Socodevi, a Canadian non-governmental organisation (NGO), has organized a three-day inter-mentoring programme for women in the rice parboiling sector to share experiences and ideas to contribute to the development of their business networks.

The event, held in Tamale, was also to build the competencies of women to contribute to improve on their experiences in rice parboiling, cooperative development, leadership and management skills, and marketing and networking.

Women from different cooperatives in the Northern, North East and Upper East regions as well as their counterparts in Bama Province in Burkina Faso, who joined via zoom, benefited from the programme.

They included BBN (Bolgatanga, Bawku, and Navrongo) Cooperative, Kanshegu Suglo Malinyori Women Cooperative Rice and Shea Butter Processing and Marketing Society Ltd, Tiyumba Women Rice Processing Center, Kasalgu Nyebu bi yoona Rice Processors Cooperative Society Ltd.

Others were Jana Maltiti Cooperative Rice and Sheabutter Processing and Marketing Society Ltd and Janjori Kukuo Boriti Nyuriya Cooperative Rice Processing and Marketing Society Ltd as well as Tamanaa Company Ltd.

The programme was part of a project dubbed: 'PROCED', a five-year Inclusive and Sustainable Model Cooperative Development Programme that aims at improving the livelihoods of households, and implemented by the NGO in three African countries, including Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia.

In Ghana, the PROCED is targeted at empowering women in economic decision-making, and also enhance the sustainability of those into rice production by processing paddy rice into parboiled rice and bagging the product for marketing.

Ms Beatrice Esses, PROCED Project Coordinator, said the training was part of Socodevi's advanced leadership and management programme, that targets building women as agents of change.

She said it was for participants to share experiences between women in cooperatives as leaders, to consolidate their involvement in the rice parboiling value chain.

"We brought these women from different cooperatives together so they can share experiences and ideas, and learn from each other on how they can sustain their rice parboiling business as well as improve on their leadership skills", she noted.

Ms Esses encouraged them to take advantage of the knowledge they had acquired from the programme, and expand their expertise in the rice parboiling sector to help improve on their livelihoods.

Madam Anumbia Mercy, a member of BBN Cooperative and a beneficiary of the programme, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency on the side lines, said she had learnt a lot from other participants, and the knowledge gained would help her to manage her rice processing business and develop the co-operative.

Hajia Meri Iddrisu, Leader of Tiyumba Women Rice Processing Center, commended the organisers and said "This programme was timely, because we have now been enlightened on modern methods of rice parboiling, how to grow our business, build networks and how to manage good customer relations".

"I believe this will go a long way to help us generate more income to support our families", she added.

Ms Loretta Baidoo, Socodevi Field Schools Coordinator for the PROCED Project, who facilitated the session, took participants through modern Rice parboiling processes, leadership and management skills, governance and operations, access to credit facilities, decision making skills, among other topics.