October 19, 2020

In 2SCALE, all the women are champions!

Celebrating International Day of Rural Women.

In recent decades, rural women have been considered as the basis for the development of rural economies especially in developing countries. Yet, rural women still face unequal treatment in terms of multiple unpaid tasks which significantly impact her productivity.

Mother, farmer, housewife and other, diverse roles of rural women in the household today requires deep reflection in order to identify the barriers related to their empowerment and to consider actions to overcome them. This will allow them to have access and the power to control their own productive resources and time and consequently improve their income.

The recent situation of the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated several flaws in social organizations and economies worldwide. While the bigger economies are affected by the crisis, one can imagine what has happened to the rural economy whose survival has been fuelled by the workforce of rural women. It is therefore not surprising that this year’s Theme for International Day of Rural Women is

Building Rural Women’s Resilience in the Wake of Covid-19.

During this pandemic, supply chains and mobility for economic activities have been disrupted. This has had a toll on improving the livelihoods of rural households which are mostly run by women.

Contribution of rural women in 2SCALE partnerships

2SCALE places particular emphasis on women's economic empowerment and their involvement at all levels of the agrifood value chain of its partnerships, aiming to recognize the impact that women have over men on food and nutritional security of households as well as the reduction of rural poverty.

Speaking of the agri-food sector, whether production, marketing and processing, rural women have important roles to play. In order to underscore y their role on the occasion of the International Day of Rural Women, we have compiled in this article profiles of some women who innovate and excel in what they do within our partnerships.

Atambubri Linda and Mariam Asambo in the Faranaya partnership in Ghana are being recognized during the celebration day for their various roles in supporting the rural economy in the Garu District of the Upper East Region of Ghana to become resilient to emerging challenges.

Atambubri Linda, the forty-four year old has been instrumental in technology transfer in her community towards increasing the availability of sorghum. She has led crop demonstration plots to transfer knowledge in Aflasafe, micro dosing, improving sorghum varieties as well as commercial sorghum seed production. As a cash crop in the area, her leadership in this regard will bring about economic returns to spur better living conditions for her community. This will enhance the resilience of rural households to cope with household emergencies.

My focus is to continue to lead efforts that will support other women to increase the production of sorghum in volumes and quality.

Mariam Asambo is a 24 year old lady and a processor of sorghum-based products. With facilitation from 2SCALE, she has been able to enhance her sorghum formulation and supported peer-to-peer best processing practices. She has also developed coconut and sorghum blend doughnuts. These products have become a center of attraction for many low-income consumers in Garu. Mariam has big dreams.

My desire is to become a leading processor of sorghum-based products to create more employment opportunities for other young ladies.

Women are mostly active in agricultural work, and contribute greatly to food security, environmental protection and climate change resilience. In Mali, the women of the SiguidaYelen rice partnership are committed in the fight against food insecurity through the parboiling activity.

Mayama Koumaré is a farmer and processor, leader of Wassa cooperative of the SiguidaYelen partnership. She argued:

Our activity consists in fighting against food insecurity because the parboiled rice is very nutritious and accessible to low income consumers. 2 kg of parboiled rice can feed more than 15 persons.

It is therefore critical to continue to support rural women to participate fully in household and supply chain decision-making to give ownership, voice and mitigate risks to translate into improved well-being for future generations.

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