Lack of knowledge on Agric Polices a major challenge to Rural Peasant Women farmers in UER

The lack of knowledge on government’s policies and interventions in the area of Agriculture has been cited as one of the major challenges confronting Rural Peasant Women farmers in the Upper East Region.

This came to light at separate engagement forums held at Yakort in the Nabdam District and, Yameriga and Tongo in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region on Thursday.

The event, organized by the Maltaaba Peasant Women Farmers Cooperative, was under the STAR-Ghana Action for Voice Inclusive Development (AVID) project with support from Williams and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

It brought together duty bearers from the Department of Food and Agriculture, Department of Social Welfare and Community Development and the Ghana Education Service to interface with Rural Peasant Women farmers, Persons With Disability among others.

The occasion provided the opportunity for the District Director of Agriculture in charge of the Talensi District, Mr Sulemana Mahama, who exposed the Rural Peasant Women farmers to some of the government Agricultural interventions including Planting For Food and Jobs, Rearing for Food and Jobs among others.

He told the Rural Peasant Women farmers not to rely on their husbands alone in accessing such services since that would not benefit them much but to form groups and approach the Directorate for government interventions meant for smallholder farmers.

The District pledged to support the women farmers groups with tractor services after they had made the demand at the forum and also assured them of other services including the vaccination of their ruminants free of charge.

The District Director further pledged to support the Rural Peasant women farmers with energy cooking stoves as a measure of addressing climate change and educated them to stay away from the cutting down of trees for charcoal burning and bush burning.

The Executive Director of Maltaaba Peasant Women Farmers Cooperative, Ms Lydia Miyella, explained the objective of the project is to improve the incomes, households food security and livelihoods of women and Persons with Disability through sustained agriculture in the Talensi and Nabdam Districts

She stressed that there were huge policy gaps when it comes to the Rural Peasant Women farmers in accessing government’s agriculture interventions which affect agricultural productivity and livelihoods of the marginalized.

“We highly optimistic that this project will help empower these vulnerable groups who are major contributors to the agriculture sector so as to help ensure food security and livelihoods in households of the rural folk,” she stated.

The forums also afforded the opportunity for the Ghana Education Service and the Department of Community Development and Social Welfare who schooled the participants about other government opportunities they could access to improve upon their livelihoods.