The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Feed the Future (FTF) Ghana Policy LINK Activity, is set to offer year-long assistance to Charity Akortia, recognized as the 2023 National Best Farmer, and Edith Akosah Wheatland, honored as the National Best Female Farmer.
Additionally, 18 other female award winners at the national, regional, and district levels will also receive support. This initiative builds upon the successful assistance extended to the first cohort of 20 outstanding women in agriculture acknowledged at the 2022 Farmers’ Day program.
Following last year’s collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Policy LINK and its partners will offer a comprehensive leadership, advocacy, agribusiness development training package, and study tour to the second cohort of national, regional, and district women in agriculture. This training package will be curated in line with the year’s theme of ‘Delivering Smart Solutions for Sustainable Food Security and Resilience’ and be tailored to the capacity needs of the awardees. Additionally, Policy LINK will facilitate their active participation in key agriculture stakeholder engagements throughout 2024.
The first cohort of women awardees received a five-day leadership, advocacy, and agribusiness training and study tour led by USAID/Ghana through the FTF Ghana Policy LINK Activity, in collaboration with MoFA, FTF Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture Activity (MFA) and Absa Bank Ghana Limited. Policy LINK also facilitated their participation in agriculture policy and stakeholder events for exposure and networking while providing day-to-day mentorship and technical support through its gender point of contact.
Throughout 2023, the women demonstrated remarkable determination by implementing lessons learned to enhance their agribusinesses and leadership roles. They leveraged their influence to advance women’s involvement and participation in the agriculture policy space, aiming to champion their fellow women’s inclusion and active engagement within Ghana’s agricultural policy processes while amplifying their contributions to the sector’s growth and food security.
One of the significant outcomes of these efforts was the formation of the Ghana Association of Female Agricultural & Fish Farming Award Winners (GAFAFAW). This association, a collective decision by the women awardees, was established with funds raised by the women and stands as a testament to their commitment.
The FTF Ghana Policy LINK Activity is committed to helping selected women awardees at the National Farmers’ Day event for the next three years to achieve greater inclusion. Through this initiative, Policy LINK aims to facilitate and support these women leaders in agriculture to hone and leverage their leadership toward advancing women’s involvement and participation in the agriculture policy space to improve conditions in the sector for various vulnerable groups, including youth and persons with disabilities.