News
Côte d ' Ivoire
Women in Agriculture Must Be Facilitated
Today ' s technological advances and innovations in agriculture should touch every aspects of women ' s lives in order for them to have the desired impact on African societies . �is was deliberated on September 5 at the 7th African Green Revolution Summit in Abidjan , Côte d ' Ivoire .
In a session on " Women in Agriculture ", leaders in politics , business and civil society discussed how challenges to women in agriculture can be overcome and how young women can be facilitated to join the sector .
Fatimata Dia Sow , the Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender at the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS ) Commission , noted that women in Africa continued to be denied access to land by some national laws and cultures , which has hindered their ability to own and implement agricultural transformation innovations .
" Agriculture transformation on the continent is still hindered by backward practices that hinder women from owning land and deciding what they do on it ," she said . " �is must change in order to meet the urgent food demands in Africa . Women need to get access to productivity tools and to be owners of land .
Both government and civil societies have a role in seeing this happen ."
On top of that , the majority of women in rural Africa are locked in traditional farming , and yet they have a dire responsibility of feeding and taking care of their families , according to Tako Ndiaye , Senior Gender Officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Africa .
" African women in agriculture represent 52 percent of the total population in the sector and are responsible . �ey spend 40 billion hours looking for water and account for over half of the agricultural labour on farms in Sub- Saharan Africa ," she said .
" �is indicates that if women are facilitated beyond the current level , they will upli� the agriculture sector of this continent and contribute signi cantly to their countries ' economies ." According to the African Development Bank ( AfDB ), women across the continent need more access to nance and nancial services , because African women farmers experience greater constraints than their male counterparts .
At a previous session , Vanessa Moungar , the Director for Gender , Women and Civil Society at AfDB , noted that there is need to enable women in agriculture to overcome a general lack of necessary management skills and absorptive capacities required to pro tably utilize available nancial and productive resources .
" Increasing the use of technology and fertilizers by women is now a critical priority for narrowing the gender gap in agricultural productivity , particularly Sub-Saharan Africa ," she said . " �e Bank is committed towards developing women ' s technical and entrepreneurial skills , which will go a long way in ensuring the continent ' s food security , especially in the context of the dynamic agricultural trade and unpredictable long-term effects of climate change ."
Women produce between 60 to 80 percent of the continent ' s food , according to the FAO . �e African Development Bank has developed speci c programs designed to help women in agriculture over the years .
For example , in April 2017 , the International Fund for Agricultural Development ( IFAD ) sought the African Development Bank ' s nancial support to implement the Northern Rural Growth Programme ( NRGP ) in Ghana at a cost of US $ 92.79 million . �e programme was designed to empower women and promote equitable and sustainable reduction of poverty and food insecurity among rural households in Northern Ghana . www . agriasia . in