KENYA PRODUCERS COALITION: Widow in Nandi Making Ends Meet In Nandi Hills

Nandi Case

Rural women play a key role in supporting their households and communities in achieving food and nutrition security, generating income, and improving rural livelihoods and overall well-being. They contribute to agriculture and rural enterprises and fuel local and global economies. As such, they are active players in achieving the MDGs. Yet, every day, around the world, rural women and girls face persistent structural constraints that prevent them from fully enjoying their human rights and hamper their efforts to improve their lives as well as those of others around them. In this sense, they are also an important target group for the MDGs.

Most women farmers are still compounded in subsistence and small scale farming rather than cash crop production. Women farmers smallholders cultivate traditional food crops for subsistence and sale, whereas men are more likely to own medium to large commercial farms and are better able to capitalize on the expansion of agricultural tradable goods. Farms managed by women are generally characterized by low levels of mechanization and technological inputs, which often translate into low productivity.

Wage employment allows women to get out of the relative isolation of the home or their small rural communities and gain self-esteem and confidence.

Effective access and use of information and communication technologies can improve rural women’s leadership and participation in community and economic development activities. However, rural women are at the lowest level of the digital gender divide. According to findings of the International Telecommunication Union, limited infrastructure, affordability and education are the main barriers for rural women in Africa. Time, geographical location of facilities and social and cultural norms constitute additional constraints.35 The improvement of access for rural women and their participation in information and communication technologies will continue to be limited if access to infrastructure, such as roads and transport, education, training and economic resources, including financing, is not increased. Multiple forms of media and communication technologies reach more women in rural areas.

dairy cows grazing

tree nursery

Widow taking care of five children and providing them with their basic needs. She has started a nursery project but she lacks adequate technology to advance her project in Nandi so as to increase her household income.