The authors of this slide deck have outlined a strategy to increase access to labor and market opportunities for women in rural and agricultural livelihoods (WIRAL). Among the constraints addressed are saved labor, wage labor, hired labor, digital markets, traditional markets and cultural norms.
“Saved labor” results from the use of time-saving tools such as smartphones, irrigation equipment, soil cultivators and biogas systems. To support the use of these technologies, the authors recommend employing women to teach women and men how to use them as well as engaging young people to share their digital skills with older household members.
Although wage labor is an important source of income for WIRAL, farmers often pay women less than men for this labor. Women also are more likely than men to have informal and seasonal work rather than steady, year-round jobs. In part, this is due to women having more household responsibilities than men, leaving less time for labor outside the home. WIRAL also have lower levels of education than their counterparts in urban areas. A study of data from 42 countries found rural girls were twice as likely to be out of school than urban girls. This impacts future earning power, with each additional year of education increasing a girl’s eventual wages by 10 percent to 20 percent.
By developing platforms to facilitate hiring and payments between wage workers and farm owners, service providers can increase rural women’s access to labor opportunities that are more lucrative. Wi-Agri, for example, is a platform connecting producers and laborers in Cote d’Ivoire with buyers, agricultural information and financial services. Both online services and in-person agents can help women enterprise owners hire workers, leading to increased access to and returns from hired labor. In addition to the challenge of finding workers, WIRAL have less access to savings and credit opportunities to help pay for hiring workers. In a study in Cote d’Ivoire, for example, researchers found lack of access to financial services resulted in “women growing cotton [being unable to] harvest in the peak due to limited access to labor and then earn[ing 10 percent] less for their output….” One solution to this type of problem is Nigeria-based AgroMall’s Digital Agriculture Platform, through which 1.3 million smallholder farmers access financial services – such as loans for labor – along with agronomic information and connections to buyers.
WIRAL lack equal access to market information and market linkages due to mobility constraints, less participation in farmer groups and less access to digital tools. According to a study in Mozambique, women’s key source of market information was person-to-person, while men were exposed to both this and other sources of market information, such as farmer groups. Those with better market information were able to sell their maize at prices averaging 12 percent higher. Additionally, women are less likely to have access to brokers and other buyers due to social and cultural norms. This limits women farmers’ range of income streams, reducing profits. In Kenya, only 15 percent of one group of women sold their milk to “channels that involved delivery outside their homes,” such as village markets and traders, but 39 percent of men did so. To address this, the authors recommend supporting women’s cooperatives, expanding the use of in-person agents to promote market access and investing in women’s leadership.
Low levels of literacy and digital skills keep many rural women from adopting digital technologies. In Senegal, “36 percent of sampled women cited their lack of reading and writing as their main barrier to mobile internet access compared to only 12 percent of men.” Many rural women also lack access to mobile devices and computers. Addressing these barriers can give women the ability to use services such as Safaricom’s DigiFarm, which connects smallholder farmers in Kenya with inputs, financing, training, insurance and buyers. In rolling out the service, Safaricom deployed agents specifically to increase the number of women users, including by providing training in digital skills.
This is a summary of a slide deck by Jamie Anderson, Gerhard Coetzee and Max Mattern; published by CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); November 2021; 43 slides; available at https://www.findevgateway.org/slide-deck/2021/11/financial-solutions-women-rural-and-agricultural-livelihoods
By Zachary DeLuca, Research Associate
Additional Resources
AgroMall homepage
https://theagromall.com/
CGAP homepage
https://www.cgap.org/
DigiFarm webpage
https://twawezalive.safaricom.co.ke/digifarm/
Wi-Agri homepage
https://wi-agri.com/
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