The Head of Cooperation at the High Commission of Canada in Ghana, Kathleen Flynn-Dapaah, has assured Ghana of Canada’s commitment to offering continuous support for women in the country’s agricultural value chain.
This, she said, will strengthen the agricultural front of the country and offer decent livelihood to women, especially those in the regions in the northern zone.
She was speaking at a Roundtable Discussion organized by the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) in partnership with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Canada.
Women play a critical role in the Ghanaian economy and in supporting their households’ nutritional needs and well-being.
Despite women’s important contributions to the Ghanaian agricultural sector, they have limited access to land, technology, training, and financial services, especially women in northern Ghana.
Since women constitute 52% of the agricultural labour force, 70% of crop growers, and 85% of food distributors, the Canadian government in partnership with MEDA is providing northern women with more equitable access to agricultural resources to boost economic growth.
Ms. Kathleen Flynn-Dapaah said the Canadian government partnered MEDA in the Greater Rural Opportunities for Women 2 Project (GROW2 Project) valued at 25 million Canadian dollars and is working to further strengthen economic and social empowerment of 40,000 small holder farmers and agro-businesses in northern Ghana.
The GROW 2 project is increasing access to financing services for saving and lending groups and also enhancing women’s interaction with local supply value-chain actors. It also promotes the creation and use of innovative schemes in the agricultural sector.
The Country Director of MEDA-Ghana, Mr. Robert Austin, stressed the need for deliberations on policies and more investment in agriculture.
Mr. Austin noted that having more conversations on how to further develop the agricultural sector, discussing policy priorities for investment in the sector, breaking the current barriers and creating access to financing is the way to growing employment and achieving decent work.
Head of the Agribusiness Unit at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture Jeremy Agyemang, who shared some measures being adopted by the Ministry to mitigate challenges in the agricultural sector, said the government had established the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk Sharing Agricultural Lending Scheme (GIRSAL) to promote and increase investment in agriculture.
Mr. Agyemang stressed that one-and-a-half-years into the operation of GIRSAL, it has provided a total of GH¢347 million in guarantees, enabling loans to about 100 agribusinesses, providing agricultural inputs, direct production, aggregation, processing, marketing and exports.
To further boost financing for agribusinesses, the government established the Development Bank of Ghana, a wholesale bank which will prioritise agribusinesses in its activities.
Experts who engaged in the roundtable discussion reiterated the need to increase access to climate-smart technologies and an improved business environment to boost agricultural productivity and food security in northern Ghana in particular, and the country as a whole.