Women's access to productive lands promoted

Access to land determines one’s access to income-generating activities as well as one’s access to food. Despite the important roles played by women in the agricultural sector, studies show that men have greater access to and control over land in the Upper East Region.

The Ghana Land Administration Project estimated that by 2011, 80 per cent of the land in Ghana was owned and governed by our traditional rulers, and the principal ways in which women acquire land is through their lineage, inheritance, marriage or by contractual arrangements.

These processes of acquiring land, however, do not include family lands. The Intestate Succession Law does not cover family lands. Wives and children, therefore, cannot inherit family property, no matter their contribution to its development.

The case of widows

Widows, particularly those in northern Ghana, have a peculiar case which causes them to lose access to land in most instances. Based on culture, men own lands hence any woman who can access land usually accesses her husband’s or son's land.

In the case of the widow, she no longer has a husband hence she cannot access the land. Also, in some instances, even when she has a male child who is young, she is still prevented from accessing land.

In instances where a widow manages to access land, it turns out to be the least productive one. On the other hand, it is a fact that proceeds from women's farms have a great impact on household food security and generates income for buying oil, vegetables, meat and, increasingly, extra staple foods. Infertile lands limit the crops women can grow.  For example, they will not plant tree crops if they think they may lose the land when the trees start bearing fruit. That restricts their access to credit from formal sources, since the women do not have land to use for collateral. It encourages low productivity and aggravation of food insecurity, among others.

WOM Interventions

It is to address these and promote gender equity in access to and control over land, that the Widows and Orphans Movement, (WOM), a non-governmental organisation, with support from ActionAid Ghana has been working on issues related to women's rights in the Talensi and Nabdam districts for the past seven years.

Their mission is to promote sustainable agriculture and control over natural resources for people living in poverty, majority of whom are women.

Commitments

In June, this year, WOM working with widows in five communities in the Talensi and Nabdam districts, namely: Winkono, Wakii, Pelungu, Sakote and Pwalugu, managed to secure some commitments from chiefs and Tindanas (traditional land owners).

Among the commitments were that productive lands would be released to widows for cultivation when they demand them. Again, chiefs and land owners would ensure that farmlands of widows are not intentionally destroyed by others, such as community members’ intentional driving of ruminants to the farmlands of widows to destroy the farms.

In the case of the Pwalugu community, it came to light that farmlands were commonly destroyed by cattle belonging to Fulani herdsmen and that even as attempts are being made to find a lasting solution to the problem, widows who still want to farm under the prevailing circumstances should be given farmlands to cultivate.

Another commitment made by the chiefs was that lands being cultivated by widows would not be taken away from them without a year’s prior notice.

Follow-up engagement meeting

At a follow-up meeting held in Bolgatanga, the National Director of WOM, Ms Fati Abigail Abdulai, said following those series of engagements with the various widows networks in 23 communities  in Talensi and Nabdam districts, some chiefs and the Tindanas had made further pledges to support women secure more access to productive land to promote food security.

"We have had instances where chiefs have led the campaign to help members of the Widows Network get between four and 10 acres to enable them to carry out farming and also better position them to support the upkeep of their homes," she said.

The National Director of WOM expressed the hope that the commitments made by the chiefs and Tindanas would go a long way to support women secure their access to productive lands.

In an interview with a cross-section of widows at the weekend, the consensus was that the move by WOM had led to an improvement in their lives and they are now better positioned to take care of their families.

The Chief of Winkongo, Moses Aganzuah, lauded the initiative by WOM and said that it would go a long way to help not only the widows, but the entire society.

He also emphasised the need for the widows to demonstrate good character and self-respect, which he said would open doors for them and also grant them unfettered access to the palaces of the traditional rulers to discuss pertinent issues, including access to land.

Ms Juliet Jalia Adams, General Programme Officer of ActionAid Ghana, noted that as a result of the interventions, the women they had been working with had developed confidence and spoke their minds even in the presence of their chiefs and elders and this is a great step forward.

She, however, said that they still had a long way to go in the area of the women gaining assess to larger tracts of land to produce food; not only to feed their immediate families but also feed the society and enhance their economic status.

She urged the widows to continue working effectively as a group in order to benefit from the many opportunities that exist.

By Benjamin Xornam Glover /Daily Graphic/ Ghana
Writer’s email-Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh