Queen Mothers Foundation, an association of paramount and sub queen mothers from across the 16 regions, have advised the youth to embrace agriculture to contribute to food sufficiency.
The country, they said, had fertile lands suitable for farming and must be put to good use to produce more crops for export and downsize imports of commodities and poultry products.
Mama Megbenya, a Queen Mother from the Volta Region, said this at the launch of the 6th edition of “Gathering of Royals Event”, organised by Agrihouse Foundation, Queen Mothers Foundation and Ministry of Food and Agriculture on Monday in Accra.
The event is a development-focused interventional activity annually focused on strengthening working relationships among royals, traditional and corporate leaders, towards the initiation of collaborative efforts and exploration of further opportunities within the agriculture sector.
Gathering of the Royals Event would be held in Accra on 29th February, 2024, and the queens would be joined by representatives from academia, policy makers, the government, development agencies and agricultural institutions.
Mama Megbenya said the country’s farmers were aging hence the need for the youth to get involved.
She appealed to chiefs and landowners to release lands to youth to motivate them to embrace farming and contribute to food security and the growth of the economy.
Ms Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, CEO of the Foundation, said the event would pick up from where it ended last year by examining the progress of the call and the actions that were developed last year.
She said that was part of efforts to advance and influence policy directions that strengthened partnerships among traditional leaders and agricultural stakeholders towards the holistic growth of the sector with much focus on the empowerment of more sustainable women farmers.
The paramount queenmothers, Ms Akosa said, would have a chance to highlight agric modules that were proving successful and how working with relevant stakeholders was adding to the social and economic impacts they were making in their regions, districts and communities.
The queen mothers would have the chance to brief participants about the progress of new or continuing agricultural development initiatives in their respective areas.
“We hope to mobilise and empower more women farmers in our rural areas, through the efforts of their queenmothers, and their collaborations with other traditional leaders, corporate bodies, stakeholders in academia, government and development partners, among others,” she said.
The event is also expected to draw about 400 participants and high-profiled dignitaries from across sectors, including development partners, government agencies, private institutions, academia, research associations and civil society organisations.
GNA
