The High Commissioner of Canada to Ghana and Sierra Leone, H.E. Kati Csaba, has lauded Agrihouse Foundation for its Women in Food and Agriculture Leadership Training Forum (WOFAGRIC) and Gold in the Soil Awards initiative.
She also lauded the forty-five (45) women farmers who have been nominated and documented for this year’s Gold in the Soil Awards and extended a special acknowledgment to the other seventeen (17) women farmers with disabilities who will be receiving Honorary Awards in the 4th edition.
“I want to commend these impressive women for showing that living with a disability does not hold them back from achieving their full potential. They have taken their destiny into their own hands and have excelled in their farming activities”, she said.
H.E. Csaba stated this in a press statement issued and copied to the IGOGHANA ahead of this year’s event.
Touching on the theme for this year’s event, “AGRIWOMAN: RECOVER- GROW- STAND OUT,” she said Canada was looking forward to an event that would empower the women farmers to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and grow to become more resilient to future shocks.
“I would love to see agribusinesses led by Ghanaian women exporting their products beyond the shores of Ghana and earning higher incomes”, she added.
She divulged that through the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), Global Affairs Canada was continuously empowering women and girls to promote peace, equity, and social justice.
She added that reducing global poverty and vulnerabilities was at the heart of the efforts of Global Affairs Canada.
She noted that empowering women to realize their rights and economic potential goes a long way to benefit the whole society, in terms of sustainability and peace.
She said the team in Ghana among other things, supports activities such as agriculture initiatives that support women farmer-based organizations in post-production and processing.
The team also supports economic empowerment initiatives that support young women in non-traditional trades to help break bias and gender-equality-specific programming that helps women and girls to realize their full human rights.
This year’s Gold in the Soil Awards received a total of eighty-two (82) nominations from the Western and Western North Regions.
Day one of the two-day event will consist of capacity-building, mentorship, training, and empowerment sessions which would be facilitated by resource persons selected from this year’s list of sponsors and collaborating organizations.
Resource persons from MAG-Canada will be leading a capacity-building session on the topic, “Agri-woman lifestyle, total wellbeing, and brand building.”
They will also lead one mentorship session on self-presentation and positive mental health – how age women can make the most of mental health tips to enhance their personal growth and family life.
Day two, which is the Gold in the Soil Awards will reward deserving small-scale women farmers who are thriving exceptionally.
The awards, listed under fifteen (15) categories include the Super Woman Farmer Award, She-Innovates Award, Climate-Smart Women Project Award, The Change Champion Award, Lady of The Region Export Award, Development Partner Award, and Princess Carla Award.
The rest are She-Operates Award, Outstanding Woman in Extension Services Award, Star Woman Agripreneur Award (Woman Agripreneur Award), Royal Agro Award, Diamond in the Rough Award, Feed to Food Awards (Poultry, Livestock, and Fisheries), and the ultimate, Gold in the Soil Award.
