Women in Apiculture launched to address rural poverty in UER
The Honey Palace Africa Limited, in collaboration with the GIZ, a German federal enterprise, has launched its flagship project dubbed “Women in Apiculture” at Navrongo, capital of the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region.
The project, a flagship initiative under the Northern Beekeeping project being implemented by the organisation, in partnership with the GIZ under its “Invest for Jobs” initiative, is targeted at creating jobs to over two million youth and women across the five regions of the north, as well as the Bono, Bono-East, Ahafo, and the Oti Regions of Ghana in the near future.
Speaking at the launch of the project last Friday, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Honey Palace Africa Ltd, a Ghanaian agribusiness company, Mr Gideon Awelana Buluse, stated that the project aimed to empowering over 300 women and youth in the Upper East and West Regions, with the women making up 60 per cent of the beneficiaries in four selected districts and municipalities.
“The project focuses on empowering women and youth in these regions, and the beneficiary districts and municipalities are the Kassena-Nankana West District and Kassena-Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region, as well as the Sissala East Municipality and Sissala West District, both in the Upper West Region.
“We are training the beneficiaries in commercial beekeeping, distributing over 1,000 beehives to them with complete beekeeping tools, and linking them to sustainable markets”, the CEO disclosed.
Mr Buluse indicated that he was optimistic the GH¢1.2 million worth of beehives which came with some equipment, such as smokers, cutters, protective suits, toolkits, hive tools, and harvesting equipment would help address the lingering unemployment situation in the north.
According to him, about 320 women and their male counterparts in their youth brackets had been trained and handed over five beehives, each, reflecting the organisation’s unceasing collective resolve to creating jobs, advancing gender inclusion, and building climate-smart enterprises.
The Kassena-Nankana West District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Stephen Aeke Akurugu, described the “Women in Apiculture” project as a game-changer, and that, it would significantly reduce the canker of unemployment in the district.
He mentioned that the project, an added resilience measure, which has alternative livelihood component with beneficiaries also taking advantage to engage in the cultivation of sesame seeds, tomatoes, soybeans and okra, would not only strengthen food security but promote gender inclusion in a sector traditionally dominated by the male counterparts.
Eunice Agyepong, Component Head, Invest for Jobs, GIZ, mentioned that the GIZ would continue to partner the Honey Palace Africa Ltd to create more opportunities for vulnerable women and youth in Ghana’s north.
She acknowledged the fact that women in the rural setting played a considerable role in agriculture and food security, and it behoved benevolent institutions and individuals, non-profit making organisations and civil society organisations to help them access modern equipment, resources and technologies as well as structured markets.
For his part, the Paramount Chief for the Kologo Traditional Area, Naba Tandagrewonsekure Asobayire V, expressed his gratitude to the Honey Palace Africa Ltd for the project, stressing that it would alleviate the suffering masses in the area.
Gladys Afagachie, a beneficiary of the beekeeping project, said she had no shred of doubts that the project would impact her life in due course.
FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, NAVRONGO
