AGRICULT URE
CHANGING THE
LANDSCAPE FOR WOMEN FARMERS
W
omen, on average, make up 43 per cent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries, yet they receive only a fraction of the resources, agricultural training and information compared to men, claims the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Agriculture is a knowledge-intensive field with new technologies, and emerging women farmers need to develop the skills to take advantage of the economic benefits offered by the digital revolution. This is why South African Women in Farming (SAWIF), the Vodacom Foundation and UN Women joined forces and launched the Women Farmers Programme. The programme aims to provide women farmers across South Africa with digital literacy training. “Since the successful pilot programme in Limpopo held in 2018, Vodacom has invested over R6.3-million in digital literacy training and extended the programme to four more provinces, including the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the North West. “The number of women farmers trained through the programme has more than doubled. Currently, more than 1 300 women farmers from rural areas have been trained in digital literacy, up from 600 last August,” says Takalani Netshitenzhe, external affairs director for Vodacom South Africa.
“The Connected Farmer app provides real-time information on what farmers are producing in which regions.” – Takalani netshitenzhe
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THE CONNECTED FARMER APP Deborah Matuku, SAWIF’s president, says the programme offers its 5 000 members training in the intricacies of using a smartphone, using apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp and email to help them grow their businesses. “This basic training empowers our members, who are mostly rural women with small farms that have limited access to bigger supply chains. “It opens doors because we can now network with each other and share information. The most exciting part of this programme is the Connected Farmer app being developing by Vodacom. This will change the way we do business because it will
Takalani Netshitenzhe
REALISING THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN FARMING
I
n August, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, announced that government would be prioritising farming as one of the sectors to rebuild the economy and concentrating on increasing the role of women in agriculture. Through research, the department has learnt that women in the sector face numerous issues such as access to land, financial services, marketing and trade requirements and mechanisation to commercialise their farming activity. One of the biggest issues Thoko is the lack of statistical data Didiza on the number of women in the sector and what commodities they trade in. The Minister said that, after consultations with stakeholders, government now has
The SAWIF fresh produce stand at the launch event last August.
a plan on how to mobilise and organise women farmers so they have a more prominent role in the sector across farming, production, procurement and agribusiness. This would be done through several measures including releasing up to 50 per cent of state land to female farmers, introducing additional land reform measures, developing a targeted programme for female entrepreneurs and farmers and introducing a 40 per cent procurement process for female-led busineses.
IMAGE: SUPPLIED
The Women in Farmers Programme is hoping to change the landscape for small-scale farmers in South Africa. Thando Pato finds out how
advertise our members’ services and expose them to potential suppliers outside their current supply chains.” Netshitenzhe says that Connected Farmer is the third phase of the Women in Farming project. “The Connected Farmer app provides real-time information on what farmers are producing in which regions. It also helps to ensure that small-scale women farmers participating in the programme have access to input and output markets – a key requirement for the transformation of smallholder farmers to commercial production – and can meet the conditions of retailers.” Connected Farmer is currently being developed to include financial services and enterprise business offerings as the fourth phase of the project. Netshitenzhe explains that a farmer can use any mobile device on any network to access the Connected Farmer’s platform and, through SMS, can receive valuable information, including weather forecasts and market prices. “In addition, the agribusiness and even third-party providers can issue farmers with vouchers that can be exchanged at participating dealers for requirements such as seeds, fertiliser and access to mechanisation.”
EMPOWERMENT
Agriculture .indd 18
2020/11/27 4:28 PM
