Three women in Ghana’s agriculture value chain have been awarded by Guzakuza with the support from GIZ to highlight the achievements of exceptional women in the agribusiness industry who have risen above the limit in contributing to the development of agriculture and food security.
Women form the greater percentage in Ghana’s agriculture sector but little acknowledgement is giving to them, however, it is worthwhile to appreciate their effort by awarding them, therefore, GIZ Women in Agribusiness Awards.
At the awarding ceremony, the Project Lead of Guzakuza, Fortune Kyei in an address said the award scheme does not only celebrate the role of women in agriculture but it also aims at making women thrive through market linkage and mentoring programmes.
‘We want women to see agribusiness as an important tool that can change the lives of people and help address economic and social challenges. There is an important agriculture value chain that can help increase job creation. We believe that by awarding women in this sector, it will encourage others to explore the opportunities that are available”, she said.
She added that Guzakuza is poised to assist and acknowledge women in the agribusiness and call on all stakeholders in the value chain to assist in encouraging the women to produce good, healthy and safe food for the nation.
Delivering an address on behalf of the Country Director of GIZ, Detlev Axel Jahn, the Head of Programmes at GIZ said though Ghana should be commended for addressing and reducing gender inequalities, sustainable development cannot be realized if inequalities in the agric sector are not adequately addressed.
“Apart from structural disadvantages like access to finance, land, markets and business management skills, women often have lower confidence level in their abilities as entrepreneurs than their male counterparts, their networks tend to be smaller and less-diverse than men and they are less likely to seek the support of or use their social networks for business growth”, he mentioned.
He commended Guzakuza for their role in supporting women in the sector and pledged the organization’s preparedness to work with them to achieve their shared values.
The award winners lauded Guzakuza for recognizing their effort in the sector and pledged to work hard to contribute their quota for the development of the nation.
The awardees are; Juliana Asante-Dartey, the Executive Director of Agri-Impact Consult, Role Model Excellence Award, whereas Priscilla Nkrumah, the CEO of Achiepee Farms, in Kumasi won the Sustainable Green Innovation Award and Edith Akosah Wheatland, CEO of Rockland Farms and Eco Feeding in Ejura won the ‘Dare to Defy Award.
Guzakuza, founded in 2015 has supported 131 young women from 16 African countries with virtual and residential training, coaching, mentorship, internship, field visit, ready market for the women.
The Organization has over the years developed an ecosystem for women in agribusiness, inspiring them to be profitable, achieve sustainable growth and build resilience agribusiness in Africa with groundbreaking ideas to continuously raise entrepreneurs.
In 2015, Guzakuza came about during a concept transformation session in kanthari, India. It was derived from two Swahili words, Guza which means (touch) and kuza (grow).
It has over the years created thought provoking workshops by some of the continent’s finest business coaches and facilitators.
Guzakuza, is touching lives by growing women Agripreneurs, growing new generation of graduate and wealthy farmers and growing healthy organic foods. Using Agriculture and entrepreneurship to create mindset change in the society.
Guzakuza highlights the fact that the agricultural sector is not only about tilling the soil or rearing of livestock but all the processes from the farm to the table (growing, processing, technology, packaging, branding, marketing, transportation, distribution etc)
Source: agrictoday.com.gh
