The women of the Menlehkoyee Farmers’ Cooperative in Nengbehyee Town in Nimba County fear that their male counterparts might soon take over the all-female dominated farming group due to age among the women and with none of their children especially the females interested in taking over from them.
Currently, the females are 45 while the males are 15 but majority of the females in the cooperative are in their 50s and 60s which is troubling for the male members who have to do most of the work and in some instances hire contractors.
“Farming is time bound so we can’t sit and see our aging mothers and sisters take on those things they did when they were in their twenties and thirties,” a member of the group, Lawrence Gonsahn, said.
“The group was established in 2003 following the civil crisis when women in rural communities in Nimba County saw the need to help each other especially female farmers; so, they took turns to visit each other farms on a designated date and aid with the work,” Gonshan added.
The founder, Yah Senneh Flomo, informed this paper that exercise brought them together to develop a cooperative where they received huge benefits with which they paid their children schools fees and took care of other household necessities.
“We have been trying especially with support from NGOs through the government; but the partnership with government was cut off since the leadership of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ended,” Madam Flomo observed.
Madam Flomo explained that their worse challenge is insincerity on the part of some marketers at the ‘Gorbachev Market’ in Red Light who they supply with their products to sell and pay.
“This is because we don’t have our own car to transport our produce so when the women come to our farms, we give the good to sell and pay, but they are not fair to us. Some of them will try, but others will never pay you I don’t care how much noise you make behind them,” she said.
She said if the harvest is good, they cannot sell their yields in the communities because it will take time for the local dwellers and even business people to buy them right away and as a result the perishable products will get spoiled.
As all of the members of the group worked happily together in clearing their farmland on Thursday June 15 in Nengbehyee for this farming season, Alice Harris expressed how excited she was being part of such group for 23 years.
Alice said she has benefited from the group in terms financial assistance to send her children to school, hospital and even provided feeding and has not experienced any problem with the group.
Meanwhile, the group is calling on the government through the Ministry of Agriculture to help train more women especially younger females for agriculture work; Roseline Tengbeh reporting as USAID/FeJAL Gender reporting fellow.
