Women in rural communities still ‘landless’despite push for gender equality

Some customs and traditions have prevented hundreds of women from owning lands in some rural communities in the northern part of Ghana. Majority of these women are into agriculture but they do not own any farm land.

At Ligma, a rural community in Savelugu Municipal Assembly in the Northern Region land ownership is one of the biggest barriers where women still cannot legally own or control land.

Even though some of these women have farms and make decisions on ploughing and planting, their husbands have the final say on when and how the final harvest is going to be shared or sold.

Base on this cultural practice, women from various communities come together to work as a group on a piece of land close to a dam.

This type of farming known to them as Contract Farming, where they work on small portion of farm to make money. These women are not only bold enough to start a business venture on their own and support other women on their farms, but they reap a good harvest after planting vegetables.

To them, agriculture is not only a means of trade and a source of livelihood, but is fundamentally associated with their culture. In the hope of making money from their farmlands, some farm owners will be keen on giving some part of their land on a contract basis, while working on other farmlands.

Madam Safiatu Yakubu, a contract farmer, says the practice helps her get more income while taking care of hers.

“I usually get GH¢ 15.00 a day which support me take care of my children in school as well as buy other ingredients to prepare food for my family,” she said.

Madam Dora Haborsutei Torwiseh, Founder of Women for Change, a Non-governmental organisation (NGO) base in Tamale in an interview said, “giving females access to the same resources and education as males could increase food production in the country.

She pleaded with chiefs and traditional leaders to allow female farmers to owe land in order to expand their farming that could provide reliable source of income.

“Without adequate funds for capital investments, female farmers not likely to buy and use fertilizer, drought-resistant seeds, and other advanced farming tools and techniques that increase crop yield,” she said.

Madam Dora again said, when these women are supported it would create steady income opportunities for rural women who are struggling to support their families in the Northern Region of Ghana.

From Geoffrey Buta, Ligma