Lambussie: Some chiefs in the Lambussie Traditional Area have appealed to the government, private institutions, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and philanthropists to support women smallholder farmers in the traditional area to enhance food security.
According to Ghana News Agency, the chiefs noted that women in the area, who were farmers, faced challenges including high costs of mechanisation services, farm inputs like fertilizers, and agrochemicals, which was affecting their livelihoods. Kuoro Issaka Zengeh Kazie Tenjie II, the Paramount chief of the Lambussie Traditional Area, emphasized that support for women smallholder farmers would enhance food security, sustainable development, and reduce economic hardship among women in the area.
He indicated that women in the area needed subsidised agricultural inputs and financial support to boost agricultural productivity, crop yields, and resilience of women smallholder farmers in the district. Kuoro Tenjie appealed to the government to formulate agricultural policies and interventions that would give equal opportunities to women farmers in rural communities. He stated, ‘Proper investment in smallholder women farmers will drive national progress and sustainable development of our country.’
He noted that it would be difficult to make a meaningful impact in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if women were discriminated against. Kuoro Tenjie said most women peasant farmers were often discriminated against and denied credit facilities from financial institutions, which would have helped them to expand their farms to improve their economic status.
Kuoro Dakui Yiriminoh Zimi III, the Suke Divisional Chief, highlighted the plight of widowed women who relied on farming for livelihood and appealed for support to empower women in agriculture. ‘Some women are widows, and they don’t have anything to do to generate income apart from farming, so how to get the fertilizer to apply on their farms is always a serious challenge for them,’ he indicated.
He explained that some of those widows in the area were heads of households and depended on farming as their main source of livelihoods and to meet their children’s education and health needs. He, therefore, appealed to the government to create the necessary environment to empower women who ventured into agriculture.
Kuoro Tigwii Alhaji Abdullai Shakiru, the Samoa Divisional Chief, also in the Lambussie Traditional Area, expressed concern over poor agricultural productivity and road networks affecting farmers, particularly women, in the Lambussie district and the region. He lamented that women in the area faced difficulties accessing their farms, with some having to cross water bodies or walk through water-logged paths during the rainy season.
The chief said that the situation had exacerbated poverty, hunger, and malnutrition in the district. He appealed to the government to improve the road network in the area and support farming practices to boost agricultural productivity in the region.