On March 8, the world celebrates International Women’s Day (IWD). This year, the celebration is under the theme “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”, focusing on unlocking equal rights, power and opportunities for all. Central to this vision is empowering the next generation of youth, particularly young women and adolescent girls as catalysts for lasting change.
Progress in Women’s Rights in Agriculture and Rural Development
In recent years, there have been commendable positive steps toward gender equality in agriculture and rural development:
- Improved Land Rights and Access to Resources: Land ownership remains a challenge for rural women, yet policies promoting women’s land rights are increasing. Secure land tenure for women enhances their economic security and improves agricultural productivity and food security.
- Bridging the Digital Divide: Closing the gender gap in digital agriculture allows women to leverage technology for improved farming practices, market access, and financial inclusion. Initiatives promoting digital literacy among rural women are transforming their participation in agri-business and cooperatives.
- Strengthening Women’s Roles in Climate-Resilient Agriculture: Women farmers are at the forefront of adapting to climate change, adopting sustainable practices that improve resilience. Supporting women with access to climate-smart technologies and training ensures better environmental stewardship and food security.
YenKasa Africa’s Commitment to Empowering Women
Through its members and supported projects, YenKasa Africa has been instrumental in advancing women’s rights and participation in agricultural development. They are promoting:
- Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing: YenKasa Africa supports training programs that enhance women’s skills in digital tools, sustainable farming, and cooperative leadership. One notable example is the Participatory Video training, where women actively learn video production techniques to document and share agricultural innovations. By applying these skills in ongoing projects across different countries, rural women can amplify their voices, share best practices, and influence agricultural policies and community development.
- Financial Inclusion and Market Access: Strengthening women-led enterprises through access to credit and markets is critical for economic empowerment and food security. As part of the Forest and Farm Facility Programme, which YenKasa Africa supports, rural women have gained financial resources, enabling them to build resilience and expand agribusiness opportunities. Women farmers can better integrate into agricultural value chains and increase their economic independence by improving access to credit, training, and cooperative networks.
- Improving Women’s Representation in Decision-Making: Encouraging rural women to take leadership roles in farmers’ organizations, cooperatives, and policy discussions is key to ensuring their voices are heard at all levels. YenKasa Africa member farmer organizations actively support women’s leadership development, fostering an environment where they contribute to decision-making processes and influence the growth and sustainability of their organizations. Through mentorship programs and advocacy efforts, these initiatives help bridge the leadership gap and amplify rural women’s impact in the agricultural sector.
Spotlight on published articles/stories
Several initiatives have recently highlighted the importance of empowering women in agriculture:
- Creating Opportunities for Youth and Women with Digital Agriculture: Digital tools and training empower rural women to thrive in agriculture and agribusiness. By integrating digital solutions, women and youth can access real-time market prices, weather forecasts, and agricultural best practices, improving decision-making and productivity. Additionally, digital platforms enable women to participate in online training, networking opportunities, and financial services that were previously out of reach due to geographical constraints.
- Harvesting Hope in Northern Ghana: In the Kassena-Nankana West District, efforts have been made to grant women more access to agricultural productive assets. These community engagements have underscored the economic and social benefits of empowering women, enhancing food security, improving nutrition, alleviating poverty, and improving overall community well-being.
- Strengthening Leadership Among Rural Women: Interactive training sessions have been designed to bolster women’s decision-making skills within farmers’ organizations. These workshops prepare participants for active involvement in high-level political discussions, enabling them to influence international decision-making processes significantly.
Explore more stories and insights on women’s empowerment on YenKasa Africa’s website:
- Radio Programme: Fostering Women’s Leadership in Farmer Organizations: Insights and Strategies
- Young women and men in Somalia are embracing technology to promote peace
- Radio Programme: Economic empowerment of women in the face of climate change and equitable access to resources: challenges, opportunities, and perspectives
- PAFO Women’s Colleges: Empower, strengthen rural women, influence
- Honoring women key players in agricultural development
- Voice of Kono’s Woman Talk (Tok): Winner of the 2024 Liz Hughes Award for Her Farm Radio
- From soap to sustainability: How Malian radio stations are getting their hands dirty to keep their listener groups employed
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