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Soumis par Beatrice Tuei le lun, 10/07/2017 - 13:39 Permalien
I agree that direct partnership with private sector by public entities may be a challenge because private sector require clear terms of financial engagements which may be difficult to achieve from the public sector. The public sector role is to regulate businesses and provide an enabling environment for the business to flourish.
A good starting point for initiating a win-win cooperation is by encouraging consultations between government and private sector in developing and inspection of implementable policies and regulations friendly to women entreprenuers. The entrepreneurs are likely to comply to such policies assuring food safety for consumers.
Secondly governments may promote value chains platforms or forums where potential private investors are identified to invest in businesses that directly promote production of cost effective and quality products from the women. The public sector can then work with these entrepreneurs by offering technical support to such businesses during establishment ensuring regulations are adhered to, good manufacturing practices attained (a win for public sector) and eventually branding of the outlets.
Branding builds consumer confidence in the business and a win for private sector. Where applicable, the public sector can link the sources of raw materials to the facility for enhanced quality.
An example is a slaughter house for broilers where the veterinary department can provide guidelines and supervise establishment of the facility. The veterinary department role also includes inspection of the birds and certification all of which ensure the production of hygienic products. The department can further link the broiler producers (majority are women) to the facility. The producers are trained by livestock production officers on good agricultural practices.
Such arrangements allow traceability of products ensuring products are of highest standards and likely to fetch premium prices.
In addition, there should be enhanced linkages between industry, academia, non-government organizations and public sector. For example public sector may invite actors to value chain platform, expose them to existing technologies available that may be expensive limiting use in the farms. Similarly, university students can be linked to women producers during internships so they study conditions at farm and develop products that will save time and increase production or processing efficiency for women entrepreneurs. If such ideas are incubated to maturity then there is the likelihood of developing innovations directly benefitting women. For example engineering students can propose fabricated, affordable equipment needed to ease operations at farm level.
At the industry level, industry should provide feedback to universities on the skill needs required for graduates to fit in the job market. Including women in National investment plans African governments should commit funds for agriculture investments in order to get engaged by other funding organizations promoting gender budgeting. Gender budgeting is then adopted where the organizations devise clear set targets within short term and in the long term within stipulated timelines. The gender activity should be captured as a target in performance contract of governments hence addressed as a core activity.
Closer trans disciplinary collaborations is much needed for African government to have proper agricultural investment plans. We may need mathematicians or economists to put figures to the agricultural transformation we envision. To accelerate commercialization of agriculture we need to make use of market research findings, synthesize reports in order to turn chain functions into market segments and establish investments needed by each segment.
There are particular chain functions that are popular with women and youth. For example, production of broilers in Nairobi is primarily undertaken by women while traders and processors in the value chain are youth. Proposing on investments that will modernize such businesses towards commercialization prioritizes them in investment planning. There is need to work out details of production thresholds required for commercialization, ways of achieving these levels and establishing input support needed in form of subsidies. After obtaining the facts and figures, messages should be sent to chain actors that lot more is needed to commercialize and create awareness in a manner to persuade them to change operations and especially adopt collective action for entrepreneurs operating at a small scale. Groups that progress, should be supported to access regional and global markets to inspire others to follow suit.
Success stories of women entrepreneurs
Some successes in broiler business in Nairobi county include ability of farmer groups to lower transport and transaction costs of feeds, access extension services from public and private sector.
Some groups conduct group meetings at the members’ project site there after address the host members project needs like management or marketing of birds.
Other groups have been able to access funds from government or mobilize their own resources. There is a group that innovatively raised funds by saving on project allowances. The group then invested the money in a milk processing equipment and penetrated value added milk market. The business is up running and stable because the contribution cultivated a sense of ownership among the members unlike groups granted inputs that lack commitment, run into management problems and majority of the project stall.
Successful small scale entrepreneurs like in peanut butter processing have been sponsored to regional exhibitions where they market their products at very good prices.
Such events were found to re-energize the women to expand businesses and do better.
Beatrice Tuei
Award fellow- 2009
Soumis par Beatrice Tuei le dim, 25/06/2017 - 15:38 Permalien
Action Research in Engendered Projects for the Transformation of African Agriculture
Gender gaps in agriculture productivity are real because majority of African societies value women reproductive roles than their productive roles. Reproductive roles are time consuming and laborious limiting their access to factors of agriculture production such as knowledge networks for inputs and markets, Gender inequality is perpetuated because men enjoy privileges such as land ownership and both decision making on utilization of family resources and control of farm proceeds. The status quo is entrenched in African societies of patriarchal systems and since the men benefit, the plight of women over the years has been disregarded. Little support was provided for women to exploit their potential in performing productive activities right from family or household level all the way to national level. The scenario is worse for rural women undertaking subsistence agriculture with limited resources to invest in labour or equipment that would ease her performance at home or in the farm. Hence Subsistence agriculture undertaken by rural women makes no economic sense because this is done on small scale, is inefficient lacking modern technologies. But about 80 percent of agriculture is in the hands of small scale farmers majority being women and hence there is need win the support of men to overcome gender barriers for Africa to attain food security. Deliberate efforts should be made to assist African societies to change their systems and attitude to loosen up power relations between men and women preventing them from pursuing opportunities for improved livelihoods.
Most development programmes in Kenya that I have been involved in embarked on addressing the gender gaps through sensitization and capacity building projects, advocacy for increased women representation at community and policy level, linking women to cheap credit such as government funds like the women and youth enterprise funds and, opportunities like the 30 percent government procurement tenders set aside for youth and persons with disabilities. Some contemporary approaches such as value chain development and innovation system have a component of social inclusion that attempts to increase participation of women and youth in value chain. But women benefit partially from these opportunities due to inherent low socio-economic position due to gender differences not fully addressed in the projects. However there are successful engendered agriculture projects models mentioned in this forum with a heavy gender focus that can be a reference point for new projects. Since gender gaps in agriculture vary in different places and at any one given time, an action research can capture diversity of the areas and provide real time information on efforts to bridge gender gaps. Action research is context specific and cyclic marked by problem or situational analysis, developing action points or interventions, evaluating change, learning and adjusting project activities until desired situation is achieved. I concur with Chikundi on promoting action learning and documenting success stories but add that participatory approaches be adopted too at the beginning of the project to envision gendered outcomes among the key stakeholders. The research team should comprise bright men and women, inspired with great intentions and big hearts to run with the vision of change. Since gender is embedded in other societal needs then a gender research team should be multi-disciplinary to promote identified priority agriculture value chains that are preferred by youth and women but a gender savvy researcher at the centre of the project to champion gender and tease out the gender issues that need to be addressed even at policy level. The African development bank can patner with organizations with similar interests in order to leverage on their knowledge and funds to maximize learning and outcome of the projects.
Beatrice Tuei
AWARD fellow- Kenya. 2009
SOCIAL ENTREPRENUERSHIP FOR GENDER EQUALITY
Soumis par Beatrice Tuei le dim, 16/07/2017 - 21:16 Permalien
What are the main challenges to gender equality in agriculture finance?
The main challenges faced in agriculture finance are; High interest rates, loan recovery done before agriculture businesses establish, some financial service providers consider agriculture as a high risk investment hence loans not offered to the farmers, delayed processing of loans, stringent requirements including collaterals to acquire loans. Finding guarantors is a challenge to qualify for loans.
What has been done – by the AfDB, DFIs and stakeholders - to address the gender gap in agriculture finance? Which financing mechanisms could be successfully used to tackle gender equality in agriculture finance?
Setting aside funds specifically for youth and women such as the youth or women enterprise. The funds are accessed by women and youth organized in groups.
How can the Bank address these challenges, as it works to bolster food security on the continent?
The bank can fund social entrepreneurs interested in supporting the gender groups in production or accessing markets. This is because social entrepreneurs are more interested in addressing challenges and changing lives of beneficiaries than organizational profit. Such organizations offer flexible terms of loan repayment, are open minded and willing to listen when beneficiaries request for more time to service loans. This way the beneficiareies are able to engage in trade and eventually succeed in business.
What experiences and lessons could be used to buttress the effectiveness of the Bank’s interventions in this area?
As aforementioned, I have in mind the concept of “patient capital” common with social entrepreneurship. The social entrepreneurs develop innovative financial models with little expectations on quick return on capital but an ultimate aim of funding businesses to succeed. An example is juhudi kilimo that offered in-calf heifer to small scale farmers, recovering the cost only once the farmers trade their milk. The other benefit to the farmers was that juhudi sourced the dairy cows for them and eliminated the risk of farmers buying low yielding cows. Juhudi was funded by Acumen fund a global non-profit investment venture. Another is CARITAS bank under the catholic church that donated heifers to the farmers who were expected to donate and hand over heifer produced to the next group member. The bank may approach such trusted partners to deliver financial products likely to suit the gender groups of concern. Also important is to sensitize the gender groups on the innovative financial model otherwise they may shy away from loans from the organizations due past encounter with traditional banking institutions.
Beatrice Tuei
Award fellow, 2009