The Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation flanked by others unveiling the award scheme
Okyenhemaa Nana Adutwumwaa Dokua, has called for the education of students about the importance of agricultural studies so they would contribute meaningfully towards the enhancement of the sector.
According to the Queen mother, teachers should stop using weeding as punishment for students as this creates a negative impression about agriculture in the minds of such persons.
The Okyenhemaa advocated for this while speaking at the official launch of the 5th Women in Food and Agricultural Leadership Training Forum & the Gold in the Soil Awards in Koforidua, the Eastern regional capital on the theme, “Overcoming Barriers of Women in Agribusiness: The Role of Stakeholders”.
The Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, the initiator of the awards, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, explained that over the past five years, the WOFAGRIC programme through its headline sponsors (Global Affairs Canada and YARA Ghana) has been able to support over 240 women with various farming equipment to enhance their agribusiness.
The Agrihouse Foundation is set to hold the fifth edition of its annual Women in Food and Agriculture Leadership and Gold in the Soil Awards.
This year, the two-day event will take place from Wednesday, July 26, and Thursday, July 27, 2023, in the Eastern Region.
Annually, WOFAGRIC serves as a mentoring, networking, and learning platform for women in agriculture.
Through WOFAGRIC, about two thousand women in agriculture working in selected regions of the country have benefitted from competence-based training sessions; mentorship, business plan development coaching; farm management skills, record keeping; and presentations.
The Gold in the Soil Awards has in the last four years recognised women in agriculture who are pioneers and trailblazers, pushing boundaries along the value chain.
The women-focused awards ceremony moves across regions and has recognised and awarded about seventy-five (75) women in agriculture – including twenty (20) with physical disabilities who are thriving as farmers, processors, marketers, women in transport, packaging, technology, and input dealers among others.
BY Daniel Bampoe