Participants at the meeting

The Youth Development and Voice Initiative (YOVI), a Non-Gov­ernmental Organisation (NGO), has held a meeting to empower smallholder women aggregators and agro-processors in the maize, rice, groundnut, and shea value chains.

The two-day meeting, held in col­laboration with governmental bodies, industry experts, and civil society organisations, convened 120 women beneficiaries alongside key stakehold­ers and representatives from the Sa­gnarigu Municipal and Nanton District of the Northern Region.

This was contained in a YOVI state­ment signed by Mr Hussein Rahman, its Executive Director, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Tamale on Thursday.

The statement said, “The meeting, which was held on January 3-4, marks an important achievement as the fourth milestone since the inception of the Increasing Competitiveness of Smallholder Women Aggregators and Processors along the maize, rice, groundnut and Shea value chains for increased prosperity project in Octo­ber 2023.

The project, which is supported by the United States Agency for Interna­tional Development, (USAID) under the Ghana Trade and Investment Activity (GTIA) through the Nathan Associates, was being implemented in selected communities in the Sagnarigu Munici­pality and the Nanton District.

The statement said the prima­ry objective of the meeting was to strengthen networks between women in agricultural value chains and finan­cial service providers, input suppliers, reliable markets, and supporting gov­ernment institutions.

It said, “Key achievements from this meeting include commitments from government representatives to support women in agro-processing, emphasising gender equality and economic empow­erment.”

It said, “In addition, insights shared regarding product certification and quality standards by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) were highlighted as crucial for product credibility and consumer confidence.”

It said a significant milestone of the meeting was the registration of 20 par­ticipants, who expressed keen interest in formalising their small businesses.

The statement said representatives from restaurants and financial institu­tions pledged their support for col­laborative effort to create enhanced market access opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

It said YOVI remained committed to fostering growth and empowerment within the agricultural sector, aiming to provide continued support and plat­forms for the advancement of women in agro-processing.

—GNA