On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, the Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Madam Lariba Zuweira Abudu, in the company of the Chief Director, Dr. Afisah Zakariah, and the Director for the Department of Gender, Madam Faustina Acheampong, participated in the ‘Women in Agribusiness Summit 2023,” hosted by the ‘USAID-supported Feed the Future’.
The summit was under the theme: “Empowering Women in Agriculture through Enhanced Access to Finance”.
Among other things, the primary goals of the Women in Agribusiness Summit are to; highlight the contribution of women in Ghana’s agricultural sector. and showcase viable investment opportunities in agribusiness led by women.
Speaking at the summit, Madam Lariba intimated that empowering women in agribusiness with knowledge, technology and access to finance will enable them to participate in household and community decision-making and effectively contribute their quota to the national development.
According to her, the Government of Ghana deeply understands the importance of agriculture to Ghana’s economy and has therefore launched several flagship programs to provide support and resources to improve farming and agribusiness. Some of these programs she said include Planting for Food and Jobs, and Youth in Agriculture among others.
Madam Lariba called on the private sector, particularly financial institutions, to join the government’s efforts in supporting women in agribusiness, and pledged the Ministry’s preparedness to partner ‘USAID-supported Feed Future Ghana’ activity to ensure the effective participation of women in agribusiness.
The Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture (MFA) Activity is a USAID-supported activity that will improve access to finance farmers and agribusiness in Ghana.
The activity enables transaction advisors to support agribusiness to secure loans and investments.
The MFA also assist diverse financial institutions to expand financing of farmers and agribusiness.