By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
Accra, Sept. 5, GNA – Beneficiaries of the Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA) programme across West Africa have been engaged on findings of their various funded projects that tackle gender and environmental problems.
The programme, which has run for years and ended this year, has been funded by Global Green Grant Funds and rolled out through the consortium partnership called GAGGA.
It seeks to promote and support grassroots women organizations to advocate for women’s rights, tackle gender-related issues, injustices and advocate for safe environmental practices.
Dr Abdullah Darimani, Coordinator, West Africa Advisory Board, Global Green Grant Funds, said, participants who were largely women, were drawn from Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Mali and Burkina Faso, adding that the GAGGA programme had empowered them and achieved social inclusion.
He said a consultant was hired to evaluate the programme and bring out their findings for the participants to discuss and also give feedback. Such an initiative, he noted would guide similar programmes in the future.
“The participants volunteered information during the evaluation and we believe they are entitled to hear the findings. So in designing future programmes, we will take into account the feedback that they have provided,” Dr Darimani said.
He said the findings showed that the level of exclusion of women in development on the continent was high and more women were closer to nature than men could develop skills for managing environmental resources.
“There are minor differences too, for instance, there are nuances in terms of differences. In parts of Southern and Eastern Africa, land appeared to be vested in the States but access to land is still a major constraint for women across the continent,” Dr Darimani said.
The participants shared the problems they identified, the solutions they proffered and the impacts they made.
Madam Lucy Annor, Coordinator, Tano Women Empowerment and Development Association (TWEDA) and a beneficiary of the GAGGA programme, supported over 600 farmers in the preparation and adoption indigenous agrochemicals and reduced 50% of production cost.
“Communities have been sensitised on the overarching benefits of indigenous agrochemicals,” she said.
Mr John Adza, Director, The Africa Challenge, also a beneficiary of the programme, led local salt miners in the Keta Lagoon to retake their traditionally demarcated concessions of mining which had been taken from them.
“About 100 leaders of small scale salt producers were also educated on the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703). Women were empowered to demand for their rightful place in the salt sector,” he said.
GNA
Christian Akorlie