Women produce around 70 percent of Africa’s food but own only 20 percent of the land. Male farmers often hand their land down to their sons generation after generation, perpetuating this imbalance. Men are also significantly more likely to be able to access the capital, equipment and technology necessary to make a successful living in agriculture.
Three members of the Alliance for Science’s 2019 Global Leadership Fellows Program cohort are working to change all of that through a new initiative to empower and inspire other women farmers throughout Africa. Slyvia Tetteh of Ghana, Ruramiso Mashumba of Zimbabwe and Sussana Phiri of Zambia hope their Women Who Farm campaign can start to eliminate some of the hardships that previous generations of African women have struggled with and that still provide roadblocks to success today.
Women Who Farm Africa creates resources for women farmers to learn about agriculture. This network of female farmers helps empower women by involving them in decision-making and access to finances. Empowered women farmers can increase their income, develop a stable rural livelihood and contribute to ensuring food security.
From the Women Who Farm Africa website:
If you educate a woman, you educate society. Imagine a world where farmers, especially rural African women, learn how to produce high yielding and nutritious food. Imagine the positive impacts that would have on nutrition, health and especially the farmer’s income. Women play a key role in food security; they are the backbone of the rural economy especially in the developing world.
The Alliance for Science is proud to support this initiative by three alumni of our Global Leadership Fellows Program. To show your support, please visit the Women Who Farm website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Women Who Farm Africa co-founders Slyvia Tetteh, Sussana Phiri and Ruramiso Mashumba.