Tuesday, 16 October 2007
This year’s World Rural Women’s Day was celebrated here yesterday with a call on all major players in the country to provide adequate support and put in measures to enable women to contribute their part to building the economy.The day, celebrated on October 15, is a prelude to World Food Day, marked today globally.It provides an opportunity for obtaining recognition and support for the multiple roles rural women, especially farmers, play.
It was attended by rural farmers in the Greater Accra Region, and was themed: "The Right to Food- Rural Women Produce and Provide."
The Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Hajia Alima Mahama, in a speech read on her behalf, said women should be given technological know-how, the right capacity building and increased financial support so that they could make meaningful contribution in the country.
She said that government has made various attempts over the years to reduce the incidence of poverty among rural women through programmes by giving them credit, training and advocacy, and educating them on their rights.
She noted that even though women execute many tasks associated with agriculture in order to produce and provide food for all, they receive less income, adding that where they are in business, they do not get start-up capital of their own and therefore engage in small scale farming.
She said currently, a lot of advocacy is being done to help get rid of outmoded customary practices that prevent women from owing land and acquiring property.
"There is also an ongoing advocacy and dialogue with the traditional authorities to help influence the mainstreaming of gender into the Land Administrative Project," she added.
Hajia Mahama said that although some success have been chalked, there still remain issues to be tackled such as inadequate access to credit, problems with acquisition of land, inadequate rains, high mortality and morbidity and illiteracy.
Mrs.Victoria Tsekpo of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, urged farmer organisations to have a clear understanding of government policies so as to join efforts to maximise the use of available scarce resources and improve the lot of rural women to produce healthy nutritious food.
She commended rural women farmers for their effort at providing food for the masses in spite of the numerous challenges they are faced in their daily activities.
Edouard Tapsoba, the Country Representative of Food and Agriculture Organisation said it is common knowledge that although there is an abundance of food in many countries in the world, 854 million people still go hungry everyday.
He said that no one could deny the fact that world hunger can be overcome and that universal food security can be achieved for all.
He noted that rural women have received some kind of support but their condition does not appear to be getting better, adding "their progress appears to be almost stagnant or slipping backwards."
Mr. Tapsoba urged Farmers Organisations Network of Ghana to let this year’s celebration to invigorate them to establish clear workable programmes through which they could make contribution to the economy.
Mrs. Lydia Sasu, National Coordinator of Farmers Organisation Network in Ghana, said impoverishing women farmers would not help in providing food to the population, noting "a profitable selling price for women farmers’ products is absolutely essential to ensure their capacity to continue feeding others."
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