Fairtrade Africa, working with Tropenbos Ghana and funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, convened a capacity‑building workshop on gender mainstreaming in Goaso, Ahafo Region, on Tuesday. The session drew female representatives from 21 Rural Service Centers (RSCs) spread across six key cocoa‑producing regions in Ghana.
During the day‑long workshop, participants examined entrenched gender roles, systemic barriers to women’s inclusion, and practical strategies for embedding gender‑sensitive considerations into RSC governance, daily operations and service provision. The goal is to transform these hubs into sustainable, commercially viable, and inclusive service providers that empower women and youth as leaders rather than passive recipients.
Salma Suhuyini Fuseini, Project Coordinator for Fairtrade Africa, told JoyNews that the training aligns with the project’s commitment to ensuring women and youth drive leadership, entrepreneurship and economic growth. “Ultimately, the project seeks to build a more inclusive cocoa sector where women have equitable opportunities to lead, access essential services and benefit economically from the entire cocoa value chain,” she added.
Direct beneficiaries such as Bertha Akamal and Celina Darko praised the initiative as a timely intervention that directly addresses gender disparities in rural cocoa communities. They argued that investing in women boosts farm yields, strengthens rural livelihoods and expands Ghana’s national food basket and cash crop exports, noting that female farmers consistently demonstrate prudence, efficiency and diligence in applying inputs, managing field operations and repaying loans on schedule.
With the workshop’s momentum, Fairtrade Africa plans to continue scaling gender‑inclusive practices across its RSC network, aiming to create a cocoa sector where women play a decisive role at every level of the value chain.
