Ministry announces GH¢2.5m pilot project to support 32 women farmers
A GH¢2.5 million pilot project to support 32 Women Farmer-Based Organisations (WFBOs) engaged in post-production in the country has been outdoors by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA).
Activities to be supported as part of the project include purchasing and installation of agro-processing equipment, along with capacity building on operation and maintenance of the machinery, as well as coaching on marketing techniques to ensure appropriate market linkage.
Funded by the Global Affairs of Canada, (GAC) the project is under the Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana program that seeks to strengthen the capacities of the women to make their products more competitive and attractive for local and export markets.
At a short ceremony to launch the project, Mr Majeed Mohammed, Development Officer at the GAC said the project supports the objective of the Mechanizing Agriculture in Ghana program through, which the Canadian government had provided a CAD$135 million to improve food security and foster growth in Ghana.
He said women played a vital role in the agriculture value chain, yet they face numerous challenges along the value chain.
Mr Mohammed said the support was in line with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, which seeks to empower women to eradicate poverty and build a more inclusive and prosperous world.
Mr Robert Patrick Ankobia, the Acting Chief Director of the MOFA stated the timing was appropriate as the government was finding innovative ways to revamp the economy, which was affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
“Agriculture plays an important role in the economy and due to some of the measures to contain the virus affected the production activities. This is a good opportunity to support the sector to be effective and boost the sector,” he added.
Mr Ankobia said women were the backbone of the families and that when their activities were hampered it had a snowball effect on the family.
At the event, an agreement was signed between the MoFA and Gratis Foundation for the design of tailor-made processing equipment for the women.
Mr Ankobia signed the agreement on behalf of MoFA while Mr Kofi Adjei Ntim, Chief Executive of Gratis Foundation initialed for his organization.
Mr Ntim said to improve efficiency, reduce post-harvest losses, ensure food security, and increase productivities, which would lead to income.
The Gratis, he said would design and develop appropriate processing equipment for commodities including cassava, oil palm, maize, and rice.
He said aside from the production, Gratis would train all the women groups on the usage and carry out periodic maintenance of the enhanced technologies.
Ms Naomi Ayoba, a member of the Ashaiman WFBO thanked the Canadian Government for the support adding that it would spur them on to work hard.
Source: GNA