Self Help Africa is committed to empowering women - helping them with farming supports, training and access to micro-finance so that they can generate an income to support their families.
Why focus on women?
Because they perform most of the farm work in the developing world, and their role in maximizing income from both farm and off-farm activity is critical.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, women farmers in Africa make up 33% of the work force, yet they provide 70% of agricultural labor and 60-80% of the labor required for household food consumption; 100% of the processing of basic food stuffs; 90% of the labor required to source domestic water and wood fuel; 80% of the labor for food storage and transport; 90% of hoeing and weeding work; and 60% of the harvesting and marketing services.
This is a very heavy burden. A woman who weeds just one hectare of land - about half the size of the average small farm - walks the equivalent of 10 kilometres in a stooped position, very often with a child strapped to her back.
Women are denied equal access to land, credit, inputs, transport, farm advice services, technical assistance, and market opportunities and know-how.
Women receive only 5% of farm advice services worldwide and just 10% of credit extended for agricultural loans. Only 15% of farm advisors are women – significant cultural barriers in many developing countries discourage male farm advisors from working directly with women cultivators.
Studies estimate that agricultural output in sub-Saharan Africa could increase by 20 percent if women had access to the same resources as men. But they don't. They are prevented from adopting new farming technologies or increasing their economies of scale. Productivity is constrained and their ability to switch into higher-return crops is severely limited.
Even where women don't have access to land but do have a business idea, they find they can't get started without a small loan. And how do you get a loan if you don't have any savings or capital?
Studies show that small increases in a woman's income have a disproportionately greater impact on the health and wellbeing of her family. In addition, women grow most food for household consumption, so increasing a woman's ability to grow food boosts her children's nutritional status.
Because of this, Self Help Africa supports women in farming, and to set up small businesses, through a network of farm advisory and credit programs.
When it comes to self-help, our 25-year experience shows that placing women at the centre of our programs achieves lasting results.
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