Government asked to give women access to land

Smallholder farmers have called on Government to develop and implement gender sensitive policies to improve access of women farmers to land.

This, they said, would ensure that women farmers secure access to fertile land for farming.

Mr Daniel Adotey Akai, Programme Officer of SEND-GHANA, a non-governmental organisation made the call when he presented a research at the Greater Accra Regional Policy Dialogue on smallholder Agriculture Development in Accra on Tuesday.

The objective of the research was to track government’s investment in the agriculture sector.

He said major findings indicated that there is no gender parity of beneficiaries in government agricultural programmes.

He said government should re-visit the policy on banning the recruitment of new Agriculture Extension Agents.

Mr Adotey called on government to invest in public infrastructure for agricultural growth, adding that public-private partnership is a promising solution to bridging the divide.

He said government should also involve producer organisations in agricultural governance to productivity.

He said there is the need for closer collaboration at all levels to improve on the sector, while the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) should promote “real” youth in agriculture.

Mrs Margaret Kyei Manu, Greater Accra Regional Director of MOFA, assured farmers of government commitment to improve on the sector.

Source: GNA