Women farmers call for more support

Amasaman, Oct. 15, GNA - Women farmers' groups from the southern part of the country on Monday, called on government to increase support for women farmers to improve food production. They said lack of good roads, micro credit facilities and post-harvest losses were the major problems they faced and urged government to support them.

The women made the call at a forum held to mark this year's World Rural Women's Day at Amasaman. The day celebrated under the theme: "The Right to Food: Rural Women Produce and Provide" also provided an opportunity for rural women to create awareness about their work.

It is celebrated on October 15 every year ahead of World Food Day, which falls on October 16 to emphasize the role of women in agriculture. Mrs Victoria Tsekpo, Assistant Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture who represented the Deputy Minister, Ms Anna Nyamekye called on private and public farmer organizations to assist rural women farmers to have control and financial independence to guarantee continuous supply of high quality produce and a steady income. "We should all assist to improve rural development so that farmers can continue to live and support their families in rural areas and have sufficient earnings from agricultural produce to remain in business and make investments necessary to increase production all year round". Mrs Tsekpo noted that the involvement and role of rural women in the fight against hunger had led to improvement in the concerted and joint action for World Rural Women's Day.

She said women farmers accounted for about 80 per cent of food production in developing countries. Mr Thomas Chyppee Palmer, Service Policy Advisor at Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expressed concern about poverty among farmers despite their hard work and contributions to the economy of their countries.

He said women farmers should live in comfort with sustainable profitable enterprise and be able to take advantage of opportunities related to their respective areas of competence. Mr Palmer pledged FAO's support to rural women for their contribution to food production.

Mrs Lydia Sasu, National Coordinator for Farmers Organization Network in Ghana (FONG) who read a message from International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) called for a profitable selling price for women farmers' products to ensure their capacity to continue to feed others.

"For many years, rural women have had the responsibility to produce food under difficult conditions sometimes even dangerous for their health, discriminated with regard to access to land, credit, seeds and adequate tools," she said. Mrs Sasu said: "The right to food is part of the respect for the life of each individual".