The Invisible Women in Agribusiness
by Corianne Van Veen, FMO
If you take a quick glance at the agri businesses in West-Africa, what you see is a male dominated sector. Typically, financiers look at who sells the commodities (men), who is registered as owner of the land (men). and who is more likely to have a full-time written contract (men). It’s as if women do not exist in the agri value chains. But the opposite is true.
FMO, together with LadyAgri, has conducted a study on a gender lens approach to agribusiness opportunities in four African countries: Zambia, Malawi, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire. This is what the study showed: women dominate the workforce at different value-chain stages of production (42%), processing (82%), distribution (71%) and in the food services sector (88%). The figures vary per crop and country. Especially fruit and vegetables (Kenya), sweet potatoes (Zambia and Malawi), cassava and shea butter (Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire) are women-dominated at all stages of the value chain. For other food items, women are prominent at the processing, packing and distribution stages (e.g. fish in Zambia and Kenya). But their roles are often informal, unacknowledged, under-resourced and therefore remain invisible for banks and DFIs.
As the Dutch development bank, FMO aims to actively contribute to reducing inequalities. One of the ways in which we do this is to seek investment opportunities that enhance the economic participation of women. Over the years we have gained experience in extending financial services to female entrepreneurs, mainly through financial institutions. Now this study shows other ways in which investors like FMO can have a positive impact in female empowerment along the agri value chain and support women as workers, customers and/or distributors.
Investments in any of the value chain stages using a gender lens requires identification of the barriers that women face. Simultaneously, the approach must reflect market needs and respect socio-cultural norms and legislation. Including women in the agri value chain provides an opportunity to have a positive impact on yield and production while also fostering gender equality.
The study proposes a tool for agri corporates that can help to identify the role of women along the value chain of agribusiness. Additionally, there is a need for focused capacity building and mentoring to develop business plans and bring women-owned and -led agri companies to a “bankable stage” for impact investors. Together with other gender lens investors, FMO is interested to explore how to reach more women in the agri value chain. Join us.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash