adminMaria Chiguvari
THE Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development is celebrating women’s achievements in this year’s International Day of Rural Women.
The national launch will be held today at John Landa Nkomo High School in Tsholotsho, Matabeleland North.
The international theme for this year is: “Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All”.
Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said rural women play a leading role in the provision of essential needs.
“Rural women work 16-18 hours a day and spend at least 49 percent of their time on agricultural activities and 25 percent on domestic activities.
“In fact, globally, one in three employed women work in agriculture, collect biomass fuels and manually process food materials, and more than 80 percent of households rely on women and girls for water collection,” she said.
Minister Nyoni said rural women face constraints to market their produce due to factors such as lack of mobility and knowledge about markets, capacity, and technical skills.
“Agricultural and rural non-farm employment plays a critical role in rural development, food security, poverty reduction and rural women’s economic empowerment.
“However, in many rural areas, agricultural wage labour is often the only employment option available to poor rural women,” said Minister Nyoni.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter