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Tag: women

  • Topless women storm polling place where Trump was due to vote

    Topless women storm polling place where Trump was due to vote

    Two protesters shouting anti-Trump slogans tore off their tops at the Manhattan polling place where the Republican nominee for president cast his ballot on Tuesday.

    The women, from the feminist activist group Femen, had the phrases “Hate out of polls” and “Trump, grab your balls” written on their bodies, images posted on social media showed.

    The latter phrase was a clear reference to lewd comments made by Trump in 2005 and captured by a hot microphone.

    “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful (women), I just start kissing them.

    “It’s like a magnet, just kiss, I don’t even wait, and when you’re a star they let you do it.

    “You can do anything, grab them by the pussy,” Trump said in the leaked audio that rocked his campaign in October.

    Security officials escorted the two women from the polling site, a Manhattan high school gym and the disruption was over within minutes.

    Trump, who had not yet arrived to cast his ballot, missed the protest.

    Femen, a group of Ukrainian origin, is known for its naked protests around the world.

    On its website, Femen describes itself as “an international women’s movement of brave topless female activists painted with the slogans and crowned with flowers.”

  • Buhari’s wife flags off medical programme, targets 3,000 beneficiaries

    Buhari’s wife flags off medical programme, targets 3,000 beneficiaries

    The wife of the President, Mrs. A’isha Buhari, on Monday flagged off a special medical outreach programme in Sokoto, with a promise to reach “at least 3,000 women and children.”

    Mrs. Buhari, represented by the wife of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Mrs. Gimbiya Dogara.

    NAN also reports that the outreach programme was organized under her pet project – Future-Assured Programme, in partnership with the pet programme of the Wife of Gov. Aminu Tambuwal, the Maryam Tambuwal Legacy Initiative.

    Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs. Buhari said that the gesture was part of activities to mark the tenth anniversary of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, on the throne.

    She said that the gesture was also part of her unwavering commitment to the health of Nigerian women, children and other vulnerable groups.

    “The children are the future of Nigeria and we have to secure this future by taking good care of them.

    “If we do no provide them with efficient healthcare services and other needs now, the future of Nigeria will be in great jeopardy,” she said.

    Mrs. Buhari urged wives of State Governors to initiate steps toward caring for women, children and other vulnerable groups to give them a sense of belonging.

    In her speech, Mrs. Tambuwal described the wife of the President as a “dexterous mother of the nation,” and commended her sustained support to
    Nigerian women and children.

    The Sokoto State Health Commissioner, Dr. Balarabe Kakale, in her remarks, said that the outreach had a lot of medical packages that included de-worming of pupils, provision of vitamin A supplements and anti-malarial drugs.

    Other benefits included free medical tests, consultations and drugs, among others.

    The Chairman of Kware Local Government, Alhaji Abubakar Zamau, in a brief speech, commended Mrs. Buhari for the gesture which he said would complement efforts of the state government and the 23 Local Governments toward quality healthcare delivery.

  • Abuse: 100 women police for IDP camps

    The Borno State Police Command has deployed 100 women police officers in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps following allegations of abuse of women.

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleged mass abuse of girls and women by camp officials in its latest report.

    Commissioner of Police Damian Chukwu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri that his command was taking steps to to protect the IDPs.

    He said he constituted a high-powered committee to oversee the camps.

    “I have constituted a committee, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), with Divisional Police Officers (DPO) and other senior officers, to take over the daily running of the camps.

    “It is interesting to say that most members of the committee are females. I have also mobilised over 100 women police, including mobile police women, to handle day-to-day interactions in the camps.

    “The male officers will be limited to handling of the territorial coverage and patrol within the camps,” he said.

    Chukwu added that the objective was to further secure the camps and give confidence to the thousands of women.

    “The deployment of women police is also to dig out true happenings in the camps regarding the allegation.

    “We feel the victims might not want to talk freely to men, but they will be encouraged to open up to women if the allegation is true,” Chukwu said.

    He insisted that prior to HRW’s alert, the police had not received any complaint of abuse.

    “We have not received any complaint of human rights abuse in the camps, so it seems strange to me. In each camp, we have many police outposts.

    “In Bakassi camp for instance, we have five police units because every local government in the IDP camp has its DPO and other officers, with all the compliments of law enforcement,” Chukwu said.

    He, however, said investigations would unravel the truth.

  • ‘We are making brisk business selling dog meat’

    ‘We are making brisk business selling dog meat’

    Women in Tafawa Balewa town of Bauchi State have ventured into the selling of dog meat, once the exclusive preserve of men in the area, and are making brisk business.

    A Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who visited the town on Sunday, reports that the business was providing financial succour to a lot of women.

    Some of them who spoke to NAN said they veered into the trade because the menfolk appeared not to be interested in the business any longer.

    They said even though in the past, meat selling business was exclusively reserved for the men-folk, it had now become an ‘all-embracing’ trade for both men and women.

    Mrs Lucy John, one of the butchers, said some women decided to take to the trade because their male counterparts were gradually abandoning it and venturing into other trades.

    She said that dog meat, being a delicacy in the area, was fast becoming a scarce commodity in the market because the male butchers were gradually abandoning the business.

    John said the neglect of the business by men had opened up an opportunity for women, not just to prepare and sell dog meat, but also breed and market the animal, especially because of the lucrative nature of the business.

    She said that during festive seasons, they made ‘good money’ because dogs were expensive, with the least price being N5000.

    “The abandonment of the trade by men created an opportunity for me and other women to make money, feed our family and satisfy other needs of our people.

    “Selling dog meat is the best as people in the community love eating the meat,’’ she said.

    John said during the celebration of an annual cultural festival in Tafawa Balewa, she slaughtered four dogs at the cost of N25, 000, sold the meat and made huge profit.

    “We need to do this for survival and since dog meat is preferred in this community, we make business out of it.

    “I used to slaughter only one dog at a time but I now kill six,” she added.

    Another woman, Mrs Blessing John, also corroborated the statement of Lucy, saying that this was ‘boom time’ because of the just concluded and impending festivities.

    She said she had slaughtered six dogs during a recently concluded cultural festival, adding that each ‘piece’ of meat was sold at N100.

    “Our men no longer do this (selling dog meat) because they are no longer interested, and for us women, we need to survive, as such had to engage in the trade since the patronage is very high.

    Madam Kyauta Illiya, a consumer of dog meat, explained that the delicacy had a unique taste as such she preferred eating it over any other meat.

    She said dog meat had become a favourite cuisine among some people of the area, and had value.

    Mr Isiaku Gambo, another consumer, claimed that dog meat had medicinal effect as it could serve as cure for some diseases.

    He insisted that eating dog meat prevented one from any attack and also served as an antidote to some diseases.

    “If you serve me varieties like fish, cow, chicken and dog meat, I will opt for dog meat because the meat is nice.

    “In this community, those who eat dog meat are the strongest,’’ he said. (NAN)

    AE/FHO/ASH

    Edited by Hawa Lawal/Controlled by Abdullahi Salihu

    ==

    Posted in Economy |

  • Women entrepreneurs trained on fertiliser use

    In line with the Federal Government’s Green Alternative Programme, the Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemicals Limited, Eleme, Rivers State has held a training programme for female members of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) for South-south zone on use of fertiliser.

    While declaring the training programme open, the Head of Corporate Communications and Special Adviser to the Managing Director Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemicals Limited, Dr Jossy Nkwocha said the exercise was meant to boost the application of fertiliser in the country as the trainees would, in turn, train others in its use.

    Nkwocha also said “the use of fertiliser would help Nigeria to solve the problem of food insecurity, boost agricultural production, reduce food imports and create wealth.”

    The Indorama’s spokesman also revealed that his organisation which began fertiliser production in June this year “now supplies urea fertiliser to over 20 million farmers across the country.”

    He added that the company has built a world-class fertiliser plant with capacity to produce 1.5 million metric tons of urea fertiliser; a port terminal at Onne Port in Rivers State and an 84 kilometer gas pipeline to supply gas to the plant.

    The total cost of these projects which has created more than 4,500 direct and indirect jobs in Nigeria, he said, is about 1.5 billion US dollars and was funded by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

    In a chat with Niger Delta Report, the Chairperson of NNEW, Mrs. Mercy Bello Abu said women who are entrepreneurs in the South-south are passionate about impacting on their environment and generation of successful business women and entrepreneurs.

    She said: “NNEW saw the need for the programme because most of our members who are engaged in agriculture indicated interest to partner with Indorama. They proposed to the company to train them so that they could sensitise other women to the importance and use of fertiliser.”

    While expressing gratitude to the management of Indorama for the free training, the NNEW chairperson added that “with this, we are going to train another group of women on the use of fertiliser.”

    The trainings, which covered fertiliser marketing, fertiliser application and entrepreneurship management, were anchored by Indorama’s Dr Surendra Srivastava; Dr Balbir Singh and Ms Sandrina Gomes respectively.

  • NGO lauds stores’ donation to vulnerable women, children

    Save Our Needy (SON), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that caters for the needs of vulnerable women and children, has lauded PEP Stores for donating items worth over N1 million to the less privileged.

    The items including clothing, toys and baby nappies, were presented to  SON’s Chief Executive Officer Ms Marvella Odili and the Programmes Manager, Mr. Jerry Odili as part of the firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

    Ms Odili said the items would be distributed to widows, single mothers and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

    She said that since 2011, the NGO has been in the business of “ending extreme poverty through the promotion of education for vulnerable children as well as youth and women empowerment.”

    Ms Odili urged widows, single mothers and unemployed young women interested in any of the items to send on-line requests to saveourneedy@gmail.com. She urged them  to explain how the donated items would assist them in starting up small businesses and how they would manage them.

  • Hope rises for infertile women

    Hope rises for infertile women

    The major difficulty associated with infertility in a developing countries like Nigeria is that it transforms from a private agony into a public stigma, with complex and devastating consequences. OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA writes on how ‘Merck More than a Mother’ initiative is engaging professionals in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to cause a cultural shift, and also empower affected women.

    The expansive hall of the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos was filled to capacity. It was the Nigerian leg of the launch of the ‘Merck More than a Mother’ campaign. The campaign is a pan-African dialogue to empower infertile women in developing countries. Merck aims to empower them through access to information, health and change of mind-set with the initiative that was launched in June, last year.

    Stakeholders from all walks of life – lawmakers, activists, pressure groups, sufferers, survivors, pen pushers, men, women, mothers, fathers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and even children – were in attendance.

    Tears flowed. Some women stifled their cries. The participants wore a look of incredibility as viictims – one after the other – told their stories. This compelled the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Dr Lanre Tejuoso, to announce that his committee would ensure a quick regulation of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) in Nigeria.

    Jackline Mwende, a victim of infertility stigma, was the first to relate her story. Jackline had her hands brutally chopped off for failing to bear children after seven years of marriage.

    Jackline Mwende, a young woman of 27 years from Masii, Machakos County in Kenya, had her hands hacked off – not by thieves – but by her husband for failing to conceive, even though he was the one with fertility problems. Her husband told her ‘today is your last day’.

    “It is so shocking that someone would go to such an extent to batter his own wife and leave her nearly dead. Infertility should never be a reason to separate, hurt or kill your partner. There are so many options out there available to manage infertility,” said Hon. Joyce Lay, member of Parliament and the ambassador for ‘Merck More than a Mother’ in Kenya.

    “Through ‘Empowering Berna’ project, Merck will support Jackline Mwende throughout the rest of her life to empower and enable her to become an independent productive member in the society. ‘Merck More than a Mother’ initiative will provide Mwende with a monthly income of $250, it will establish a business for her through which she will be able to generate a sustainable monthly income of not less than $250.

    “At the same time Merck will provide her with the needed physical and physiological rehabilitation to enable her to support herself and stand on her own two feet, despite the challenge of her disability that was caused by the stigma of infertility – even though her husband is the one who was found with the infertility problem, yet she is still the one who bore the devastating consequences of the public stigma associated with it,” said Rasha Kelej, Chief Social Officer, Merck Healthcare.

    Mwende didn’t deserve what she went through and, especially, because her husband was the one with the infertility problem. Society, government and stakeholders need to continue to join hands with Merck in its campaign to encourage the acceptance of people living with infertility because the stigma associated with it  puts pressure on them to a point where they do crazy and criminal things. We need to know that it’s a shared responsibility, not just for the couple but for the society too.

    “Jackline Mwende’s story is the reason all people should appreciate ‘Merck More than a Mother’ initiative. No sane person should torture a woman for failing to produce children. Men should not think that their failure to be a biological father is due to women’s infertility. Why torture a fellow human being and inflict such permanent bodily harm for a fault that could be yours? No amount of justice in the courts of law will bring back Mwende’s arms. Justice will only prevail if Mwende’s case marks a turning point in society that appreciates one fact- ‘that women are women irrespective of their ability to bear children- they need to be respected,’ emphasised Hon. Sarah Opendi, Uganda Minister of State of Health and the Uganda ambassador of ‘Merck More than a Mother’.

    “This terrible violence Mwende suffered has emphasised the significance of ‘Merck More than a Mother’ initiative for Africa. ‘Merck More than a Mother’ will continue working closely with partners to create a culture shift and to empower infertile women economically and socially through “Empowering Berna” Project to ensure no other woman in Africa should ever go through such violence, humiliation or misery again,” Rasha Kelej emphasised.

    Mwende’s husband has been accused of attempting to kill her and is waiting for his trial.

    Jackline Mwende is not alone. In many African cultures, childless women still suffer discrimination, stigma and ostracism. Infertility can transform from an acute, private distress into a harsh public stigma with complex and devastating consequences. An inability to have a child or to become pregnant can result in being greatly isolated, disinherited or assaulted. This may result in divorce or physical and psychological violence.

    ‘Merck More than a Mother initiative’ aims to define interventions to reduce the stigma and social suffering of infertile women, empower them and raise awareness about male infertility and the necessity for a team approach to family building among couples across the continent.

    According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), lower levels of development are thought to be associated with higher levels of non-genetic and preventable causes of infertility. For instance, poor nutrition, untreated sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unsafe abortion, consequences of infections caused by the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) or child marriage, exposure to smoking, leaded petrol and other environmental pollutants can lead to infertility.

    For Victoria John Kuba, a resident in the Northern part of Nigeria, she walked out of her marriage when she could not bear the beatings by her husband due to childlessness. She met her husband while she was still in school through a friend. They dated for a short period and got married. They hoped to have children but no pregnancy. Then problems arose in their home. Her husband insulted and made jests of her. Her father-in-law would often come from the village to check if she was pregnant.

    Recapping her experience, Victoria said after her husband and she got married, they lived together for two years without a child. He got impatient, causing her to seek fertility solutions. She went to a hospital, there the doctor confirmed that her womb was tampered with, and that it would take the grace of God for her to conceive. When her husband heard this, they started having marital problems. Things really got bad between them. Whenever he came back from work, he beat her, insulted her and alleged that she removed her womb and fed it to pigs. He said her family knew she could not conceive, yet they gave her out in marriage to him. He beat her continually and Victoria had nowhere to run to.

    As for her father-in-law, who resided in the village, whenever he visited the couple, he always said Victoria’s mother-in-law sent him to check if she was pregnant. He went into the couple’s room at night when the couple is sleeping without knocking, or asking for permission. He insulted her husband that he wasted money in marrying her.

    There was a night; Victoria’s husband pressed her face forcefully, almost choking her to death. She struggled for her life. She could not breathe. She struggled and screamed. She tried to free herself but then he bit her at the back of her head. She screamed and bit him back, he then let go of her. She ran out naked, picked up a neighbour’s wrapper, tied it around her waist and ran for her dear life.

    Moved by her story, the audience went dead. If a pin had dropped, the sound would have sounded like a clanging cymbal. It drew empathy.

    Victoria went to her sister’s house, and then she called her pastor and informed him of what happened. The pastor scheduled a meeting with her husband and her. At the meeting they could not reach an agreement, so they separated from each other.

    Victoria said if God comes down today she will ask him why He did not give her a child, even if it is just one. “God didn’t give me a child, or peace of mind. No peace from my husband, no child. I will ask God all these questions. If I could turn back the hands of time, I would never have gotten married. I will live without a husband,” moaned Victoria.

    She said she appreciated Merck for helping her to live a better life. “And I thank God and believe he has not forgotten me. Merck has set up a Kerosene business for me. I hope to go back to school from the profit I made from the sales. Before now, I was into laundry work. I don’t get regularly paid, and may not even have transport fares. During the raining season, it is difficult for clothes to dry sometimes. And if stained in this period, I don’t get paid,” Victoria explained.

    Victoria doubts her remarrying again. Chinelo Azodo, Ijeoma Ezeaku, Oluchi Omenife, and Nneka Omenife shared their experiences as well. And have been reached out to by the “Merck More than a Mother” initiative.

    President, Africa Fertility Society (AFS), Prof Oladapo Ashiru, said according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), lower levels of development are thought to be associated with higher levels of non-genetic and preventable causes of infertility such as poor nutrition, untreated sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unsafe abortion, consequence of infections caused by the practice of female genital mutilation, exposure to smoking and to leaded petrol and other environmental pollutants. Hence prevention awareness is very important.

    “Together we can create a culture shift”, the ‘Merck More than a Mother’ social media campaign will challenge the social and cultural perception of infertile women in Africa. Moreover it will raise awareness about male infertility, prevention of infertility and infertility management at large. Women are the ones who seek help when they cannot get children. Yet in most of the cases doctors keep treating women who have no problem. Men need to accompany their women to the clinic. When men do this the success rate of fertility treatment is higher,” said Prof Ashiru.

    Vice-President, Africa Fertility Society, Dr. James Olobo-Lalobo said, “We are very happy to partner with Merck, through this historic campaign, “Merck More than a Mother” where specialised practical training for our embryologists will be provided and awareness about prevention of infertility and male infertility will be raised across the continent for the first time in history. Together with Merck, we can challenge the perception about infertile women, their roles and worth in society, both within and beyond the medical profession in order to achieve any systemic shift in the current culture of gender discrimination in the context of fertility care”.

    Dr Tejuoso said the National Assembly organisation is committed to ensure the issues are bought to the front burner as he said, “Nigeria has a population of 180 million people and so also has a big infertility problem. When there is infertility people believe it’s more spiritual than physical. Therefore, members of parliament (MPs) have a big role to play as we can go all over the country to educate people and I commit to be an ambassador of “Merck More than a Mother” campaign in Nigeria.

    Dr Abayomi Ajayi of Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos said ART has come to stay in Africa, nay Nigeria and should be explored by fertility challenged couples.

  • Submit to your husbands, women told

    Women have been warned never to take decisions without consulting their husbands.

    Wife of the Assistant Pastor-in-charge of Lagos Province 25 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor (Mrs.) Kemi Adegoke, stated this at the three-day annual sisters’ convention.

    The convention was organised by RCCG Priests’ Area, Lagos Province 59 with the theme “filled with His fullness”.

    She said taking instructions from husbands is part of the submission God expect from godly women.

     “The more you give in to your spouse, the more blessing you receive from God,” Adegoke submitted.

    She said women must acknowledge their emptiness to be filled with God’s fullness.

     “There is always a gift in you which you can utilize; learn to live a fulfilled life by being a vessel in God’s hand,” she advised.

    Adegoke also enjoined women to always learn to be quiet.

     “Even when you have ideas, keep them. Rather listen and be focused and prayerfully ask God who should mentor you to fullness,” she stressed.

    Pastor-in-charge of Priests’ Zone Lagos Province 59, Pastor Akin Akintoye, said when women are filled with God’s fullness, nothing can stop them.

  • Cervical cancer: Rivers govt partners medical women to vaccinate 1,000 girls

    Rivers State government is to partner the state’s chapter of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN) to vaccinate about one thousand Rivers girls against cervical cancer, before the end of this year.

    Rivers Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, made the disclosure while speaking at the opening ceremony of the week of MWAN at the Rivers House of Assembly Complex, Port Harcourt.

    She stated that the Rivers government, under Governor Nyesom Wike, would soon launch a healthcare financing scheme, in a bid to boost healthcare delivery in the state.

    Harry-Banigo restated the commitment of the Rivers government towards the provision of affordable, accessible and available healthcare delivery for the people, assuring that primary and secondary healthcare services were to be made more functional, for optimal benefit.

    Reflecting on this year’s International Day of the Girl Child celebration, Rivers deputy governor decried the absence of accurate data on violence perpetrated against women and children, stressing that it had impeded any plan of action to remedy the situation.

    She said: “I was pleased, when I worked with the observatory on violence against women and children and found that most of the time, we do not have enough data on how much gender-based violence is going on and when we do not have enough data, we cannot really plan to remedy the situation.”

    Harry-Banigo also lauded MWAN for rendering humanitarian services to the people and encouraged the body to continue its good work.

    In his keynote address, the Regional Community Health Manager of Shell for Sub-Saharan Africa, Dr. Akinwunmi Fajola, stressed the need for Public Private Partnership (PPP) in healthcare delivery, noting that healthcare financing was not all about resources, but about resourcefulness.

    Earlier in her welcome address, the President of MWAN, Rivers branch, Dr. Rosemary Ogu, stated that the focus of the association was to provide health information on the various health challenges facing the people and commended the Rivers government and other corporate organisations for their support towards ensuring the success of their week-long event.

  • Forum seeks women participation in job creation, regional integration

    Forum seeks women participation in job creation, regional integration

    Strengthening opportunities for women involvement in agriculture was among issues addressed by delegates at the Second African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum(AWIEF), which was held in Lagos. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Experts and thought leaders  at the Second African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF), which was held in Lagos, have  urged governments across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to work towards a strong economy and increased  women participation in food production and processing.

    The forum also held sessions on vital sectors and pushed for ventures to promote food production, value addition, job creation and regional integration.

    AWIEF founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Irene Ochem stressed the need to empower women to ensure they attain their potential through agriculture.

    Mrs Ochem said the aim of the forum was to stimulate actions to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation, which require capacity building, inclusive growth and cooperation. She called for robust policies that encourage women to go into agribusinesses and adopt  farming practices that guarantee food security.

    One of the moderators and Chair, Run on Rana Energy Limited, Amina Ado, observed that agriculture represents a promising growth opportunity.

    Underscoring the role of women in agriculture, Ado said support for women would enable them to solve problems through food production.

    She said the Federal Government had inaugurated a roadmap for the agriculture sector, tagged:The Green Alternative: Agriculture Promotion Policy, 2016-2020, with the vision to revive the sector to boost food production. The policy, according to her, would serve as the fulcrum for economic diversification, inclusive growth and sustainable development.

    She said through the policy, farmers would have access to land, information, inputs, production management, storage, processing, marketing and trade and finance.

    In addition, she said there was a possibility of achieving economic diversification which would reduce dependence on oil.

    President, Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE), Lucia Quachey, stressed the  need for women to work together  to  ensure they have access to the $300 million fund set aside by the African Development Bank (AFDB) for women to boost their businesses.

    She canvassed a regional strategy to promote women’s participation in the sector.

    She said economies could begin to close the gender gap by making it possible for more women to unleash their potential as farmers, entrepreneurs and business leaders.

    The sector, according to her, remains a significant contributor to poverty reduction and food security. She added that empowering women would benefit economies in terms of value addition, job creation and regional integration.

    Quachey, who is also the Vice-President, ECOWAS Federation of Women Entrepreneurs, expressed concern over the decreasing number of women in agriculture.

    She called for support for women to participate and benefit from transformation opportunities to improve their lives and livelihoods.

    She stressed that there was a need to develop women’s capacity to boost food production and create more wealth, if the economies of the sub-region must pick up.

    GAWE, according to her, supports women to participate profitably in value chain and agribusiness development by improving access to financial services, business skills and technologies and innovations for agro-processing.

    GAWE’s initiatives, she added, seek to enhance women entrepreneurs’ access to opportunities, including technologies that facilitate efficient ways of starting up or conducting a business.

    According to her, employment opportunities would increase as more women-led agro micro-enterprises in remote, rural communities take advantage of trade opportunities to boost revenues.

    She said through the initiatives, linkages were established between farmers and micro-enterprises.

    The association, she added, provides training on marketing and helps women producers explore opportunities and develop a catalogue of products.

    Agro-processing, a step-up in the industrialisation drive, is still underdeveloped but offers tremendous commercial opportunities Quachey said.

    Involvement of women, she noted, would bring in some of the revenue governments need for development if member economies advance women’s economic participation in agriculture and food processing.

    While the potential exists for women to position their products in new markets, continued support is needed to help them move  from local enterprises to big businesses.

    She said by increasing women’s participation and enhancing their efficiency and productivity, a dramatic impact on the competitiveness and growth of the region’s economies can be achieved.

    One solution she suggested to boost women participation was creation of agricultural co-operatives.

    The existence of such groups in Ghana, she noted, has provided an institutional framework for women to solve many of their problems.

    President, Sidi Osho Foundation and past Vice- Chancellor, Afe Babalola University, Prof Sidi Osho said feeding the burgeoning population would require significant improvements in agricultural productivity and appropriate mechanisation strategies.

    She said there was enormous potential in agriculture and women must be ready to turn them into major opportunities to change their lives.

    She added that large scale farming and well-developed infrastructure are the best way of drawing women into the agricultural sector.

    According to her, economic transformation is now urgent due to recent developments in the international economy.

    She pointed out that recent developments in the African economies have  made the need for agricultural transformation more urgent as the events have exposed the vulnerability of most economies to external factors.

    She emphasised the need for structural transformation in the agricultural sector and for the government to concentrate on the potential offered by industrialisation and food production. If women farmers increase their productivity and reduce  imports, this would reduce poverty, enhance food and nutrition security and support a more inclusive pattern of growth.

    She encouraged the audience to use the forum as an opportunity to galvanise more action on economic transformation.

    The Chair person, Partnership Opportunities for Women Empowerment Realisation (POWER), Mrs. Obioma Liyel-Imoke,who was  represented by its Executive Director, Mrs Ndodeye Bassey-Obongha stressed the need for increased investments in women  as they make up 43 per cent of the agriculture labour force.

    Although women have a large role in food production in many sub-Saharan African countries, she maintained that they will continue to have less access to land, fertilisers, seeds, credit and extension services than men.

    She said: “Women’s economic participation and their ownership and control over productive assets speed up development, help overcome poverty, reduce inequalities and improve children’s nutrition, health, and school attendance.”

    She explained that the organisation, Project Awake, is a community-driven project whose target beneficiaries are women “agric-preneurs”.

    Project Awake implementation, she  added,  is  done in agro enterprise clusters.  Each cluster is made up of 10 villages selected along mandate crop geographical mapping within each local government area.

    The project has created 2,960 women agribusiness owners from 183 cooperatives created in the 18 local government areas(LGAs) of Cross River State. In addition, she said the project has facilitated access to credit loan through bank linkages for 2,196 women farmers.

    For instance, she said  one of the  organisations, Mossi Women Cooperative, engaged in cassava farming received $2,896.74 as loan and had increased their farm size from 1.5 to 2.5 hectares.

    Another group, Beyin Business Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (MPCS),she mentioned, could only

    buy only a maximum of 20 bags of rice for storage, but with the loan of N930, 000 ($4,730.42), they added N1, 000,000 ($5,086.47) from their savings and bought up to 413 bags of rice for the first time which they had processed and sold, raising a revenue of N3, 500,000 ($17,802.64) during the trading cycle.

    One of the highlights of the event was the unveiling of Women Economic Empowerment Initiative (WEEIN), a programme designed by the Lagos State Government in partnership with AWIEF to facilitate access to finance and other services needed by women entrepreneurs.