How providing opportunity to women can be a game changer
“We are always working toward expanding our knowledge and believe that the more we can communicate to our customers, the better we can serve our mission.” JOEL ARNOW, YOLELE FOODS TEAM
WHAT IS HAPPENING?
When we took a hard look at agriculture and its role in African economies, we noticed something important… Female farmers are having a “moment.” In the past five years, international institutions and NGOs have begun to invest substantial resources into elevating women’s roles in the new African agricultural economy. Women may hold an answer to many of Africa’s economic challenges. At Yolele, we are optimistic and want to do all we can to support this transformation.
Let’s talk about farming. In the United States, we are practically oozing food. We’re awash in thousands of new products every year, and farm subsidies contribute to staggering quantities of soy, corn, wheat, and other major crops. Yet with all the activity in our national food system, agriculture accounts for only 5.5% of our GDP. By comparison, agriculture accounts for 24% of GDP in Africa as a whole. Nearly a quarter of their entire economy! 80% percent of people in West Africa make their living from agriculture. It seemed clear to us that if you want to create economic growth in Africa, the place to start is in farming. Back to women…
“We cannot develop the African continent if we fail to develop women.”
Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki, the CEO of NEPAD Agency, speaking at the Conference for Women in Agribusiness in Durban
Dr. Mayaki’s quote has become a common mantra in the aid and development community. They see women as being in a unique position because of their ability to bridge agricultural economics with domestic issues. This could be a game changer for the region, as it could address food security and nutritional deficiency.
WHY WOMEN? Putting money in the pockets of women can have a multiplier effect…
Major players in economic development believe that maximum impact will be made by leveraging women’s influence in both agriculture and domestic life. In general, women invest the money they make directly in their families and communities through education, nutritional health, and investment in local businesses. A $10 increase in a woman’s income is equivalent to a $110 increase in a man’s income in its effect on children’s health and nutrition!
Concern regarding gender inequality is growing around the world. Throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa, the issue has had a complicated history and is steeped in cultural norms. A generational shift will be necessary to legitimately change women’s place within African society. Here are some of the impediments that women farmers face today.
LAND RIGHTS
First off, land in Africa is generally controlled by men. Women’s ability to own land is often tied to their marital status. Men within the family or the greater community can circumvent a woman’s right to her land even when it has been rightfully inherited from a spouse. This is just one example of the uphill battles that women face.
What makes this all the more challenging is that specific data in this area is difficult to obtain in a part of the world where property rights documentation is scarce. An estimated 90% of Africa’s rural land is undocumented. What we do know is that the World Economic Forum estimates that women make up more than half of the world’s population yet control less than 20% of global land resources. We think it is time for women to have more equitable ownership of their land…
And not just because it’s the right thing to do. We’re also thinking about regenerative agricultural practices. Currently, women in Africa control the farming of foods that feed the family, while men tend to control cash crops. Men often use chemical inputs to maximize productivity, while women tend to use traditional practices like crop rotation that enrich the soil over generations. If women are given the opportunity to control land equitably, we would hope to see domestic farming practices being used more broadly. This could have a significant impact by improving land stewardship and increasing sustainable farming practices. While there are strong cultural forces that might stand in the way of substantial change, we believe that we need to start working now to change the paradigm for future generations.
GENDER GAP
In agriculture, experts refer to the gender gap as the discrepancy between women’s outsized role in agricultural productivity and their limited control over resources such as land, credit, information, and technology. Unless this gap is closed, women simply won’t be able to access necessary resources to build businesses and strengthen their communities. Unleashing capital to fund women-led businesses, projects and research could go a long way in transforming women’s lives.
Broadly speaking, we believe that women need to be included at the table as decisions are being made. They should be leaders in allocating resources, and deciding what kind of research gets funded. The priorities being set today will have a profound impact on the lives of families for generations to come.
Despite the evidence that women are a safer investment, women cannot adequately access credit. We’re glad that some institutional lenders have taken note and see an opportunity to support female-run businesses. This will not only stimulate economic growth in the region, but also boosts lending institutions’ own bottom line. Agricultural businesses run by women could bring in billions in revenue.
VALUE CHAIN
The concept of a value chain is important here. Simply put, a value chain is all the activities that go into adding value to a product or service. This is everything from preparing the ground and sowing seeds to harvesting, processing, package design, sales, distribution and marketing. Not all of these steps are valued equally.
Women are providing the brunt of undervalued labor in the African economy. They also participate in unpaid work that is vital to maintaining day to day agricultural operations. According to director Michael Hailu of the Technical Center for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation, “When you look at the entire value chain, women have a much bigger role in production, which is not very lucrative, but as you go further along the value chain they have much less of a role because they don’t have access to the resources that are needed, in terms of capital or land, for example.”
The undervaluing of women’s work is largely responsible for the staggering wage gap that exists between men and women (varying 15%-60% depending on the country). To reverse this trend, women need access to technology, information resources, as well as markets, to be able to compete in the global economy.
WHO IS HELPING AND HOW CAN YOU JOIN THE CAUSE
What’s really exciting is that people are starting to invest in women. Initiatives like the African Union’s Maloba Declaration in 2014 have put forth concrete goals for agricultural reforms with the hope of propelling African agriculture into the twenty-first century. NGOs, global institutions, and foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are focusing their work on women’s access to credit in recent years.
Even though we are just at the brink of seeing substantial change, there is so much important work being done to support women in agriculture. Here is a list of organizations that are working to support the cause. Take a look…
•Kiva provides financing in the form of micro loans to farmers across the globe.
•The Global Fund For Women works to support women’s rights through grant making and building alliances.
•Farm Africa works to reduce poverty by helping farmers in eastern Africa.
