A GNA Feature by Jerry Azanduna
Tanoso, (Bono East) Oct. 17, GNA-Millions of rural women in Ghana rise before dawn to till lands, plant and produce crops to feed the nation.
As the nation joins the rest of the world to mark the 2026 celebration of the International Day of Rural Women, more efforts ought to be made to address the plight of the rural women.
Observed globally every October 15, the United Nations General Assembly in 2007 (Resolution 62/136), instituted the Day.
It is celebrated to recognize the critical role and contribution of rural and indigenous women in enhancing agricultural development, improving food security, conserving biodiversity, and eradicating rural poverty.
For centuries, rural women in Ghana continue working tirelessly to feed the nation and their roles and immeasurable contributions towards advancing national food security and sovereignty ought to be well recognised and appreciated.
In fact, appreciating the critical role and contribution of rural women, like indigenous women, in enhancing agriculture remained prerequisite in building a prosperous nation.
As the world marks the Day, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) puts a spotlight on Maame Akua Nsiah a farmer at Tanoso in the Techiman South Municipality of the Bono East Region.
Her experience
According to Maame Nsiah, 63 years old, she woke up every morning, swept her compound and before leaving for the farm.
She said she had owned a farm for more than 43 years though she dreamt of becoming a ‘shuttle’ trader while growing up in the community.
However, her dream of becoming a trader was not realized following the death of her parents.
Being the last born of six children, Maame Nsiah said she grew up under the care of her auntie, who was also a peasant farmer.
Her auntie introduced her to ancient methods of agriculture at a tender age and she suddenly developed the interest and went to farming which had sustained her family for decades now.
Marital Life
Maame Nsiah said she got married to Opanin Kwame Nsiah and brought up all seven children through the farm work.
However, because of her meagre income from the farming activities, she could not offer tertiary education to her children, although that was her dream.
She said only two of her children were able to complete secondary cycle education.
Challenges
Maame Nsiah admitted that farming comes with countless challenges, however she had not regretted engaging in the venture as a life career.
She said many rural farmers in the area, like her, required government support to expand their economic activities and to fend for themselves and their families.
Gov’t intervention
According to her, the government ought to monitor the implementation of its intervention in the agriculture sector like the Feed Ghana Programme.
Describing the components of the Feed Ghana as laudable, Maame Nsiah alleged that the execution of the programme and others did not reach out and to benefit many smallholder-rural women farmers.
She believed that with effective monitoring, the government’s agriculture programmes would impact positively on the lives of the rural women.
Her achievement
After farming for more than four decades, Maame Nsiah said she could only pride herself with an uncompleted and abandoned three-bedroom house project.
She said she abandoned and could not continue with and complete the house project because of her inability to recover investments she made into her farm in the last two crop seasons.
Her hope now is who to help her to complete her house.
Conclusion
Daily, more than 90 percent of rural or indigenous women are found working tirelessly in their farms to feed their families and the nation.
Yet, many rural women farmers in the country barely get a taste of basic comfort of life.
As the nation celebrates the International Day of Rural Women it is imperative to reflect on Maame Nsiah’s life story.
Her account serves as a reminder for the nation to do more to empower rural women farmers for them to live a more dignified life.
Undoubtedly, empowering rural women farmers is not just a lip service or political gimmick, but a moral obligation.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/Kenneth Odeng Adade
Writer: Jerry Azanduna