The policy and intervention environment for gender and youth inclusion in the irrigated vegetable value chain in Ghana

Ofosu, Abena; Minh, Thai Thi

The policy and intervention environment for gender and youth inclusion in the irrigated vegetable value chain in Ghana

Autores

Ofosu, Abena

Minh, Thai Thi

Editor

International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage

Descripción

The article assesses the enabling environment for including women and youth in Ghana’s irrigated vegetable value chain. A total of 36 policy and 32 intervention documents were analyzed using an inventory database template. Policy and intervention cluster and cross-cluster analyses focused on aspects that help or hinder women and youth inclusion. Following these steps, the results from the policy analysis were compared with the intervention analysis to complete a synthesis analysis. The report also examined actors and stakeholders in the value chain and their roles and identified opportunities and barriers that the policies and interventions create toward an inclusive irrigated vegetable value chain. The findings show that although policies recognize the need for women and youth inclusion in agriculture in general, it does not extend to the irrigated vegetable value chain for several reasons. These include policy perception of vegetables as an alternative livelihood activity, government focus on rainfed agriculture and limited extension support for irrigated agriculture. Recognizing this gap, several interventions by multiple actors’ target women and youth participation in dry season irrigated vegetable cultivation. This has significantly increased vegetable production, created market linkages and established a vibrant export market for vegetables. Challenges, however, still exist. Project sustainability is limited, collaboration between interventions is low, and institutional arrangements for implementing policies and interventions are inadequate. To make the sector more inclusive, we suggest adopting an integrated water resource management strategies for agricultural water management; redefining vegetables in government policy; enhancing project sustainability and utilizing multi-stakeholder dialogues, interactive learning, and collaboration to draw synergies.