Stakeholders at a Regional Policy Dialogue on Gender and Smallholder Agriculture Development forum have appealed to the government to put high premium on women small scale farmers to enhance production and make Ghana food sufficient.

The stakeholders said reduced percentages interests on loans, allocation of specific percentages of subsidized fertilizers, acquiring of new farm lands and the sharing of state lands to women in agriculture were some of the interventions needed to boost food production.

The participants comprising women farmers, landlords, chief farmers, civil society organisations and agriculturists, said because it was difficult for women to obtain land, loans and tractor services, the government should facilitate the process, and implement the “Block Farming System” for women farmers.

Send-Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, which has been advocating and facilitating processes for increased use of for evidence-based approaches to agricultural policy development, priority setting and strategic planning in favour of women smallholder farmers, organised the forum in Wa.

The objective of the dialogue was to draw the attention of the government to specific challenges facing women farmers and the urgent need to address those constraints impeding women involvement in agricultural production.

The stakeholders called for increase in the number of agricultural extension agents and the sensitisation of men to support their women farmers and providing them with fertile lands.

Mr. Adamu Mukaila, Programme Officer of Send-Ghana, said to maximise the impact of agricultural interventions and programmes, it was important to recognise the different roles, needs and priorities of men and women farmers.

He said such recognition was crucial to appreciating the inequalities they faced and to ensure that those were reflected in agriculture related programming, policy formulation and implementation.