Women Thrive Worldwide's partner in Ghana, the Development Action Association, hosted an event on this year's World Rural Women's Day to highlight the challeneges that women farmers face continue to face. The event recognized the contributions rural women make towards improving food security, eradicating poverty, and strengthening agricultural development.
Development Action Association (DAA) and Farmers Organisation Network (FONG) organized this year’s meeting around two themes: the role of women farmers in the agricultural value chain and the need for women to claim their right to land and inheritance. Held at Amasaman Assembly Hall in the greater Accra region, the meeting attracted 300 participants, including representatives from the government, civil society, and private sector.
The Program Manager of Action Aid Ghana, Mr. Kwesi Ohemeng-Agyei, served as the keynote speaker for the event. He emphasized that rural women make up a substantial part of the agricultural workforce in developing countries around the world; however, women often have limited access to resources and have little control over how to spend household income. These inequalities, he said, must be addressed on an individual level as well as on a national level through policies and institutions.
Strengthening women’s involvement in agriculture benefits the entire family, community and nation. Chairperson Margaret Kyei Manu, the Regional Director of MOFA Greater Accra, added “Where women are given the opportunity to operate in the agricultural value chain, the chains are much stronger and profit margins are enormous.”
Mr. Daniel Sanchez-Bustamante, Supervisory Program Officer for USAID-Ghana, echoed this message when discussing USAID’s Feed the Future Initiative. He noted that the goals of Feed the Future, including improved nutrition and agricultural growth, cannot be achieved without protecting the rights of women. He reported, “If women had the same access to land, technology, financial services, education and markets as men, we could increase agricultural output by 20 to 30 percent and feed 150 million more people around the world.”
Finally, Ms. Comfort Amaquaye presented an open letter from the Women World Summit Foundation (WWSF). The letter addressed all rural women of the world, encouraging them to know and claim their rights from their governments. Land ownership is a human right and a critical factor in women’s empowerment, and rural women must demand that their legal rights are recognized.
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THANK YOU! With your support (and in partnership with Land O’Lakes, Inc. and the Food and Agriculture Organization), Women Thrive Worldwide’s panel event “Feeding a Hungry World: Why we must invest in the next generation of female farmers” at this year’s World Food Prize was a tremendous success! If you were unable to join us live, you can view a recorded webcast of the event here.
This was Women Thrive’s first time presenting at the World Food Prize, and we are thrilled with how we were able to raise the profile of women and their role in addressing hunger and food security. Our expertise on women and food security was also in demand, as President and Co-Founder of Women Thrive spoke on two additional panels at the event: “Innovative Solutions to Maximize the Potential of Women and Girls in Agriculture” and “Girls Grow: A Vital Force in Rural Economies.” And our message that women can feed the world was heard far and wide. Please see the links below for a few sample coverage of the event:
Dear Friends,
Please join Women Thrive Worldwide next week for an exciting panel discussion, entitled "Feeding a Hungry World: Why we must invest in the next generation of female farmers," held in conjunction with the Food and Agriculture Organization and Land O’Lakes, Inc. at this year’s World Food Prize.
The panel discussion, will take place in Des Moines, Iowa and and be broadcast live over the internet on Thursday, October 13, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Central time (9 to 10:30 a.m. Eastern time). Click here for more information about how to participate in the live webcast as it happens, or watch the replay at http://inhousemedia.implex.net/lol/dl/fhw.html
Thanks so much, and I hope that you will be able to join us!
Best wishes,
Mei Powers
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