Economic Empowerment
Two regional groups, Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) and the West African Producers and Traders Organization (ROPPA) have jointly launched a five-year agriculture project for Liberian women farmers. The project known as, "Women and Farmers against Poverty in West Africa," aims to boost the participation of women in the country's agriculture sector.
The launch of the project now qualifies Liberia to join the rest of the West African countries, including Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal Togo and Guinea to benefit from regional programs that would address the welfare of women farmers.
The project is an initiative funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The project would be implemented by the Association of Female Layers of Liberia (AFELL) and the Farmers Union Network (FUN), an umbrella organization of rural and urban groupings in Liberia.
The launch of the project was followed by five-day training for rural and urban women farmers in Suakoko, Bong County.
A statement quotes the groups as saying the project seeks to provide training workshops for 160 women farmer organizations on women's human rights regarding their involvement in various agriculture programs in the country.
Speaking at the close of the five-day training to climax the launch of the project, the Vice President of the Farmers Union Network, Rev. Robert S.M. Bimba, commended WilDAF and ROPPA for seeing the need to empower African women.
Rev. Bimba said the project would enhance the advocacy strength of women on access to land ownership, credit, technology and other needed resources.
He indicated that the launch of the project would further help to engender agricultural and food policies in the targeted countries to better the response of women's needs and interests.
Rev. Bimba assured that the Farmers Union Network in collaboration with AFELL would do everything possible to train women farmers in the country to know their rights on inheritance law regarding access to land.
The Farmer Union Vice President believes when women are educated they can contribute to the reduction of poverty in the country.
According to him, it was now time women farmers organize and act in order to benefit from their economic, social and political rights on an equal basis with men.
Rev. Bimba said the 40 women trained during the five-day training would serve as community ambassadors for change of minds on women farmers' welfare in agricultural program.