By Morlai Sesay
With the objective to equip women in agriculture and to support the government's Feed ‘Salone’ programme, the United Nations Women Sierra Leone has handed over ten (10) modern farming equipment to the Fabala Women Farmers on Tuesday 27th February, 2024. The donated equipment includes five rice milling machines and five machines for groundnut shelling, which benefit over 1, 875 women in the district.
This donation stems from the backdrop that studies have indicated that rural women comprise 70% of the agricultural labor force in Sierra Leone. However, they are often disadvantaged compared to their male counterparts; hence, women do not benefit as much from their agricultural opportunities. This inequality, according to UN WOMEN SL, depends on factors that include gender biases, which hamper women’s access to resources and services, as well as gender discrimination that is prevalent in the labor market, plus a widespread need to implement effective gender-sensitive policies by the government.
Solidaridad and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) had launched the second phase of a capacity-building programme targeting rural women. This project, implemented by Solidaridad, was funded by the FAO as part of their Responsible Agricultural Investment and Food Systems (RAI) initiative.
Building on the work from the project’s first phase, the new programme takes a collaborative approach to empower rural women in Sierra Leone. To improve their lives, these women recognize the need to actively participate in the policy-making and decision-making process at both the national and local levels.
The participation by rural women in the project, especially those working in agriculture, is essential as the new programme looks to ensure responsible investment in agriculture and food systems. Through training efforts and dialogue with local stakeholders, the programme plans to reduce poverty and enhance food security and nutrition while fostering sustainable development. The United Nations Women in Sierra Leone knows that the success of the project depends on committed and involved rural women to complete Sierra Leone’s Sustainable Development Goals.
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