Call to empower women in agric

Tafadzwa Ndlovu Herald Reporter
Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development Minister Oppah Muchinguri has urged local research institutions to provide technological solutions to women in agriculture to help unleash their full potential and boost the country’s agricultural production.Minister Muchinguri told participants at a one-day strategic seminar for women in agriculture that enhancing women’s access to new and appropriate technologies could help increase yields and improve incomes for women.

“We must endeavour to facilitate rapid and equitable development among women in agriculture,” she said. “We must strive to enhance their access to science and technological advances.”

The Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre organised the strategic seminar to increase awareness of gender-related issues in agriculture and to identify practical solutions for addressing gender disparity in the agricultural sector.

Minister Muchinguri said there was also a need to support women in agriculture to enhance their access to credit, inputs, technical skills, technology as improving the access of their produce to markets.

She said it was important for industry and other stakeholdes to engage with women in agriculture to reduce post-harvest losses.
SIRDC chief executive officer Dr Robson Mafoti told women farmers to adopt some of the research innovation outputs which were coming from the institute to improve their yields and livelihoods. He said women in agriculture could use some of the innovations that included solar water pumps, small-scale turbines for electricity generation, chicken egg incubators and juice extractors.

He said the institute had developed a drought resistant maize variety which was producing good yields in drought-prone parts of the Matabeleland and Masvingo provinces.

Women farmers and representatives of farm organisations shared experiences and explored opportunities in agri-business, dairy farming, bee-keeping, irrigation, organic farming and potato farming. The seminar sought to identify practical solutions to addressing gender disparity in the agricultural sector as well as exploring strategies to implement gender equality in the sector.