U.S. calls for greater support to women in agriculture
Harare, May 30th 2013: United States Ambassador Bruce Wharton on Wednesday called on local finance institutions to provide more loans to women in agriculture and encouraged Zimbabwe’s government authorities to improve legal support and public services for women farmers. The diplomat was speaking at a one-day ‘Women in Agriculture’ workshop in Harare sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“It is vital to increase women’s access to finance and credit,” said Ambassador Wharton. “My government would like to find practical homegrown solutions for women to access credit…and help women to participate actively and equally in the economy of Zimbabwe.”
The Women in Agriculture workshop was held to increase awareness of gender-related issues in agriculture and to identify practical solutions for addressing gender disparity in the rural agricultural sector. The workshop was jointly supported by United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Agricultural Income and Employment Development (Zim-AIED) and Agricultural Competitiveness (Zim-ACP) programs.
“We believe it is critical to reduce gender disparities in access to, control over, and the distribution of benefits, ranging from resources and wealth, to opportunities and services,” said Ambassador Wharton.
A USAID-funded Gender Analysis conducted in 2012 shows that access to finance is a critical issue for rural households, particularly for women. According to the analysis, more women than men ranked the inability to access credit as a serious problem. To receive credit, the loan applicant often has to be a landholder or permit holder, which is usually a male. In addition, banks often ask for a husband’s permission or consent before extending loans to women.
Through the Zim-AIED-supported Agritrade program, MicroKing, CABS, and Trust Bank have supported women business owners and farmers by extending credit to them. However, to-date women farmers and business owners have only received 14 percent (equivalent to $1.6 million) of the value of the loans distributed by the AgriTrade program.
On average, these women borrowers have demonstrated a better repayment record than male borrowers, making them a good investment for the banks. However, women at the workshop reported that they continued to face challenges accessing loans.
Spiwe Kuwenga, an agro-dealer in Nyanga, Manicaland province, said banks were taking too long to process applications and charged high interest rates. “It took me about six months to access my first loan because the banks wanted collateral, which I eventually provided through my husband. They gave me $5,000 with 25 per cent interest.” Despite a very good repayment record, the bank could not increase the second loan.
But access to micro-finance is only part of the challenge. Ambassador Wharton called on Harare authorities to take advantage of the gains of its new constitution to develop a comprehensive, rights-based approach to unleash the full potential of women in agriculture. He noted that such an approach must also systematically challenge the traditional gender roles that burden women with household chores.
“This is a good moment to congratulate you all, and the people and government of Zimbabwe, on the new constitution. It is an important step forward for your country, especially in terms of advancing the rights and potential of women,” he said.
Participants to the workshop were identified by field officers as experts in their particular areas. Among the guests were officials from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization, and Irrigation Development, and traditional leaders. This gathering followed on the heels of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development validation workshop for the draft National Gender Policy and hoped to address the shortcomings of the original policy document drafted in 2004.
Dr. Silvia Utete-Masango, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, highlighted her ministry’s efforts to empower women in agriculture, including partnership with nongovernmental organizations in the sector. She said the ministry had established a fund — the Women’s Development Fund — that can be accessed through local banks.
The Zimbabwean government adopted a National Gender Policy to provide guidelines and an institutional framework to promote gender activities in its sectoral policies and programs at all levels of society and the economy. However, outcomes of this effort have yet to be achieved in the agricultural sector where one of the greatest gender gaps persists.
Through Zim-AIED and Zim-ACP, the U.S. is providing training and technical assistance to improve food security and increase household incomes of 180,000 small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe. The program also supports the farming and agribusiness sectors through their representative bodies, to promote dialogue, advocacy, and lobbying for an improved agribusiness environment. Since 2002, the United States has contributed more than $1 billion to humanitarian operations in Zimbabwe. – ZimPAS © May 30th 2013.
