Thirty one women have been honoured for their immense contribution to the development of Agric in Africa.
The women, according to the organisers, played diverse roles leading to the growth of the sector on the continent hence the need for them to be celebrated.
The event which took place in Accra played host to key stakeholders in the agriculture sector across the African continent.
In her keynote address, the Chairperson, women in Agribusiness at the Association of Industries Ghana (AGI) Fatima Ali Mohammed, said Africa as a continent needs to focus on the youth as they are the future of the agriculture sector.
She said “the old people are dying, and they are dying with a lot of information with a lot of knowledge. I know my grandmother could be able to put her finger in the air and tell you it is good. They are going away with the information that we need to download more and find ways to make this information downloaded from their brains and create a repository of information that we can use. We need to make agriculture sexy enough to get the youth to come on board.”
The programmes Coordinator for Women in Agribusiness Week, Akosua Duah, explained the rationale behind extending the categories from five to 31.
“We realize that we have a lot of women in agribusiness who are doing well along as the value chain area and so decided to increase the number to 31 awardees. Our main aim is to celebrate these women who are doing tremendously well in the agribusiness and need to be celebrated,” she explained.
The week-long activities organised by Guzakuza include the women in Agribusiness forum, the women in agribusiness expo and the industry tour to mark the activities to mark the 2022 women in Agribusiness week.
Some of the awardees are
BEST FARMER OF THE YEAR
Nomhie Maggie Mlisa,
AGRIBUSINESS OF THE YEAR
Omotola M. Ishola-Badamasi
AGRI-JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Rosemond Akuorkor Adjetey
BEST DIVERSIFICATION AWARD
Victoria Mwafulinwa
EMERGING STAR IN AGRIBUSINESS AWARD
Vera Osei-Bonsu
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AWARD
Alberta Nana Akosa
BEST AGRIBUSINESS STUDENT
Priscilla Asare-Larbi
SUSTAINABLE AGRIBUSINESS OF THE YEAR
Dr Omotola M. Ishola-Badamasi.
YOUNG AGRI ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Marian Ofori Twumasi