Enhancing access to information for women in pastoral areas
A recent CTA workshop on ‘making next-generation ACP agriculture work for women’ identified seven critical success factors to enable women to truly benefit from agriculture: access by women to investment and finance, access to markets, skills support, networking and capacity development, access to information, knowledge and technology, access to land, overcoming socio-cultural factors, and appropriate recognition of women (in society, in policies, through targeted delivery of services).
A story from the workshop by Rupsha Banerjee argues that the current revolution in information access offers opportunities to transform and extend opportunities for women pastoralists in East Africa – enhancing their livelihoods and resilience. She calls for a ‘blended’ approach combining use of mobile phones, radio, and face-to-face communication, informed by a thorough understanding of the capacities of women and the institutions who work with them, building on local and community-based institutions, providing incentives for good quality data, and engaging local governments.
Watch an interview with Rupsha:
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