Women in poultry urged to venture into soy and maize cultivation
The Northern Regional Director of Agriculture, Hajia Hawa Musah, has urged members of the Women in Poultry Value Chain (WIPVaC) to consider the cultivation and production of soy and maize to augment their operations.
That, she said, would greatly help to reduce the cost of feed production which account for about 70 per cent of the cost of production in the poultry industry.
In a media release, she advised women in the sector to consider options of securing funds or grants to support soy and maize cultivation.
“Field observations shows that women often do not derive much from interventions that do not target them directly and are, therefore, often excluded from projects and programme interventions.
“Women contribute close to 70 per cent of the work force in the agriculture value chain and so should be rewarded and have access to services including financial support and financial management of enterprises,” she said during a six-day training on the integrated financial management training by WIPVaC for its members in the northern sector.
Capacity building
Ms Musah said capacity building in financial management, particularly for women was timely in the midst of global economic crisis and would help transform women enterprises in the poultry value chain.
She said poultry keeping, particularly by women would help reduce the burden of trekking on a daily basis to run business, reduce stress and provide adequate time to handle family and domestic issues. It will also provide extra income for persons in other formal employment.
“Agriculture has been identified to be central to addressing most current development challenges faced by developing countries. An integrated crop and livestock farming system will enhance our food systems resilience and sustainability”, she said.
The training, with sponsorship from the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) and the American Soyabean Association (ASA), which was the fourth in series for WIPVaC members, has so far trained 100 women.
The National President of the WIPVaC, Dr Victoria Norgbey, reiterated that the training would harmonise the interest of women in poultry and serve as an advocacy mouthpiece for an enabling environment towards a sustainable poultry business, thereby improving lives through the raising of poultry and poultry products.