A 52-year- old farmer in Kumbungu, in the Kumbungu District, Madam Sanatu Mahama has appealed to the government to as a matter of urgency increase the security of women farmers in the area.
This, she said would enable the farmers to go about their farming activities without any fear of attack by Fulani herdsmen.
“One key concern we have as women is the fear of going to the farms alone these days,” she said.
Madam Sanatu said apart from destroying crops the herdsmen also sexually attack women, describing the situation as appalling, which needs the immediate attention of government and the local authorities.
Madam Sanatu was speaking during a day’s smallholder agriculture policy dialogue session in Kumbungu in the Northern Region, organised by SIFA Agro Trade and funded by the USAID Agriculture Policy Support Project.
The policy session brought together 51 farm based organisations leaders, local government officials and the Member of Parliament (MP), Amadu Moses Yahaya. The programme aimed at supporting smallholder farmers in the area to feed their inputs into the national Agriculture Policy Framework.
Madam Sanatu said some Fulani herdsmen are threatening women in the area, and is affecting their output.
“Women are afraid to stay longer in the farms, which their male counterparts do not experience that. This situation has dire consequence on the output of women in the district,” she said.
Madam Sanatu also described the current staff strength of the District’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture office as completely inadequate to meet the increasing demands of extension services required by farmers in the area.
“Our area’s food security improvement hinges on good informed farmers, which we can get through education by agricultural extension officers, and we do not have enough.”
Source: GhanaWeb
