Women play a critical role in ensuring food security and food safety across the globe, but little support is given.
Speaking on behalf of Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson at the International Rural Women’s Day at Kokrobite, Accra, Ms. Rosemary Abbey, Director, Finance and Administration at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, in a speech delivered on said the Ministry is committed to advancing the agenda of women in programmes and projects.
Highlighting some of the initiatives introduced by the Ministry and its Agencies to address some challenges confronting women in fisheries and aquaculture, she noted that, under the FAO, NORAD funded project “Empowering Women in Small-Scale Fisheries for Sustainable Food Systems” the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines and Good practices have been translated into five (5) Ghanaian languages and distributed to fish processors to create awareness for the adoption of best practices. The languages are Nzema, Fante, Ga, Ewe, and Gonja.
Additionally, the Ministry and Fisheries Commission in partnership with the Ghana Standards Authority, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is implementing the Safe Fish Certification and Licensing Scheme (SFCLS). The Scheme, which audits the catching, landing, transporting, processing, packaging, storage, and marketing of fish along the value chain will guarantee consumption.
She commended women for the tremendous work done to ensure good food is made available for all.
Ms. Mabel Simpeh in a speech delivered on behalf of Hon Joseph Nyarni Stephen, MCE – Ga South Municipal Assembly emphasized that rural women play a key role in the development of their communities by preserving cultural heritage while embracing progress and modernity hence it is imperative to recognize the vital role they play in society.
He noted that the conversation about women must go beyond mere words to ensure that rural women have access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities to adapt to the challenges of our rapidly changing world.
Hon Joseph Nyarni Stephen pledged to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to create a conducive environment for the growth and development of rural women.
“We will invest in programs and initiatives that promote gender equality, empower rural women, and recognize their vital role in shaping our municipality’s future”.
Mrs. Emelia Nortey, Centre Manager, DAA Fisheries Training Centre at Kokrobite has disclosed that the ongoing encroachment of estate developers on farmlands in the country has been one of the challenges confronted by rural women farmers.
This, she said has made it difficult for women to have access to land and farms to make food available for all.
Mrs Emelia Nortey underscored that, rural women are the backbone of our communities, often working tirelessly behind the scenes, yet their impact reverberates far and wide.
She, therefore, urged chiefs and individual landowners to stop selling farmlands to estate developers to reserve farmlands for farming.
She made this observation during the International Day for Rural Women celebration which took place at Kokrobite in the Greater Accra Region on Monday 16th October 2023.
The event organized by the Development Action Association (DAA) was supported by the GIZ-implemented Sustainable Employment through Agribusiness (AgriBiz) programme on the theme “Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All”.
The celebration saw in attendance 400 rural women farmers who strongly expressed the needed support for rural women to ensure good food is made available for all.
To further this, the women advocated for a policy on aquaculture biosecurity to ensure fish farming safeguards the ecosystem.
Mrs. Lydia Sasu, Executive Director of DAA stressed that “the proposal is the need for an aquaculture biosecurity plan to curb business behaviours that damage the ecosystem. The plan should ensure fish farming protects wild species and promotes healthy, productive, and resilient water-use ecosystem, including domestic jobs and services”.
The programme saw a display of primary and value-added products of members of the association.
Women contribute about 60% to agriculture development in Ghana, and almost all are smallholder farmers of which about 95% are rural dwellers. To appreciate the contribution of rural women, the United Nations has earmarked 15th October of every year to commemorate rural women, hence International Day of Rural Women.
About DAA
Development Action Association (DAA) is a network of fisher and farmer-based organization that focus on improving the livelihood of its members through capacity building. Its members are into fish processing, farming, food processing, post-harvest, and advocacy in support of food security which was initiated by FAO. DAA is now operating in the Greater Accra, Central, Eastern, Volta, and Oti Regions of Ghana, and 98% of the beneficiaries are rural women with low education.
