Smallholder women farmers in Ghana have one thing in common across all the ten regions: they have less access than men to productive resources and opportunities. Huge gender gap exists for many assets, inputs and services, including secured land, labour, education, extension services, financial services and technology and innovation. One key reason for this is that agricultural policies and programmes are simply not strategically targeting smallholder women farmers as has been established in previous research conducted by SEND-GHANA.
The existing gender gaps in agriculture in the country impose costs not only on women smallholder farmers, but on the agriculture sector and the broader economy. When women control additional income, they spend more of it than men do on food, health, clothing and education for their children. This has positive implications for immediate well-being, long-run human capital formation and economic growth through improved health, nutrition and education outcomes.
In Ghana, just as many countries in Sub Saharan Africa, women farmers are less likely than men to own land or livestock, adopt new technologies, use credit or other financial services, or receive education or extension services. In some cases, women do not even control the use of their own time. In many countries in the developing world, women receive only 5 per cent of extension services in with obvious crippling impact on women?s ability to lead empowered lives and achieve basic human rights. Currently women represent only 13% of the total Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs, 2,068) at post within the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Literature reviewed by such organization as Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Civil Society Coalition on Land (CICOL) and ActionAid Ghana confirms that women are just as efficient as men and would achieve the same yields if they had equal access to productive resources and services. Female farmers are just as efficient as male farmers but they produce less because they control less land, use fewer inputs and have less access to important services such as extension services.
Overcoming these kinds of gender inequalities can have powerful social and economic impacts. Food security interventions often focus on improving food production and food security at the community level and/or household level. However, even when targeted towards women producers, they frequently overlook intra-household gender dynamics. If women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20?30 percent
Overcoming these kinds of gender inequalities can have powerful social and economic impacts. Food security interventions often focus on improving food production and food security at the community level and/or household level. However, even when targeted towards women producers, they frequently overlook intra-household gender dynamics.
Source-SEND-GHANA
