Story by Ewurabena Paha
The 6th edition of the gathering of royals has been held in Accra, where former first lady Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings was honoured for her role in women’s empowerment and development.
The initiative, which was under the auspices of the Agrihouse Foundation, also looked at how queenmothers can use their authority to improve women who are into agriculture.
Team lead of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, said the foundation is poised to explore every avenue and opportunity in the agriculture sector in order to educate and nature women in the field to yield the needed results.
She said the gathering of the Rayals initiative has shown remarkable improvement, and the feedback has been tremendous. This is the foundation that will be expanding its frontiers to accommodate more partners so that women and the agriculture sector as a whole become the pillars on which economic and social growth can be built.
In her welcome address, president of the Queen Mother’s Foundation of Ghana, Nana Ama Serwaa Bonsu, lauded Agrihouse and the work they are doing.
She urged her counterparts to encourage women in their jurisdictions to embrace agriculture because there is help for women in that sector.
Deputy Food and Agriculture Minister, Yaw Frimpong Addo, said women in the sector and their impact cannot be overlooked. He said government acknowledges the contributions of women in agriculture and is working to ensure that the available help and resources they require are provided.
He thanked Agrihouse for making strides in the sector and urged them to do more. Former first lady Mrs Rawlings was excited for the honour done to her and recounted the role she played during her tenure to boost agriculture and women’s participation.
The Queen Mothers of Tuobodom, Yeji, Sadoboora, Kabache, Aberim Agona, Adasawase, and Yamfo, among others, took turns speaking about how agriculture is helping women grow and be independent in their respective communities.
The theme for this year’s gathering of the royals was “Seeds of Change: Cultivating Gender Equality in Agriculture and Honouring Women’s Advancement.”.
