-Amid challenges
By: Comfort G. Giwlay
Women are apt contributors to food production in Liberia and generally, they play a significant role in the Liberian agriculture sector.
From a global perspective, their (women) commitment has also been acknowledged by the World Bank, as they (women) account for approximately 80% of the agricultural labor force and are responsible for 93% of food crop production. Women in small farms are the backbone of subsistence agriculture.
They produce a significant portion of the world’s food, particularly in developing countries of which Liberia is no exception. Women perform various tasks in small farm agriculture including sowing seeds, weeding, harvesting, and selling the produce.
In many farming communities, they are the main custodians of knowledge on crop varieties. Despite these contributions, women face challenges in accessing agricultural inputs and financing, among others. They often lack access to resources such as land, water, and seeds which limit their productivity and income generation. These Women often have to balance their farm work with household chores and childcare which can be overwhelming.
Amid these challenges, the women are resilient and unbending in their quest to supply the market with food and tree crops. It is in this vein that the Welekermah Farmer’s Cooperative, a women’s cooperative in Kollie-ta Wolah, Bong County has embarked on the production of watermelon on a large scale. The cooperative was inaugurated in 2021 after five women decided to venture into vegetable production to aid their partners in fending for their families.
According to Madam Jackeline Gonkpala, the cooperative’s chair lady, their goal is to empower women through agriculture and make them strong economically. The aim, according to Madam Gonkpala is to make women valuable assets and contributors to the upkeep of their homes and the country’s economy.
“We put this group together to empower us, women so men can’t continue looking down on us,” Madam Gonkpala asserted. “We also want women to know that they are there to help the men take care of their homes, and not just to depend on their partners for everything,” she said.
Kemah Bayomie is the co-chair of the cooperative; she told this reporter that they invested over 70 percent of the proceeds from the 2021 harvests to expand and improve their current site. Produce from the farm is taken to Monrovia for sale and a portion of the income generated is distributed among members, while another portion goes towards procuring seedlings, inputs, and chemicals for expansion to maximize productivity.
In an interview with the reporter, Kemah said: “In 2021, we generated 200,000 and gave each member 20,000 to help send their children to school and meet other basic social needs.” The women are backed by men, who assist in clearing the site and doing other physical work. One such is Mr. Emmanuel W. Nuwoe, who serves as a supportive arm of the cooperative.
Emmanuel feels excited working with these industrious women, who are changing the narratives years on. Given the labor intensity of the work, Emmanuel said: “Women are helpers to the men so, once they are undertaking such, there’s a need to help them in the process so that things can go on smoothly for the benefit of our families.”
Like other forms of production, vegetable production comes with many challenges. Beatrice Paye, the Welekermah Farmer’s cooperative Advisor outlined the lack of fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, spraying and watering cans, hoes, cutlasses, and access to finance as challenges impeding their quest to increase production. The group has 100 acres of land but cultivated only twelve this farming season as a result of those challenges.
“If we can get these materials we will produce twice what we are producing now,” she said. Madam Paye narrated that individual farmers carry along their personal local tools during their general working days.
Mr. Mulbah Howard is the Executive Director of the Women and Children Aid Initiative (WOCAI Liberia), a civil society organization that advocates for women’s and children’s rights and empowerment. During an interview, Howard lauded the initiative and called on the Ministry of Agriculture and partners to support the group.
The rights advocate, whose institution is partnering with the farmer’s cooperative noted that when women are empowered, they won’t be molested and abused by their partners. “This partnership started when I encountered one of them who outlined some challenges and needed my intervention,” he asserted. “From there, we decided to see how best we could work with them from their first production,” Howard stated.
The need for the Ministry of Agriculture and partners to support smallholder farmers with inputs and access to finance is crucial to building a vibrant economy, fighting food insecurity, creating jobs, and empowering women in the sector. Empowering women in agriculture is critical for achieving sustainable development and food security.
Empowerment involves increasing women’s access to resources such as land, water, and seeds, and providing them with education and training. They can also be empowered through land ownership, finance, and technology to improve their productivity, income, and decision-making power and contribute to gender equality and social justice.
This story was produced under the Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FeJAL) Women in Newsroom Leadership Program. Funding was provided by USAID through Internews, as part of Year 3 of its Media Activity Program. The funder did not influence the contents of this story.
