Budgetary allocations for agricultural sector must be transparent

Stakeholders in the agricultural sector have appealed to policymakers to ensure transparency in budgetary allocations for the sector to help improve gender equality, especially in rural areas.

Madam Abibah Musah, Kumbungu District Director at the Ministry for Food and Agriculture (MoFA), said there was the need for stakeholders to consider equity in the distribution of the government’s budgetary allocations for agricultural goods and services to help promote gender equality in the agricultural sector.

She made the appeal at a two-day dialogue on Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB), in Tamale.

The event organised by the Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition (GTLC), an advocacy organization working to influence policies on agriculture, nutrition, and trade, is supported by OXFAM in Ghana and SEND GHANA.

The event brought together stakeholders in the agriculture sector from the Savelugu Municipality and Kumbungu District to deliberate on ways to improve accountability and implementation of the budget as well as analyse the achievement of performance indicators in the agricultural sector in the country.

Madam Musah said male counterparts in farming in the rural areas who were beneficiaries of government subsidiary products must ensure it is equitably shared between them and the women in farmers to enhance their capacity in commercial farming.

She said women should be empowered in the agricultural sector to help boost their interest and promote gender equality as well as improve food security in the country.

Mr Ibrahim Akalbila, Coordinator of GTLC, stated that implementation of the GRB was necessary and said it would increase the quality of service delivery to the citizens and reduce inequality in the country.

He added that the GRB implementation must be anchored on the necessary legislation to improve its achievements and performance outcomes.

Some of the participants at the event stated that Programme Based Budgeting could influence GRB implementations and called on government and other stakeholders to join forces for its smooth implementation.