”.
He called for increased security for women on the farms and the communities and encouraged them to work in groups to enable them to learn from one another through networking.
The forum brought together 66 women farmers from over 30 communities to participate and build their capacity within the Agri industry.
By Mohammed Balu, GNA
