PlantwisePlus: female farmers and rural extension advisory services

Female farmer at a plant clinic
It’s widely known that female farmers make up a substantial portion of the agricultural labour force (43%) in developing countries. However, productivity gaps between farms managed by men and women farmers exist, because women farmers have less access to various production inputs and labour, compared to male farmers.[1]
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Plant clinics: Gender impacts in Zambia

Plant clinic in Zambia
Women are key to the future of agriculture and ending world hunger. Currently, female farmers make up 43% of the global agricultural workforce and play an important role in farming production and improving food security. However, the hurdles women face are real. Women often find it harder than men to access agricultural information, finance and…
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Inclusive advisory services enable the women of Thirumalairayasamuthiram village in India to better manage their farms

Women play a significant and crucial role in agricultural production. An economic survey carried out it 2017-18, indicates that with growing rural to urban migration by men, there is a ‘feminization’ of the agriculture sector, with an increasing number of women in multiple roles as cultivators, entrepreneurs, and labourers. Globally, there is empirical evidence that women have…
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Meet Chheng, a farmer from Cambodia using natural methods to control pests

Farmer Ms. Chheng Sok Khim (42) waters her Chinese Kale crops early in the morning in the plot of land she has near her house in Svay Prateal, Sa Ang district. Since 2012 Ms. Chheng Sok Khim uses natural pesticide which she elaborates herslef with 5 to 6 different types of vegetables.
In a new video, Plantwise follows Chheng Sok Khim, a farmer growing vegetables in Kandal province, Cambodia. Ms Khim struggled to control the pests on her farm and turned to chemical pesticides, but this ended up costing her more money and negatively affected her yields and her health.
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“Plant clinics help me continue to support my family through farming.” Meet Joyce, a farmer from Malawi

Mayi Joyce Vito is a middle-aged woman with a one-acre farm in Nanjiri, Lilongwe, Malawi. She grows groundnuts, maize and occasionally, cassava. She also has a piece of dambo land where she grows vegetables and has a number of banana trees. Nanjiri is one of the areas in Lilongwe which is regarded as a ‘food…
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More women are getting access to plant health advice through Plantwise and they grow the same crops as men

female farmer at a plant clinic
It is widely known that women have less access than men to agricultural extension services. Extension agents most often speak to household heads who tend to be men, as well as other male farmers. Plus, the extension agents themselves also tend to be men. Women often work longer hours than men too (12-17 hours per…
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“We the women can do it.” Meet Jacinta, a farmer from Bolivia

In a new video, Plantwise follows the life of Jacinta Delgadillo, a farmer from Comarapa, Bolivia. Jacinta and her family grow beans, peppers, and other crops for food and to generate an income. When the crops are attacked by pests and diseases, Jacinta uses her local plant clinic to gain knowledge on how to better…
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Female farmers and extension workers should take the lead in reducing gender inequality in agriculture

woman making bundles of wheat
A CABI-led study which compares male and female perceptions of access to and use of agricultural advisory services to help improve yields says women should take a lead role in helping to reduce inequalities which hinder their contribution to farming. Julien Lamontagne-Godwin, lead author of a new paper, published open access in the Journal of Agricultural Education…
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Meeting the needs of women farmers in Pakistan

A women-only plant clinic in Pakistan; a group of women gather round extension workers
Globally, women represent 43% of the agricultural labour force but they have less access than men to credit, education, land ownership, high quality inputs, and rural advisory services. Agriculture can be a powerful pathway out of poverty but without fair access to these things, women aren’t always in a position to fully benefit.
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The Umatui amazing site women group tackle Tuta absoluta

Women in a farming cooperative process their harvested crops
Located in semi-arid Eastern Kenya, Machakos county is home to the Umatui amazing site women group. The group comprises 15 members who mainly grow tomatoes, cowpeas, pigeon peas, and maize. It is among eight other women groups working with Katoloni Community Based Organisation (CBO),  a non governmental organization under infonet biovision. The CBO runs a mobile…
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