The Centre for Women in Agriculture and Nutrition (CWAN), a Non-governmental Organisation, has called on the government to prioritise the needs of women in agriculture to help improve the food and nutrition needs of the country.
It said women contributed more than 50 per cent to the growth of the agricultural sector but that they were challenged with factors such as access to mechanization services and credit facilities.
This was contained in a statement signed by Mr Emmanuel Wullingdool, Executive Director of CWAN on the occasion of the International Women’s Day celebration and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa.
The day is set aside by the UN to celebrate the achievement of women in areas of economic, social, and other spheres of humanity.
This year’s commemoration was on the theme “Women in Leadership: Achieving Equal Future in a Covid-19 World”.
“We wish to use this occasion to call on Governments, particularly the Government of Ghana, to work towards removing the bottlenecks that prevent women from accessing support services in the Agriculture sector.
“Particularly issues of access to Agriculture mechanization services, access to credit and access to land”, the statement said.
It noted that addressing those inequalities would help ensure a more food and nutrition secured country and world, a pre-condition for building a stronger immune system against the Covid-19.
“A recent Agriculture census conducted in Ghana indicated that there are more female than males in Agriculture households in Ghana. The census report further indicated that higher proportion of males than females own and use agriculture equipment”, it added.
While congratulating women for their contribution to global food security amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the statement noted that women contributed greatly to the food and Nutrition security of the African continent.