When Women Farmers Rise, Families Thrive

By Ernestina Esinam Glikpo, Communications Manager

For years, Arhinatu walked for hours under the scorching sun, balancing a tray of kulikuli (local peanut snacks) on her head. She is a mother of seven, and every sale mattered. Yet many days ended in disappointment. Sometimes she returned home with only a small profit. Other times, she sold nothing at all.

“I didn’t know how I would keep caring for my children,” she recalls.

Everything began to change in 2023, when Self-Help International (SHI) visited  Ul-Kpong Bakonoyiri, a thriving community in Ghana’s Upper West Region. That year, Arhinatu heard about Self-Help International’s microcredit program. She joined a group of women in her community and received her first loan of GHS 700.00 ($60.14). Instead of continuing with small daily sales, she made a bold decision: she invested in farming.

With guidance from SHI and training in improved agronomic practices, Arhinatu planted soybeans on two acres of land. Months later, she stood in her field at harvest time, overwhelmed with gratitude. She gathered 15 bags which is 1,500kg (3,306.93Ibs) of soybeans.

For the first time, her hard work yielded more than survival. It produced stability. She used the profits to repay her loan, keep her children in school, and provide food and essentials for her household. But she did not stop there.

By 2025, Arhinatu qualified for a larger loan of GHS 3,000.00 ($245.00). This time, she expanded her vision, and her farm. She planted peanuts on five acres of land. At harvest, she collected 70 bags, approximately 4,600kg (10,120Ibs).

The impact reached far beyond the field. With the proceeds, Arhinatu supported her daughter’s admission to McCoy College of Education in Nadowli, Upper West Region, helping her pursue teacher training. She also paid for urgent medical care when another daughter fell seriously ill. “I was able to take her to Wa Regional Hospital,” she says. “Some years back, I would not have had that money.”

Today, Arhinatu stands not as a struggling street vendor but as a confident farmer, businesswoman, and provider. “If not for the support and the good agronomic practices SHI taught me, I don’t know where my family would be,” she says with deep gratitude. “Barika—thank you.”

Because of your support, a mother of seven moved from uncertainty to abundance. From walking in the sun hoping to sell a few snacks to harvesting thousands of pounds of crops.

Your generosity did more than fund a loan. It restored dignity, strengthened a family, educated a daughter, and saved a child’s health. And the harvest is still growing. 

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