Rural Women Day: ActionAid Ghana call on Government to establish a national fund for effective preparedness and response to climate related disasters.

The International Day of Rural Women presents an opportunity for the people of Ghana and the international community to reflect on the contribution of rural women in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating poverty globally. The theme for this year, “Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All”, puts spotlight on the essential role these rural women and girls play in the food system – from production, to processing, consumption, and distribution of food.  

In Ghana, the cereal production sub-sector employs more women than men, especially in the middle and northern belts of the country. This notwithstanding, factors such as climate change and violence against women (VAW) have served as major impediments against the full realization of the contribution of women to the agricultural sector.

John Nkaw, Interim Country Director said “Despite the key role women play in the agricultural sector, persistent violence such as domestic and sexual violence, child and forced marriages, Unpaid Care Work, especially in deprived and marginalised communities have contributed to the relegation and exclusion of women from decision-making and positions of influence in the agricultural sector. These and other political and socio-cultural factors have affected the political participation of women, especially in the Agricultural sector in Ghana”.

“The agricultural sector of Ghana remains vibrant, yet major constraints of the sector include food production, finance and investments. The challenges in production include low and declining soil fertility, an aging farming population and low mechanization, particularly related to irrigation. Other factors include lack of post- harvest handling and storage infrastructure, transportation and transaction cost. These challenges sometimes create inter-seasonal prices which negatively affect the economic wellbeing of people, especially smallholder farmers”.

Although International Food Policy Research Institute has projected an increase in food prices in the near future, the devastating impact of climate change will exacerbate the situation with a projected increase of prices by 153 per cent for food staple such as maize.

The degree to which people are affected by the impact of climate change is partly a function of their social status, gender, poverty, power and access to control over resources. Smallholder women farmers who contribute substantially to food security are usually the hardest hit when drought and other unfavorable environmental conditions destroy farmlands.

It is, therefore, imperative to implement resilient agricultural practices that will help in maintaining Ghana’s ecosystems and strengthen the capacity for adaptation to climate change to combat extreme weather patterns, drought, floods and disaster, especially for people living poverty and vulnerable groups.

ActionAid Ghana is calling on the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to promote women friendly national climate adaptation plans and incorporate climate change issues into their budgets to ensure funding streams are created for projects targeted at improving smallholder farmers awareness and adaptation to climate change.

We also call for strengthened partnerships between government agencies and civil society to scale up gender-responsive agroecology, an alternative to industrial agriculture that benefits women small-scale farmers, supports food security and protects biodiversity and ecosystems.

Mr. Nkaw continued that “considering that Ghana is at the forefront of climatic events which are costing lives and property almost on annual basis, we call on the government through the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, to take steps to establish a national fund that will draw financial resources from local and external sources for effective preparedness and response to climate related disasters.

In addition, with Ghana’s president serving as the chairman of ECOWAS and Co-Chair of the Eminent Group of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Advocates, our country should lead in rallying other African countries to make a joint and strong call for the establishment of a dedicated international climate fund for responding to loss and damage caused by perennial climate events in developing countries. This dedicated international fund should also support vulnerable countries' resilience building initiatives to reduce vulnerability to climatic events.

The International Day of Rural Women presents an opportunity for the people of Ghana and the international community to reflect on the contribution of rural women in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating poverty globally. The theme for this year, “Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All”, puts spotlight on the essential role these rural women and girls play in the food system – from production, to processing, consumption, and distribution of food.  

In Ghana, the cereal production sub-sector employs more women than men, especially in the middle and northern belts of the country. This notwithstanding, factors such as climate change and violence against women (VAW) have served as major impediments against the full realization of the contribution of women to the agricultural sector.

John Nkaw, Interim Country Director said “Despite the key role women play in the agricultural sector, persistent violence such as domestic and sexual violence, child and forced marriages, Unpaid Care Work, especially in deprived and marginalised communities have contributed to the relegation and exclusion of women from decision-making and positions of influence in the agricultural sector. These and other political and socio-cultural factors have affected the political participation of women, especially in the Agricultural sector in Ghana”.

“The agricultural sector of Ghana remains vibrant, yet major constraints of the sector include food production, finance and investments. The challenges in production include low and declining soil fertility, an aging farming population and low mechanization, particularly related to irrigation. Other factors include lack of post- harvest handling and storage infrastructure, transportation and transaction cost. These challenges sometimes create inter-seasonal prices which negatively affect the economic wellbeing of people, especially smallholder farmers”.

Although International Food Policy Research Institute has projected an increase in food prices in the near future, the devastating impact of climate change will exacerbate the situation with a projected increase of prices by 153 per cent for food staple such as maize.

The degree to which people are affected by the impact of climate change is partly a function of their social status, gender, poverty, power and access to control over resources. Smallholder women farmers who contribute substantially to food security are usually the hardest hit when drought and other unfavorable environmental conditions destroy farmlands.

It is, therefore, imperative to implement resilient agricultural practices that will help in maintaining Ghana’s ecosystems and strengthen the capacity for adaptation to climate change to combat extreme weather patterns, drought, floods and disaster, especially for people living poverty and vulnerable groups.

ActionAid Ghana is calling on the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to promote women friendly national climate adaptation plans and incorporate climate change issues into their budgets to ensure funding streams are created for projects targeted at improving smallholder farmers awareness and adaptation to climate change.

We also call for strengthened partnerships between government agencies and civil society to scale up gender-responsive agroecology, an alternative to industrial agriculture that benefits women small-scale farmers, supports food security and protects biodiversity and ecosystems.

Mr. Nkaw continued that “considering that Ghana is at the forefront of climatic events which are costing lives and property almost on annual basis, we call on the government through the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, to take steps to establish a national fund that will draw financial resources from local and external sources for effective preparedness and response to climate related disasters.

In addition, with Ghana’s president serving as the chairman of ECOWAS and Co-Chair of the Eminent Group of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Advocates, our country should lead in rallying other African countries to make a joint and strong call for the establishment of a dedicated international climate fund for responding to loss and damage caused by perennial climate events in developing countries. This dedicated international fund should also support vulnerable countries' resilience building initiatives to reduce vulnerability to climatic events.