The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Business Economic Empowerment Forum has called on women to dialogue with Government on policy measures that can create impact in agriculture and advance women participation.
In an interview, Business Economic and Empowerment Forum treasurer and agriculture governor, Mrs Lindiwe Mahlahla, said women play a critical role in the agriculture sector.
“Women have become more responsible for agricultural production in Africa.
Statistics show that in sub-Saharan Africa women provide more than 50 percent of agricultural labour, the highest proportion in the world. In Zimbabwe 61 percent of the farmers are women and 70 percent of the labour force is women.
World over 80 percent of agricultural production is done by smallholder farmers. And the female share of the agricultural labour force is the highest in the world,” said Mrs Mahlahla.
She said by opening up new opportunities for women in agriculture, it would help them to develop the nations and provide new streams of income, which help to lift themselves out of poverty.
Mrs Mahlahla said when women have more economic empowerment and more opportunities, it helps the whole community to grow and prosper and ultimately the nation.
Mrs Mahlahla said women have little access to training on technical and management issues and they are not able to access equipment and inputs that are intended for smallholder farms.
She commended Government on its efforts as it has taken various active steps to promote farmers in general including women in agriculture.
“I propose the improved implementation of some of the policy measures and in some instances request introduction of policy measures to help increase agricultural production and to also provide a base for agro-processing for industrial development.
“To increase access to water the Government has actively been working on reparation and construction of dams and the launch of a facility to construct boreholes and pipeline construction to bring water to communities across Zimbabwe.
I’m requesting that as some of the boreholes are constructed near irrigation schemes across the country that more cultivation areas are singled out for use by women only groups within the irrigation schemes.”
She said there was need for contract growing opportunities to be presented to the rural communities to empower more women.
She said there was need for land reform measures that allow for women quotas within the provinces for farm allocations to increase land ownership among women farmers.
“While we applaud the efforts of Agribank and EmpowerBank who have loans structured towards women, expansion of institutional credit facilities to farmers still needs further expansion.
Due to lack of assets women are requesting for more programmes that offer loans against machinery and equipment purchased to enable mechanisation.”
Mrs Mahlahla said traders should not be allowed to charge exploitative interest rates to farmers.
“More regional rural banks need to also be set up to deal specially with the needs of agricultural credit which must be delivered on a timely basis.
Alternatively setting up women’s savings and loans groups, so that women can build up good financial records and apply for loans from banks to build up their businesses.
Women need more horticultural programmes to be availed that allow for various inputs to the farmers be supplied below the level that would prevail in the open market and that a specific percentage within programmes be targeted at women farmers.”
