Agrihouse Foundation has launched its Women in Food and Agriculture Conference Expo (WOFAGRIC) and Gold in the Soil Awards.

The aim of WOFAGRIC is to provide a platform for women who have made great strides in Agric to network, share risk management tools that will help set operations up for future success, and to award women for outstanding contributions.

Addressing participants at the official launch of WOFAGRIC and Gold in the Soil Awards, the executive director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa said women produce about 80 per cent of the world’s food but are not acknowledged for their great contribution.

“Given the fact that Ghana’s population is made up of more women than men, it means that we have to empower women or else we will not be able to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets set as a country.

“In addressing issues of women in Agric as a country, we need to re-visit certain elements such as access to credit, and education or technical know-how as well as social and gender protection,” she said.

Ashanti Regional Agric Director, Rev John Manu, said the problems listed as facing women in the agricultural sector are the same as those facing the agriculture sector in general – which is an indication that the nation has to pay much more attention to the Agric sector.

He went further to state that President Nana Akufo-Addo has therefore prioritised the agriculture sector, as he sees it as the pivot of the economy.

“Government is putting in place measures to make available cheaper credit and machinery for women in agriculture who play key roles both on and off the farm.”

The role that women play in agriculture cannot be overemphasized; they form the backbone of rural economies in developing countries, he noted.