By
Dennis Peprah, GNA
Kantro, (B/A), Jan. 27, GNA – Lack of access to
farmlands is affecting the
implementation of the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme in the
Sunyani West District.
The Ghana News
Agency (GNA) investigations revealed that about 90 per cent of the women
farmers in the area were settlers, making it difficult for them to access lands
to engage in large scale farming.
This, situation according
to the “Kantro Mmaa Nkabom Kuo”, a farmer based organisation in the
district was discouraging many of the PfFJs to continue with their farm work.
Currently, the women
farmers are engaged in a system they described as “Domenkye” where they agreed
with land owners, acquire farm lands and share proceeds with the owners.
“This
traditional system does not favour us because we do not get enough profits from
our farm business”, Madam Theresah Darpine, the Chairperson of the group
told the GNA.
She Darpine
advocated increased or equal access to farmlands for women and other vulnerable
groups in the District and called for reforms in the land administration system
to enable women farmers to access farmlands and expand their farming activities
to sustain the PfFs.
Mad. Darpine
commended the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) fund for supporting
her organisation to implement an advocacy project aimed at helping to remove
bottlenecks hindering their farm work.
The nine-month
project titled “Women access to farm lands and reduction of land owners
shares to farm produce” seeks to negotiate for the reduction of the land
owners’ share of farm produce from 33 per cent to 10 per cent under the
“Domenkye” system.
Dr Gabriel Benarkuu,
BUSAC service provider, underscored the need to support women farmers to also
access financial support to expand their farming activities.
He said BUSAC fund
had given 362 advocacy grants to various business groups and associations in
the country, and commended the fund for its efforts towards creating sound
environment for the private sector to thrive.
Mr Gilbert Sonpki,
the Sunyani West District Director of Agriculture, said the PfFJs had created
opportunities for farmers to expand their farming activities and advised those
who had not registered with the programme to do so.
Though, he could not
immediately give statistics, Mr Sonpki said more farmers developed interest and
registered with the PfFJs.
He advised the PfFJs
farmers to unite and form groups to access loans to expand their farms.
GNA