By Solomon Gumah, GNA
Tamale, Nov. 13, GNA – The Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA-Ghana) has empowered a total of 500 women leaders in the agribusiness space in the areas of advocacy, negotiation, and leadership in the Northern Region.
This formed part of the implementation of the “Strengthening Women’s Voice and Leadership in Agricultural Policy and Economic Justice in Northern Ghana” project.
The project, implemented across five districts in the Northern Region including Savelugu, Nanton, Mion, Tolon, and Kumbungu with funding support from the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), was aimed at promoting women’s active participation in agricultural policy processes and advance gender-responsive economic justice in the agricultural sector.
Hajia Alima Sagito-Saeed, Executive Director of SWIDA-Ghana, speaking at a Regional Stakeholders and Beneficiaries’ forum in Tamale to mark the close of the project, said it had significantly improved women’s leadership and advocacy capacities, strengthening their voices in agricultural policy discussions.
She said “This forum offers us an opportunity to celebrate the achievements made under the project and to collectively chart a way forward for sustaining the gains. Women are the backbone of agriculture in Northern Ghana, and it is crucial that their voices are heard and represented in all agricultural decision-making spaces.”
Under the project, SWIDA-Ghana has facilitated the establishment of 20 new women-led agribusiness initiatives in soybeans, vegetable, and shea cultivation and has also supported the formation of 15 village savings and loans associations, which have collectively saved GHc350,000.00.
Additionally, 300 women were trained in financial literacy and digital record keeping while partnerships with financial institutions were strengthened to enhance women’s access to credit and farm inputs.
The project also fostered accountability between communities and local authorities and secured the endorsement of 12 traditional leaders for women’s participation in policy and leadership spaces.
Hajia Sagito-Saeed, added that the project’s interventions had enhanced women’s confidence to engage policymakers and promoted inclusive growth within the agricultural sector.
Madam Bintu Abdulai, a beneficiary from Naapagyili in the Kumbungu District, testified that before SWIDA-Ghana’s intervention, most women farmers were unaware of the availability of agricultural extension services.
She said, “As women farmers, we did not know that government, through the Department of Agriculture, had made extension services available to support us. But with SWIDA-Ghana’s help, agricultural officers are now our partners for sustainable farming.”
She added that the project had deepened their understanding of agribusiness, nutrition, and household management, enabling them to better support their families and communities.
Madam Salatu Abubakar, Northern Regional Women in Agriculture Officer at the Department of Agriculture, commended SWIDA-Ghana for championing women’s inclusion in agriculture noting that empowering women enhanced food security and economic development.
She said, “When women are empowered with knowledge and access to extension services, they not only improve productivity but also contribute meaningfully to household income and nutrition.”
Madam Fuseina Asabigi, Cooperative Officer at the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, urged women farmer groups to formalize their cooperatives to qualify for government and donor support programmes.
The forum, which brought together government officials, civil society actors, women-led organizations, and development partners, featured presentations, experience-sharing, and group reflections culminating in recommendations for sustaining women’s leadership and empowerment in agriculture.
GNA
Edited by Eric K. Amoh/Linda Asante Agyei