on by the COVID-19 pandemic, UN Women and Standard Bank are making progress to equip women farmers in Africa with the skills and resources needed to grow their businesses and succeed over the long term.
In October 2019, Standard Bank and UN Women partnered to empower over 50,000 women farmers in Malawi, Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa through modern and environmentally friendly farming technologies that increase productivity and incomes.
Through
the Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) collaboration, women farmers,
authorities, local farmer organisations and cooperatives are addressing
the structural inequalities in rural economies in Africa, starting with
the difficulties that women face in securing tenure for quality farm
land.
Standard Bank has
provided funding worth US$3 million as well as ongoing support through
financial literacy and other programmes.
“The
CSA project supports Standard Bank’s drive to create a gender-equal
Africa and aligns with our purpose of driving the continent’s growth,”
said Sola David-Borha, Chief Executive of Africa Regions at Standard
Bank Group. “We believe it will meaningfully contribute to the
upliftment of communities and the achievement of sustainable economic
growth across Africa.”
In
response to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technology is being used to
conduct meetings where possible, and messages are being delivered via
community radio stations, SMSs and marketing material.
The
project is closely aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,
with its focus on gender equality, access to decent work, and economic
growth.
In Malawi, close
to 6,000 women farmers have received support in in the use of
high-yield and drought-resistant groundnut seeds; implementation of
modern farming methods that conserve moisture and maximise land use; use
of weather forecast information for the timely planting of groundnuts;
use of market information and financial literacy sessions; the adoption
of modern farming technologies.
In
Nigeria, the project is currently supporting 2,300 women beneficiary
agri-business groups and cooperatives to increase the productivity and
profitability of their operations within the rice and shea nut value
chains. It will ultimately deliver assistance to 12,500 rural women in
the country.
In South
Africa, the project delivered agricultural inputs to 2,753 women farmers
in the first half of 2020. The inputs include drought-resistant seeds
of various crops, organic manure, farming equipment, and training on
climate smart agriculture.
In
Uganda, 700 women have been equipped with the skills and technologies
needed to run successful aquaculture operations. Over a quarter of a
million high-quality fish fingerlings – of the Tilapia species – are
being grown by the beneficiaries, using aquaculture technologies. The
women have been supported through technical training, mentorship
programmes, access to inputs including feeds, accommodation and business
management skills.
“Women
are the very backbone of rural economies and care of families and
communities. Yet their contributions are under-valued and needs to be
sufficiently acknowledged. Women’s economic empowerment is central to
attaining gender equality and it is a prerequisite for inclusive and
sustainable development. UN Women is committed to this expansion of this
programme,” said Roberta Clarke, Senior Advisor, UN Women East and
Southern Africa.
About UN Women
UN
Women is the United Nations’ Organization dedicated to gender Equality
and Women Empowerment. Global Champion for women and girls, UN Women was
established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.
UN
Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for
achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society
to design laws, policies, programmes
and services
needed to implement these standards. It stands behind women’s equal
participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas:
increasing women’s leadership and participation; ending violence against
women; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes;
enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and making gender equality
central to national development planning and budgeting. UN Women also
coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing
gender equality.
The
UN Women regional office for East and Southern Africa supports the
Economic Empowerment of Women across 13 countries – all of which have
different contexts, priorities and opportunities. The underpinning goal
is to eradicate poverty, increase quality livelihood opportunities, and
support women in their innovations, social enterprises, and capacities
to secure social, economic and environmental assets and knowledge. The
regional office has multiple roles in strengthening synergies and common
agendas across the region; mobilizing and leveraging networks for
resources and influence on behalf of women and their communities; and
working closely with governments and civil society to tackle the
immediate and long term socio-economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.
About CSA Programme
Working
with women, youth and their communities to support women’s agency,
influence and holistic contributions to sustainable farming methods
contributes to securing local food supply, nutrition, income and
livelihoods and renewable energy life cycles. The CSA platform provides
an inter-disciplinary approach towards vibrant local rural economies,
and UN WOMEN will continue to work towards the Sustainable Development
Goals, the UN Decade for Family Farming and the UN Decade for Ecosystem
Restoration
About Standard Bank/Stanbic Bank
Standard
Bank Group is the largest African bank by assets, operating in 20
African countries and 5 global financial centres. Standard Bank has a
157-year history in South Africa and started building a franchise
outside southern Africa in the early 1990s.
Our
strategic position, which enables us to connect Africa to other select
emerging markets as well as pools of capital in developed markets, and
our balanced portfolio of businesses, provide significant opportunities
for growth. The group has over 50 000 employees, more than 1 100
branches and 9 000 ATMs on the African continent, which enable it to
deliver a complete range of services across personal and business
banking, corporate and investment banking and wealth management.
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