Women farmers in Afram Plains benefit from loan

By Adams Okae, GNA
Tease (E/R), May 14, GNA - The Presbyterian Relief Service and Development(PRSD), in collaboration with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa(OSIWA) a US donor agency based in Senegal, have granted GH¢225,000.00 loan facility to 450 women farmers.

The beneficiaries who are in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District would be able to support their agricultural economic empowerment.

The loan is part of a 95,000 US Dollars OSIWA support to the PRSD to revamp the Tease Agriculture Project, which was closed down in 1994 due to management and financial challenges.

The 18 women peasant farmers group, which consist of 25 members in each group have received GH¢C500.00 each this farming season to support their farming activities to grow crops like maize, cowpea, cassava, citrus, ground nuts, vegetables as well as poultry and livestock rearing.

The Coordinator of PRSD, Mr Emmanuel Nyarku Ankamah made this known at a stakeholder's consultation meeting on the Tease Agriculture Project at Tease.

He said the project is being implemented in partnership with the District Assembly, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the District Health Service, the Ghana Federation for the Disabled and the Presbyterian Health Service.

Mr Ankama explained that the project seeks to create opportunities for the women to learn how to participate in socio-economic reconstruction and poverty reduction in the communities as future farming in the country would depends on attracting the talented youth and women to pursue agriculture as a professional vocation.

He said in absence of access to training and technology, many women view farming as a non- lucrative occupation and instead pursue none existing jobs in the urban areas.

She advised the women farmers to take advantage of the programme to learn crop and livestock production techniques to increase their yield and incomes.

Addressing the women farmers and other stakeholders , the Acting Dean of school of Business and Economics at the Presbyterian University College, Dr John Adu Kumi said, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in partnership with the Presbyterian Church in the US established the Tease Agriculture Project in 1985 under the supervision of the Christian Service Committee of the Christian Council of Ghana, with the objective of establishing agriculture advisory and extension services in crop and livestock production subsectors for farmers.

He said unfortunately, the project was closed down until 2014 when the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church tasked the National Agriculture Coordinator to work towards revamping the project and immediately formed the Agriculture Services Committee to carry out an appraisal of the project.

Dr Kumi said, the church has acquired large tract of land at Tease, Mmradan, Odumase, Bokruwa, Dedeso and Samnhyia and with the support of donor fund and good management, large scale crop and livestock farming would be established in the area.

He said crops like maize, cassava, yam, plantain, cocoyam, oil palm, citrus and other fruits and vegetable as well as animal husbandry could be possible on the vast arable land acquired by the church.

He urged the district, Presbytery and the General Assembly of the Church to take active interest in the project.

GNA