Lambussie: Some smallholder women farmers at Suke in the Lambussie District have appealed to the government and benevolent individuals and organisations for urgent support to help improve their farming activities. They said accessing support services to improve their farming activities would help enhance their livelihoods and ensure food security.
According to Ghana News Agency, Madam Abena Baagiro, a smallholder woman farmer, expressed her concerns during an interview at Suke, highlighting the challenges faced by women farmers in this year's farming season. She lamented that the high cost of farm inputs and tractor services this year is severely affecting their farming activities. Madam Baagiro appealed to the government to subsidise farm inputs to enable smallholder women farmers to improve their production, as that was their major source of livelihood.
The women are engaged in the production of soybeans, groundnuts, maize, and rice. They cited difficulty in accessing fertilizer and tractor services due to the cost and lack of access to credit facilities and ready markets for their produce as major challenges. Currently, the cost of ploughing an acre of land has increased from GHS250.00 last year to GHS300.00 this year. Madam Baagiro described the situation as devastating, which has deterred many women from farming larger areas this year.
She noted that access to affordable loans with low interest rates would enable women farmers to purchase quality inputs, farm equipment, and hire labour, boosting productivity and incomes. Further, access to finance would help women to adopt technologies, including efficient processing equipment, reducing post-harvest losses and improving their income fortune.
Mr. Nathaniel Nambie Zim-weeweh, the Lambussie District Director of Agriculture, emphasized the significant role that smallholder women farmers play in the agriculture sector. He noted that investing in them was critical to promote sustainable agriculture in the district and the country as a whole. Mr. Zim-weeweh added that women farmers often face challenges in purchasing farm inputs such as fertiliser and herbicides and acquiring tractor services due to financial constraints, affecting their farming outcomes. He, therefore, called for targeted support for women farmers to transform the agricultural sector.
Mr. Zimi Kanintii Paul, Assemblyman for the Suke Electoral Area, highlighted the importance of providing women with the same opportunities as men to improve agricultural production and reduce poverty, hunger, and malnutrition in households. He stressed that women must not be discriminated against in access to land, resources, and credit, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to improving living standards in the country.