The Upper East Regional Women in Agriculture Platform has been launched in Bolgatanga to empower women in agriculture to effectively engage with stakeholders to help address their concerns.

The platform is made up of women drawn from the Bolgatanga, Bawku and Kassena- Nankana Municipal, Talensi, Nabdam, Bongo and the Bawku West Districts.

The formation of the platform forms part of the five-year Northern Ghana Governance Activity (NGGA) project being implemented in 28 districts in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

It is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ghana.

Speaking to the GNA at the launch, Mr Yussif Alabira Abubakari, the Regional Project Officer of the NGGA, said the platform was meant to give women a common voice to address their challenges in agriculture, such as access to credit facilities, farm inputs, packaging and marketing.

It would also serve as a rallying point for them to identify the challenges confronting them in the agriculture sector and map out advocacy programmes to draw the attention of duty bearers to become more responsive to their needs.

Mr Abubakari said the NGGA, which is being implemented with a Consortium of NGOs including CARE International Ghana, Action Aid Ghana, SEND Ghana and the West Africa Network for Peace-building (WANEP-Ghana), has among its goals to strengthen institutional capacity for effective coordination and integration of key actors in the decentralized process of agricultural development spanning from the regional to district level.

It is also to build an enabling environment for community organizations, CSOs and the private sector to participate as equal partners in decentralization and agricultural development, enhance women’s participation in local governance and increase access to agricultural information and opportunities.

Speaking on the topic, “The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Women Empowerment”, Miss Fati Abigail Abdulai, the Director of the Women and Orphans Movement, said there is the need to ensure that women are given the chance to actively participate in the decision- making process.

She called on CSOs and other employment institutions to give women equal opportunities as their male counterparts and appealed to women in privileged positions to work harder to retain the trust reposed in them

Naba Sigri Bewong, the Paramount Chief of the Sakoti Traditional area, said if women were given the needed support they could contribute more than what they were doing presently.

Those elected to steer the affairs of the platform are Madam Faustina Abagre, the Chairperson; Ms Hannah Bukari, the Vice Chairperson; Ms Gilberta Akuka, the Secretary; Ms Suzu Akurga, the Vice Secretary; Ms Charlotte Adiali, Treasurer; and Ms Stella Saaka, the Organizing Secretary.