A study conducted by ActionAid-Rwanda shows that women have more potential to contribute towards food security.
However, majority of women are vulnerable and small scale farmers who rarely benefit from various government initiatives aimed at improving agriculture.
ActionAid’s country director Josephine Uwamariya, says the campaign aims at assisting women engaged in small scale farming particularly in rural areas.
Explaining activities of the weeklong campaign, Uwamariya insisted that affected women ought to unite in order to request for necessities with a stronger voice.
“This will first be enabled through debates at the local level where villagers will learn how to freely present their problems. Similar debates will be held at national level where ActionAid staff will meet government officials such as policy makers in order to influence better planning that benefits poor farmers,” Uwamariya said.
Prior to the debates, the NGO’s staff will train women farmers on how to group themselves into cooperatives.
According to Sulah Nuwamanya, the ActionAid’s partnership development and communications manager, women cooperatives wouldn’t only improve their yield but also increase their chances of access to credit from financial institutions.
“We want women to know their rights, assist them in forming cooperatives and I believe with more support from government this program will facilitate poverty eradication,” he remarked.
The campaign is in line with global celebration of the World Food Day, major activities will be conducted in Districts such as Musanze, Nyaruguru and Nyanza.
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