SALOMEY SAAH’S JOURNEY WITH COLANDEF 

Salomey Saah, is a 47-year-old cocoa farmer in Susuanho, a community in Duayaw Nkwanta Traditional Area in the Ahafo Region of Ghana. She has been in the cocoa farming business for over 20 years. She has cultivated not only cocoa on her 41-acre farm but also annual crops like cassava, plantain, and maize. Married and a mother of four, her dedication to farming has been a source of livelihood for her family. She is the President of a women groups known as Duayaw Nkwanta Women Cocoa Farmers. 

Salomey’s journey in farming took a transformative turn when she participated in capacity strengthening sessions organized by COLANDEF. Educate on Land Rights is one of three intervention areas COLANDEF delivers to support secure agricultural lands.  The capacity strengthening sessions for the Duayaw Nkwanta Women Cocoa Farmers has been running since 2023. It was designed to equip members of the group with knowledge on relevant sections of the new Ghana Land Act. The goal was to help the members of the group to understand the provisions in the Land Act, and the opportunities the Act provides for women’s land access and tenure security. The members of the group received guidance on the mechanisms for securing land rights and encouraged to take those steps.  

Salomey Saah, has not kept the knowledge and awareness to herself. She has actively engaged 5 other women's groups in the area. So far, she has been supported to engage more than 200 women also engaged in farming.  

It is heartwarming to see how all these women are eagerly taking the necessary steps to seek clarity on the land rights they hold and obtain written agreements with their Chiefs.   

Madam Salomey has also provided a platform for shared learning, by collaborating with the Paramount Queen Mother of the Duayaw Nkwanta Traditional Area to organize radio sensitization programs to educate radio audiences far beyond women groups.