Women are the backbone of societal growth; and it’s difficult to think of any thriving sphere of life that is independent of a positive feminine influence.
In Ghana, the annals are strewn with outstanding women who have shone bright in often spectacular fashion. While this is refreshing, the prominences of women in a crucial facet of national life like agric remains underwhelming despite being central to the success of the hugely important sector.
Despite their central importance to agriculture, which sees women produce a great chunk of our food, women farmers are sadly excluded from conversations that determine agricultural policies, while unfair laws and practices deprive them of their land, their rights, and their livelihoods.
In Ghana, about 80% of agricultural production comes from small-scale farmers, who are mostly rural women. Women comprise the largest percentage of the workforce in the agricultural sector, a situation that means we cannot afford to treat women in agric with hands of levity.

 

Training is crucial
The training of rural women is very important, especially with the adoption of modern agricultural techniques that are tailored to local conditions and that use natural resources in a sustainable manner, with a view to achieving economic development without degrading the environment. The traditional and sometimes obsolete farming practices must give way to new forward-looking practices that will consequently lead to improved livelihood for these women and their dependents.
Training efforts must be backed by the provision of extension services, storage facilities, rural infrastructure (roads, electricity, and information and communication technologies), access to markets and access to credit, as well as supporting organizations and farmer cooperatives. This will ensure that the impact of training schemes is felt by the farmers- and in extension the society.
A commitment to training women farmers is a guaranteed means of breaking the vicious cycle that leads to rural poverty. Because of the nurturing role that women play in families, any intellectual investment made goes a long way to help build the capacity of several individual in society.

 

Affirmative action
Practicable affirmative action is by far one of the surest ways of safeguarding the interest of women in agriculture.
Instead of intermittent interventions, a solid affirmative action roadmap will go a long way to ensure that concrete success is achieved in efforts to improve the lot of women who have committed themselves to working hard to feed the country through the noble art of farming.

Networks operating in rural areas, especially rural women’s organizations are crucial to the conception of development programs. These organizations must partner in crafting any policies for women farmers as experience has shown that contributions from such actors are often invaluable.
A number of other changes will strengthen women’s contributions to agricultural production and sustainability. These include support for investment in rural areas in order to improve women’s living and working conditions; giving priority to technological development policies targeting rural and farm women’s needs and recognizing their knowledge, skills and experience in the production of food and the conservation of biodiversity; and assessing the negative effects and risks of farming practices and technology, including pesticides on women’s health, and taking measures to reduce use and exposure.

 

Feminization of agriculture
Feminisation of agriculture refers to women’s increasing participation in the agricultural labor force, whether as independent producers, as unremunerated family workers, or as agricultural wage workers. Specifically, feminisation of agriculture entails:
1. An increase in women’s participation rates in the agricultural sector, either as self-employed or as agricultural wage workers; in other words, an increase in the percentage of women who are economically active in rural areas.
2. An increase in the percentage of women in the agricultural labor force relative to men, either because more women are working and/or because fewer men are working in agriculture.

 

[ Feminization of Agriculture: Trends and Driving Forces]
According to the FAO, while the proportion of the labor force working in agricultural declined over the 1990s, the proportion of women working in agriculture increased, particularly in developing countries. In some regions such as Africa and Asia, almost half of the labor force is women. This trend has been called the feminisation of agriculture. This feminisation of agriculture is caused by increased “casualization” of work, unprofitable crop production and distress migration of men “for higher casual work in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors”, leaving women to take up low paid casual work in agriculture.

WIAD helpful
The Women in Agricultural Development Directorate (WIAD), one of the seven Technical Directorates of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has since inception contributed significantly to the cause of women in the agric discipline. Set up with the mandate to supports livelihood and well-being of women in the agricultural sector, the body has made encouraging strides.
The Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services is credited with improving access to extension services for a healthy number of women who hitherto were deprived such opportunities.
The Statistic Research and Information Directorate has in the last few years managed to develop a functional data bank that has proved crucial to identifying the peculiar challenges of different groups of women farmers across the country.
As the body continues to strive harder however, extra effort from other stakeholders remains crucial to achieving a highly functional women agricultural workforce that is fully equipped to alter the status quo.

 

Elsewhere in Africa
While efforts to promote women interest in agric is gaining ground elsewhere on the African continent, Ghana surely has to do more. Recently, the Global Fund for Women has helped to bring African women farmers to the center of debates aimed at stirring the wheels of advocacy in favour of women farmers on the continent, through the Rural Women Striding Forward initiative. Rural women in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Uganda received information, learned skills, and acquired networking opportunities – and as a result, they were able to provide more food for their families while advancing their human rights.
Key outcomes recorded as a result of the effort by the global fund for women included:
• 5-50% increase in crop yields.
• 30% increase in women’s income.
• 25% of women added one or more income-generating activities.
• The majority of households are now eating 3 meals per day.
• Women enjoyed more respect and became decision-makers in their homes.
• Women took on leadership roles in the community, joining village councils and forming advocacy networks.
There are significant gender disparities in the way that key resources essential for success in agriculture are distributed across Africa. Access to land, inputs, assets, markets, information and knowledge, time, decision-making authority and income still present a challenge for women in the sector.
Studies by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, Farming First, and other organisations consistently show that throughout the world, women farmers control less land and make far less use of improved technologies and inputs such as fertiliser. They tend to have less access to credit and insurance and are less likely to receive extension services, which are the main source of information on new technologies in the developing world.

Conclusion
The mammoth effort put into our agric sector by women is too huge to ignore. It is so crucial that we must do everything in our power to safeguard .Failure to do this could see a catastrophic reversal of the massive gains that we have so painstakingly made since Ghana began putting together the foundations of a now burgeoning agric sector. First and crucially, legal and cultural barriers to ownership and access to land, information and extension services, inputs and other resources must give way to women friendly structures and rules that will aid the seamless rise of our women to the highest echelon of world agriculture.
Also important is the need to usher in a new epoch that will see women venture into agricultural education and training, research and extension services, as well as supply chain logistics, agri-technology, agric-policy-making and implementation. Our women are capable and must be encouraged to rise and rise!

Yara Ghana Limited, the food nutrition solutions provider, continues to boost Ghana’s agricultural sector with its award-wining fertilizers.
The company’s impact is especially felt by farmers in the cocoa, cereal and vegetable sectors, three key subsectors of Ghana’s agricultural sector. Many of Ghana’s agric industry is dominated by smallholder farmers and many of whom would experience low yields without the application of fertilizers and other nutrition-boosting products.
Yara Ghana Limited was established in 2007 but the parent company – Yara International- with its headquarters in the USA, operates in over 150 countries worldwide. In just a little over a decade of operations, the company which has one of its objectives as “Responsibly feed the world and protect the planet”, boasts a significant market share in the local fertilizer market, helping to contribute to increased yields and profitability.

Yara’s success and significance to the farming community can be traced to the fact that under the direction of its network of agronomists, Yara has initiated and undertaken a number of programmes to enable small holder farmers achieve the best results. These the company does through farmer trainings, retailer trainings, crop clinics, demonstrations farms, field days, radio programmes with opportunity for farmers to call in with their queries.
Yara started with a staff of five (5) and dues to its growth and acceptance by the agric value chain in the country, its direct staff is now 40. Yara, with its locations in Accra, Tema and Tamale, has also been increasing its supply of fertilizers to the market, and improving access to fertilizers by farmers through a wider distribution network of over 300 distributors and retailers across the country. This in turn also provides indirect employment to several Ghanaians.

Crop Clinics
Yara Ghana has also been offering technical support for farmers through its Crop Clinics. Along with the company’s distribution and retail partners, the Crop Clinics and its training programmes reache thousands of farmers every year. Using the Crop Nutrition Concept, it focuses on crop knowledge, portfolio combinations and application competence, in order to help Ghanaian farmers optimize profitability in a sustainable manner.
Yara Ghana undertakes scientific trials aimed at evolving cost effective crop nutrition solutions and programmes for Ghanaian farmers.
In terms of capacity building for farmers and dealers, it provides training and knowledge for farmers, Agricultural Extension Officers as well as dealers in agro-inputs. The focus among others is on the right application of fertilizers: right nutrients, right time and right place. In addition, it offers technical support for farmers on Yara Crop Nutrition approach, focusing on crop knowledge, portfolio combinations and application competence, in order to help Ghanaian farmers optimize profitability in a sustainable manner.

The three northerly regions
The fertilizer market leader is very active in the three regions of Ghana’s north, a geographical region which although is endowed with agricultural production capacity, still lags behind the southern part of the country in terms of development.
Yara has a well-established office in Tamale to provide close support for its staff in the zone including a main warehouse in Tamale and six consignment warehouses across the zone. The northern zone is a major breadbasket for the country’s food production especially in cereals and other food crops and forms a key part of Yara Ghana’s operations.
The company is keen in supporting the zone to improve food crop production in a profitable and sustainable way. Consequently, Yara Ghana has been offering sustainable crop nutrition solutions for farmers in Northern Ghana, supporting increased farmer productivity and profitability through Constructive Engagement with stakeholders, Efficient Knowledge sharing to deliver solutions to farmers an by increasing access to quality crop nutrition products.
In partnership with the United States Agency for International Development-ADVANCE Project, Yara Ghana supports over 130 demonstration farms on best practices in the three Northern Regions. Yara also supports the annual Farmers Day awards in Ghana and many of its farmers using the company’s products have gone on to win awards at the event.

Pre-Harvest Agri-business Exhibition & Conference
As a demonstration of its continuous commitment to the agric sector, Yara Ghana has provided financial sponsorship package to Agrihouse Foundation, the organisers of the Pre-Harvest Agri-business Exhibition & Conference. The 8th edition of the Pre-harvest event will take place this year from the 3rd-5th October at the Aliu Mahama Stadium in Tamale. The exhibition and conference will feature over 2,000 exhibitors and businesses across the agricultural value chain.
In a company statement, Yara Ghana said of the event: “We are hoping to see a lot of farmers and other players in the value chain attending this event. We are also expecting that a lot of networking and partnerships will be built and linkages established that will help further strengthen the agricultural value chain and enhance profitability among the various actors.”
The statement continued “We also expect to see an exciting exhibition that will showcase new and improved technologies in the sector that will help modernize agricultural practice in Ghana and make it attractive and profitable.”
“Yara as a leading player in the fertilizer industry believes in building partnerships and collaborations that will help strengthen the entire agricultural value chain. This is demonstrated by our collaboration with the USAID/ADVANCE on their project demos covering over 200 sites,” the company added.
The Pre-harvest event which had previously been handled by the USAID/ADVANCE is one such event that brings together actors in the value chain to network, build partnerships and help link farmers to up takers and aggregators and Yara believes its sponsorship of this event will help enhance and promote this objective. It is for this reason that Yara has been supporting the Pre-Harvest event over the past three years.

The success of the local agriculture industry is heavily reliant on the input of industry firms who combine innovation and excellence to great effect.
Through the delivery of cutting-edge services that are tailored to fit the peculiar challenges of the local agric industry, some firms have cemented their place as conspicuous allies of Ghanaian agriculture.
Besides quality products and relevant service delivery, these firms demonstrate admirable responsibility by consistently supporting the industry through ventures that are set-up to serve Corporate Social Responsibility ends.
One of such stand-out firm is YARA Ghana Limited. Yara is a world –renowned firm versed in the production and distribution of mineral fertilizer.
Since venturing into Ghana over a decade ago, Yara has been importing and supplying high quality products for various crop areas such as cereals, vegetables, cocoa, etc.
The company has an expansive nationwide distribution network, which affords her the leverage of offering technical support for farmers signed onto its Yara “Crop Nutrition solutions” initiative.
With a central goal that is hinged on a desire to be a global leader in sustainable agriculture and environmental solutions, the company operates with a wider pool of organizational aspirations, which include being environmentally responsible, and responding to major global challenges, particularly those that directly affect the companies farmer-clients.
As a multinational firm, Yara’s committed to international operational principles is demonstrated by the firms support for the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Companies, the UN Declaration on Human Rights and the OECD Conventions on Combating Bribery.

Commitment to Innovation
Yara’s commitment to entrenching innovation in the local agric sector is laudable. In-fact the company has supported nearly every worthwhile initiative that has sought to place farmers on a better footing since it began operations a decade ago. Yara is always at the fore-front of championing initiatives that have proven vital to the growth and development of agriculture in Ghana.
Besides its partnership efforts, Yara is noted for outdooring brilliant agric concepts of its own that have shown great worth in the crusade to position the agric sector for greatness.
In the last ten years, Yara has been at the fore-front of revolutionizing the fertilizer industry in Ghana by introducing its Crop Nutrition Concept which focuses on crop knowledge, portfolio combinations and application competence. These three pillars are key in helping Ghanaian farmers optimize profitability in a sustainable manner instead of the blanket application of fertilizers which had hitherto been the practice.
According to the firms MD, Mr Danquah Addo-Yobo, “Yara Ghana introduced into the Ghanaian agricultural space, crop specific nutrient solutions that ensured that farmers are able to optimize the use of Yara fertilizer to gain healthier and higher yields in an environmentally sustainable way.”
“We are proud of our achievements and contributions to the agricultural sector in Ghana especially so when we hear the testimonies of farmers including several national award winners who have succeeded in their farming by using our crop nutrition solutions.”
The MD said the company has been supporting women in agriculture and has collaborated with agriculture units of some universities – notably the University of Development Studies in the North, and the University of Ghana, Legon, and also created the platform and supported farmer associations.
“Yara Ghana has been making the results of its yearly research work done together with key agricultural research institutes like Crop Research Institute (CRI), Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) and Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) available to other stakeholders in the agricultural value chain through its yearly publication of results of its Trials and Demonstrations,” he said, adding “the results from these research activities have also enabled Yara Ghana to recommend and make available the best quality fertilizer solutions targeted at specific crops as well as provide training for farmers, retailers and distributors on best practices towards enhancing the profitability of the farmer and the value chain.”

Two companies, RMG and Motor King Limited have joined the list of companies providing financial and logistical supports to the 8^th Annual Pre-harvest Exhibition and Conference..

Enumerating its business activities, the Marketing Manager, Dela Nyarko, said RMG, imports agro inputs such as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides as well as high yielding hybrid seeds, mostly vegetables and maize. He noted that most of the maize variety from RMG is used in the three northern regions of Ghana and the Afram Plains. Same varieties have been adopted for use in the government’s ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ Programme In addition, the company provides technical and agronomic training for farmers across the country, working with associations such as Masara among others.

 

Kenneth Nii-Addy, Chief Technical Officer of RMG said the company has over the years developed concrete solutions to agriculture and farmer challenges across the globe, key among which is the success in finding a solution to the fall army worm invasion which threatened the food security of the entire nation some months back.  “RMG is pleased to say that a solution called ‘Belt Expert’ has finally been found to the fall army worm threat across the world. This has been made possible through the ingenuity and innovative imaginations of RMG’s Research, Scientific and Technical staff”.  He said, “This must come as a big relief to the entire world, especially Ghana”. He concluded.

 

On why the company found it useful to be a part of the Pre-harvest event, Mr. Addy was emphatic that RMG being the sole company that imports hybrid seeds to Ghana, they see it as disservice to the  farmers if the company does not get involved in the event so as to be able to have direct engagements with them.“RMG is currently growing not less than 35,000 acres of its hybrid seeds around the country. We want our farmers to know more about this. We do it right, we provide actual solutions to their problems. We deem it an obligation and we wish to do it through practical approaches to the challenges they may have been facing by interacting with them at the event..

On their part, Motor King Limited, the leading manufacturer of Motor King tricycles in West Africa, made their presentation with a call on all to support the agriculture sector in Ghana since it is the future of the nation’s economy. The Managing Director of the company, Dr. Gao Nong said the company was pleased to have been part of the many institutions that have developed interest in supporting the event and were pleased to sponsoring it. ‘We have followed with keen interest the level of interest this event has generated within the agriculture sector and beyond in Ghana. We would not want to be left out in supporting a good course of this nature”. She emphasized. Motor King is the leader in the provision of tricycles that have become an integral part of the transportation of farm produce in Ghana. “We have just opened a new factory to assemble tricycles in Tamale that aims at providing for the transportation and other critical needs of our farmers in the northern regional capital and its environs. Being involved in an event of this nature gives us the opportunity to interact with those who matter in the agric sector for business expansion”. She concluded.
Agrihouse Foundation, .organizers of the event, through its Executive Director, Alberta Akosa, were full of gratitude to corporate Ghana for the support being offered Pre-harvest Exhibition and Conference and hopes that the nation Ghana becomes the ultimate beneficiary since agriculture is one major escape route from poverty.

The Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Exhibition & Conference is an interventional forum and an opportunity for various value chain actors in the agric sector to meet, discuss business, contracts and work together as a coherent team whose goal is to ensure that enough produce is available locally for consumption thereby drastically reducing importation. This gathering which will be made up of exhibitions and conferences will involve businesses in the various areas of the agric sector, such as seed production, fertilizer, finance, fisheries, storage, machinery, livestock, packaging & processing, ICT among others from the public and private sectors.
The 8th Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Exhibition & Conference is being partnered by the World Food Programme, USAID, ACDI and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Ghana and being sponsored by Yara, Kosmos, Ecobank, Hartoum, LK International, Foundries, Mel Consult, Interplast, RMG and Afgri John Deree.
Over 2000 participants are expected in Tamale to participate in the event whose conference will see over ten practical and engaging topics being discussed to be led by knowledgeable and skilled individuals in the agric and other related sectors. These sessions include, Farming with Purpose, Food Safety and Quality Standard, Poultry and Livestock, Custom and Contract Farming among others.

Interplast Limited, the largest manufacturer of PVC and HDPE pipes in West Africa, has supported the annual Pre-Harvest conference and exhibition with sponsorship package.

Presenting the cheque at a ceremony at the company’s office in Accra, Mr Haidar Malhas, Irrigation Services Manager of Interplast said the company was happy to support the Pre-harvest event because using its pipes, Interplast provides irrigation solutions for small, medium and large farms with its drip or sprinkler systems, in addition to a wide range of complimentary products.

Mr Malhas said the use of Interplast’s Ingreen Irrigation Solutions assists farmers all year round whether in rainy season or not.

“Many farmers depend on seasonal rain to irrigate their farms and in drier seasons, they have difficulties but with Interplast’s drip or sprinkler irrigation solutions, farmers are assisted throughout the year leading to higher yields to secure better profits.”

Aside the financial donation, Mr Malhas said the company is supporting the pre-harvest exhibition with technical support worth between Ghc20,000 and Ghc25,000 which will include setting up of demonstration sites at the exhibition venue, technical training on the use of their irrigation systems among others.

He further explained that Interplast has always supported government in its efforts to boostIng agriculture production in the country. Mr Malhas indicated that Interplast was prepared to support the government’s ‘One-Village-One-Dam’ initiative of building dams to support irrigation of farms in the three northern regions of Ghana.

“Interplast is commited to providing smart solutions for agriculture with its Ingreen Brand,” he added.

Alberta Nana Akyea Akosa, the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, organisers of the Pre-harvest Exhibition and Conference  was grateful to Interplast for the support, praising them for the decision to be a part of the success story of agribusiness in Ghana. The sponsorship package she assured would go a long way in organising a successful event.

She entreated other companies and institutions operating in the agricultural value chain in Ghana to follow the good example of Interplast Limited by lending their support, adding that the event was one of the biggest platforms for the convergence of all stakeholders in the agricultural sector and therefore creates the biggest opportunity for business development among others.

The Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Exhibition and Conference is an annual interventional event that brings together stakeholders in the agriculture sector from both the public and private sectors to establish business relationships and discuss contracts as well as explore and exploit other growth opportunities in the sector.

It features key activities such as training programmes, workshops, field demonstrations, exhibitions among others. This year’s edition is scheduled for the 3^rd to 5^th of October 2018 at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale, the Northern regional capital.

Aside showcasing the many activities and businesses in the various areas of the agriculture sector, such as seed production, fertilizer, finance, fisheries, storage, machinery, livestock, packaging & processing, ICT among others, participants will be taken through practical and engaging sessions at the conference to enable them gain deeper insights into best practices as well as on how to take full advantage of the numerous opportunities in the agric sector for growth.

Over 2000 participants and exhibitors are expected to attend to interact, share ideas and close business deals. The 8^th Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Exhibition and Conference is being organised in partnerships with USAID-Advance, the World Food Programme, the Northern Regional Coordinating Council and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Other sponsors include Yara Ghana, Ecobank, Kosmos Energy, Hatoum Trading, LK International, Mel Consult, and Afgri John Deree.