A women’s farmer group in Wooredaa, a suburb of Zanlerigu community in the Nabdam District of the Upper East, has called on non-governmental organisations, philanthropists, and individuals to help them expand their vegetable garden.
The group, numbering 113, said they have outgrown the capacity of the garden, which only accommodates 36 farmers, forcing them to run in shifts, which reduces productivity.
The women’s group is part of an irrigation project being implemented by NABOCADO with support from MISEREOR.
The project covers eighteen communities across the diocese and targets twelve communities for the provision of solar mechanised water systems for irrigated vegetable cultivation.
In an interview with A1 News, the leader of the group, Mrs. Modesta Azumah, said the group had secured land and needed support to fence it to enable them to cultivate their vegetables and provide more opportunities for women in the area to improve their livelihood.
“As women farmers, one of our major challenges now is getting our land fenced to expand production and accommodate more of us, and that is because it has to do with finance, which we are unable to do by ourselves,” she stated.
She noted that “the garden in its current capacity can only accommodate 36 farmers, and so what we do is that we farm in batches, such that 36 farmers are allowed to cultivate for three harvesting periods and make way for another batch, and this, I must say, is not yielding the desired results for us.”
“We are, by this medium, appealing to NGOs and well-meaning Ghanaians to come to our aid so that we can also, in our own way, farm to make vegetables available and affordable in our markets, which would greatly reduce the burden on all of us having to provide for our families,” she appealed.
The project aimed at empowering women and serving as an alternative source of livelihood for them to support their families.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Gilbert Azeem Tiroog|Ghana
