Women Groups Empowered with Alternative Livelihood Skills

Women's Groups Empowered with Alternative Livelihood Skills Traditionally women in Northern Ghana play a major role in farming-land preparation, tilling, sowing, weeding, which are unpaid jobs. However, the same related work has become an alternative livelihood income generation venture for three women groups in the catchment area of botanga irrigation scheme in Kumbungu district of the Northern Region of Ghana.

The Feed the Future Ghana Agricultural Technology Transfer project introduced urea deep placement ( UDP ) and other good agricultural practices in the region, leading to the training of three women groups from the local communities of Saakoba Gbugli, Kukuo and Yipelgu, on how to transplant in lines, control weeds and apply briquettes urea fertilizer on rice farms. Two months after training, Madam Fatimata Abdullah, mother of four and a leading member of the Saakoba women group, says she has made good income to support her family, " I used the money I made to buy provisions and other educational materials for my daughter at Tamale Senior High School. The other three children have also benefited from my new found job " she said. The membership of the Saakoba group increase from 5 to 30 when other women became interested and where subsequently trained by the 5 initial members. According to Fatimata, many women in other communities have expressed interest in training, so the group is making plans for that after the season. " We were contracted by Dalung Lana, Alhaji Mahama Amidu ( Chief of Dalung) and any other farmers to transplant and also apply fertilizer for them. As we are planning to open a bank account to save and also loan some of the money to members to help support the education of their children " Madam Fatimata The lives of the members of the groups who previously did unpaid work have been changed through the introduction of the better rice farming technologies and UDP through the Agricultural Technology Transfer project.