Gender inequality in agriculture remains evident among rural communities in Zambia. Cultural gender roles continue to hamper women farmers ’access to access to finance, inputs and training. However, closing gender gaps in agriculture has the potential to improve household food nutrition as well as increase household incomes of rural communities.
In Chipata district of
Eastern province in Zambia, a smallholder farmer - Belita Phiri - pioneered the
formation of a group called Eastern Women and Youth Empowerment aimed at supporting
vulnerable women and children. The Association can be described as a
conglomerate of women and youth groups that are striving to be
self-sustainable.
“Initially we didn’t feel the need register
our group as a cooperative but the needs of the [vulnerable] children were
growing,” Belita said.
She explained that the
socio-economic statuses of the various groups were assessed to help ascertain
the vulnerability of the group members as well as the impact that empowering their
groups will have on their individual households.
Through the Eastern Women and Youth Empowerment, Belita has been mobilizing vulnerable but viable women groups to enhance their access to knowledge and livestock inputs.
Growth begins with
awareness
Through the restocking
and stocking exercise under the IFAD-supported Enhanced Smallholder Livestock
Investment Programme, the Eastern Women and Youth Empowerment group received 12
rabbits which they shared equally among 3 vulnerable groups.
E-SLIP distributed
rabbits under its COVID-19 Smart Livestock Production and Productivity Project (CSLP3)
which was financed by IFAD’s Rural Poor Stimulus Facility (RPSF). The
distribution packages were aimed at providing some relief to rural farmers whose
incomes were being negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per requirement for
all livestock packages under E-SLIP, beneficiaries were obliged to pass on the
same number of offspring they receive to new beneficiaries.
“We do not just pass
on the livestock alone but we pass on the knowledge as well,” Belita explained.
However, most
trainings require participation fees which most vulnerable women cannot afford.
As such, Belita has been investing in acquiring knowledge by participating in a
number of farmer trainings after which she shares the knowledge by training selected
women from various groups and urges them to train others.
Agribusiness and
entrepreneurial skills are where most rural women farmers remain handicapped.
With particular regard to rabbits which reproduce faster than other livestock,
Belita explained that the groups are eager to satisfy the growing market but do
not know how to.
“I got excited when my
rabbits multiplied to 17 and I was announcing everywhere that I have rabbits
for sale and I’m looking for a market,” Belita narrated.
She added that she did
find a market that required 600 rabbits monthly at a lucrative price of ZMK300
(US$15) each. Unfortunately, she could not fulfil that demand and turned down
the offer.
She was not yet
enlightened to the concept of bulking.
Knowledge shared is
knowledge multiplied
“I realized that I
needed a business plan and when I tried to ask people to do one for us their
charges were too high. So, I sought help on how to design a business plan on my
own,” Belita said.
She found a
non-governmental organization that was conducting an entrepreneurial training
of specific target groups which she was not part of but they allowed her to
participate.
“I learned a very
simple way of doing a business plan – it’s very easy to understand and I am now
using this method to teach others as well,” Belita narrated.
The market for rabbits
is predominantly urban. But with increased awareness, rural communities in
Chipata are beginning to consume rabbit meat. It is proving to be an enjoyed
alternative source of protein and most communities preferred to consume it
smoked rather than fresh.
Therefore, together
with some of the other recipients of the rabbit packages, Belita is planning on
adding value to their rabbits by smoking them.
“I want women in my
community to understand that it is possible to make progress without being
given money all the time,” Belita.
END.
Figure 1 Belita Phiri is one of the beneficiaries of
IFAD's Rural Poor Stimulus Facility(RPSF) that was being implemented by E-SLIP
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