Three Female Farmers Who #MakeItHappen
To celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, IFDC is launching a new blog series featuring the firsthand stories of three female farmers from Mali.
Smallholder farmers face many challenges, not the least of which are depletion of soils and limited access to inputs and profitable markets. Women farmers encounter even more barriers than these, including lack of land ownership and the inability to acquire loans. Women, though facing these hurdles, are a crucial piece in global agricultural development. It is our job to build foundations to make them strong entrepreneurs.
For International Women’s Day, IFDC celebrates women farmers because they make a difference. Empowering these women to grow more food – and sell it – could increase food availability for 150 million individuals. Their work, often unseen and unrecognized, brings the hope of change and prosperity for millions. Facing the task of increasing global nutrition, female farming entrepreneurs can #MakeItHappen. IFDC is committed to building a foundation for them.
IFDC includes women farmers as a necessary part of local and global agricultural development. On average, women comprise nearly half of the world’s agricultural workforce. In Bangladesh, the Walmart Foundation Component of IFDC’s AAPI projecttargets 40,000 women for the use of improved fertilizer technology in their home gardens. These women will grow more vegetables, increasing nutrition in their homes and empowering them by raising their incomes. In Ghana, theFTF USAID ATT project works with women’s groups to help them grow more rice to give food security to their homes, communities and their nation.
These women entrepreneurs are making a difference. In the following weeks, Saly, Ténin and Kadia – three female farmers from Mali – will share their stories. Stay tuned with the hashtag #3WomenFarmers and share your stories of women who are making a difference in the food world with us @IFDCNews.
