The Savannah Regional House of Chiefs in a meeting of the House held on Wednesday 24th July 2024 adopted a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Regional House of Chiefs and the Regional Department of Gender to ensure that women in the Savannah Region have predictable and uninterrupted access to fertile land for agriculture.
The adoption and signing of the MoU was facilitated by MEDA’s Greater Rural Opportunities for Women 2 (GROW2) project funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
The GROW2 project is a five year project which aims at supporting 40,000 smallholder women farmers, 5,000 entrepreneurs and 50 agribusiness at least 50% women led in soybean, groundnut and vegetable value chain of northern Ghana by fostering an improved business environment, increased application of climate-smart and nutrition focused agricultural practices and enhance gender equality.
Addressing the members of the Regional House of Chiefs, Mr. Francis Essuman who is the Country Project Manager for MEDA’s GROW2 project said the project is being implemented by Mennonite Economic Development Associates in partnership with ACDEP, TUDRIDEP, PRONET NORTH, and URBANET and that the project is being implemented in Northern, Savannah and Upper West Regions.
According to Mr Essuman, within two years of actual implementation, the project has reached 52,612 women smallholder farmers in 27 districts to access finance, technology services including output market, capacity building, GESI and nutrition interventions among others.
Mr Francis Essuman also added that a total number of 60 agribusinesses with 55% of them being women have been enrolled and more than 12 agriculture technology service providers have been enrolled unto the project.
Mr. Essuman further revealed that in the Savannah Region, a total of 8,928 persons have benefited from the project including 1,016 persons having access to credit worth GHC 871,400.00
According to him, MEDA and its partners are able to achieve these with the support of traditional authorities and other development partners.
Mr Essuman said there is no doubt that the support of traditional authorities including sustained access to productive land will boost agriculture production which will contribute to improve food security and nutrition in the Savannah Region and Ghana as a whole.
The President of the Savannah Regional House of Chiefs HRM Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto Jewu Soale (I) whose speech was read on his behalf by the Registrar of the house said efforts and collaboration to uplift the esteem House and development of livelihoods with the GROW2 project, is highly commended with passionate gratitude and appreciation.
The Yagbonwura expressed gratitude to MEDA and other collaborators and that the purpose of the meeting is to assist women to access lands for Agricultural purposes.
Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto therefore called on the House to give ample support to the GROW2 project to benefit women and people of Savannah Region.
The Yagbonwura added that to achieve success in the GROW2 project, peace plays a pivotal role to anchor the dream that they are setting and urged all the members of the house to become perfect hunters to hunt for peace in the Savannah Region.
