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„Game Changers - Women in Agriculture“ Award winner 2020
Janet Adade
Farmer, aggregator, processor and marketer (*1974)
Ghana
Nominating organization:
GIZ
Project:
Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and Food Sector (GIC)
“For many people in West Africa, the rice sector is important to generate income. Janet Adade's efforts in the rice value chain went beyond standards. She is an outstanding example for successful female farmers having shaped her livelihood from rice farming by making clever decisions. Having started as a humble farmer, Janet Adade as a local innovator has moved from mere cultivation of rice into value addition by processing and marketing.
With her women's group MADOWOFA she is ensuring that her peer female farmers are now generating income from different processing steps in the rice value chain. It was her business mindset that realized the creation of a market for locally produced parboiled rice at national level - among other things by introducing a new type of packaging. This way, Janet significantly contributed to overcoming a long-lasting major marketing challenge for local producers in competition with imported rice.
As a committed networker she manages to encourage more women to form business-oriented groups and helps them to realize new income opportunities. Mobilizing and empowering women farmers and unemployed youth, she has improved the lives of 1500 people in her home community. For these reasons, the jury considers Janet Adade to be a game changer".
"My long time desire to help rural and underprivileged women triggered my motivation to relocate from the city to the village. Growing up in a rural community, I witnessed many disadvantages and abuse that women go through. Many women lacked the confidence, education, ability and economic empowerment to fight for their rights. For the past ten years, I have dedicated myself to mobilising women in communities surrounding my village to fight for our common goals and welfare. Today, I am proud to say that I have been able to reach about 1000 women for various interventions in agricultural related activities."
Janet Adade
Extract from the nomination
“Her work and advocacy has influenced the formation of women groups in processing and farming. Her training of several women in nutrition and rice parboiling has caused a change with how women involved in processing have improved on the quality of their products. Her mentorship of young farmers, both male and female have recorded improvements in outputs and marketing of their produce.
Her actions saw to the formation of MADOWOFA; an all-female processing group that champions rice parboiling within Hohoe and other districts in the Oti region, the group also invests in packaging materials that has made their products attractive and attracts urban and peri urban consumers.
The knowledge she has brought to the women through her work has improved the livelihood of women with a lot them supporting their husbands in paying school fees for their children. A number of women through improvements in their finances have started putting up buildings and engaged in other small business from the profits they make from their parboiling businesses. This is no small feat when you consider the financial standing of these women before her intervention.”
"Janet Adade ist eine außergewöhnliche Frau mit einem großen Knowhow rund um den Anbau, die Veredlung und auch die Vermarktung von Reis. Es gelingt ihr ganz hervorragend, die ganze Wertschöpfungskette bei der Reisproduktion wirklich auszuschöpfen. Der Einsatz für Regionalität und Vermarktung für den im Parboiling-Verfahren veredelten Reis - das hat meine Hochachtung. Und da sind auch noch ihre besonderen Fähigkeiten als Netzwerkerin - sie nimmt ganz viele Frauen mit auf ihren Weg."
Petra Bentkämper, President of the German Land Frauen Verband