Held on Sunday, the forum aims to foster inclusive and en­gaging discussions among various stakeholders, particularly Mem­bers of Parliament, to address the challenges faced by rural women in the agricultural sector and promote gender-responsive legislation, policies, and invest­ment plans.

Agriculture and agricultural in­vestments are considered crucial for addressing poverty, food secu­rity, nutrition, gender equality, and women’s empowerment in Africa and has attracted high-level policy commitments and investments towards gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Irrespective of this commit­ment, there is a significant gap in translating these efforts into tangible development outcomes for rural women and their com­munities; a gap which hampers the achievement of the Sustain­able Development Goals and the goals of the ECOWAS Regional Agricultural Investment Plan for food security and nutrition (RAIPFSN).
    

Evidently, in Ghana, women account for 50 per cent of the agricultural labour force and pro­duce nearly 70 per cent of food crops but significant gender and social inequalities persist, particu­larly among rural women.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator for Ghana, Charles Abani, said in order for gender equality and women’s empower­ment to drive Ghana’s economic growth, it is essential to enhance the capabilities of key stake­holders, including the legislative branch of the government.

“This entails adopting trans­formative strategies and bringing about a comprehensive transfor­mation of existing structures such as discriminatory social norms, customs, values, and exclusionary practices, as well as laws, policies, procedures, and services,” he added.

This platform, the FAO Repre­sentative in Ghana, Yurdi Yasmi, said has been designed to equip the stakeholders on the subject matter for the benefit of the greater population.

“By learning from the expe­riences and knowledge shared at this event, parliamentarians will be better equipped to design gender-responsive legislation, policies, and investment plans to build on Ghana’s successes so far,” he said.

It is the expectation of the organisers that the policy dialogue would address the challenges and barriers faced by women in the food system, such as limited access to resources, gender-based discrimination, and unequal op­portunities.

The FAO recognises that gen­der equality and women’s empow­erment are essential components of achieving food security and promoting sustainable develop­ment and that by facilitating the dialogue, the awareness, promote policy changes, would be en­hanced to encourage concrete actions that support women’s meaningful participation and leadership in the agricultural sector.