Tamale, July 10, GNA – The Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition (GTLC) has called on media practitioners to support the implementation of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in the agricultural sector.
Mr Ibrahim Akalbila, Coordinator of the GTLC, said the media’s role in ensuring gender equity in the distribution of agricultural resources was critical.
He said this at a two-day stakeholder’s engagement workshop organised by the GTLC in partnership with OXFAM in Ghana and SEND-GHANA in Tamale.
The event brought together key stakeholders in the agricultural sector and some selected journalists in the Tamale Metropolis.
Mr Akalbila said although the GRB implementation started in 2014, there was the need to ensure its effective and efficient implementation.
“We need to see a transformation in the way GRB is affecting the lives of citizens in our districts and communities,” he said.
He noted that for the GRB to be effective, policymakers needed to adopt gender-based situational analysis that would guarantee accurate data to guide planners on performance measurements that were responsive to the needs of the vulnerable in society.
Madam Abibah Musah, Kumbungu District Director, at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), said for the GRB to be realised, it was vital for the government and other key actors in the agricultural sector to ensure transparency and equitable distribution of government-subsidized agricultural products between the male and their female counterparts in the communities.
“There should not be discrimination on the basis of gender when it comes to the distribution of government-subsidized agricultural inputs, and that way women can also realise their potential in the sector,” she said.