By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, March 14, GNA – Dr Afua Ansare, UN Women Ghana has expressed the need to expand digital literacy programmes to ensure that women and young farmers are equipped to harness the power of agritech tools to boost productivity, improve market access, and manage their businesses effectively.
She said policies must be intentionally gender-responsive, dismantling bureaucratic obstacles that hindered women and youth from accessing finance, markets, and land ownership.
Dr Ansare was speaking at the maiden edition of AgriBiz Youth & Women Dialogue (AYWD) on the theme: “Sustaining & Scaling Youth and Women-led Agribusiness for Economic Growth.”
The AYWD, an initiative of Africa Skills Hub Foundation (ASH) in partnership with National Youth Authority, is a platform for young people and women in agriculture and agribusiness to share experiences, tackle challenges, and explore opportunities.
This dialogue seeks to increase their voices, promote collaboration, and advocate for policies that enhance their participation in the sector.
The event was to identify key challenges young people and women face in agribusiness, and propose actionable solutions and explore emerging agribusiness opportunities, including innovative financing and technology.
It was also to advocate for policies that enhance inclusivity (youth and women) in agribusiness and facilitate networking to foster partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders.
She said learning from successful examples like Kenya’s gender-sensitive agricultural subsidies, Ghana must implement similar policies to level the playing field and empower women farmers.
Globally, women comprise nearly 50 per cent of the agricultural labour force, yet they control less than 20 per cent of agricultural land.
She said the disparity was not just unfair; it was economically unsound.
Dr Ansare said in Ghana, women contributed an estimated 70 per cent to food production, yet they received a mere 10 per cent of available credit and own only 3 per cent of registered land titles.
“These figures paint a stark picture of systemic inequity,” she added.
She said in Africa alone, achieving gender equality in agribusiness could unlock an additional $318 billion in economic value annually.
She said when “we invest in women, we invest in food security, job creation, economic growth, and a more equitable society for all.”
Mr Daniel Antwi, Executive Director, Africa Skills Hub, said the event was not just a conversation but a defining moment.
He said it was a moment to reimagine agribusiness as a driver of economic transformation, advocate for bold innovations, and reflect on positioning women and youth as the future of Ghana’s agribusiness sector.
He said since the inception in 2016, the Foundation as an organization was passionately dedicated to empowering women and youth through skills development, fostering entrepreneurship, and promoting economic inclusion.
The Executive Director said the support was being guided by the capacity building, capital, community access and conversations.
“We are proud to indicate today that we have been able to empower youth and women through our targeted innovative initiatives like the Agrifood Enterprise Program (AFEP), ASH Micro-Credit and the District Skills and Entrepreneurship Roadshow – in partnership with the NYA,” he added.
He said the District Skills and Entrepreneurship Development Programme had trained over 10,000 participants, equipping women, youth, and MSMEs across 200 districts.
He said they were equipped with vital skills in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, sustainable agribusiness management, Climate-smart agriculture techniques, strategic market integration, and social media marketing, strengthening their capacity to create sustainably thriving enterprises.
Mr George Opare-Addo, Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, commended the Management of the Foundation for initiating the conversation.
He assured the young people of the government’s support in their development, adding that the President acknowledged the challenges confronting the young people.
The Minister said in the coming months, the Ministry would launch a platform, where various Ministries and MDAs would put their information to enable young people to access them.
GNA