Introduction
Green Earth Sierra Leone (GrESiL), a Non-Government Organization (NGO) based and working in Sierra Leone, is a member of the Just Food? Project , a research project that aims to understand what is needed to transition to better food systems. As a partner in the project, GrESiL has conducted action research on Food Systems and Just Food Transition in order to understand the needs of women in the food systems in Sierra Leone, their contributions, the challenges they go through, and the ideal food system they would love to see. GrESiL was founded 2 years ago and it is engaged in sustainable environmental management and women's empowerment through organic farming and agro-ecology.
As part of this research, GrESiL has conducted 2 workshops and 2 sets of Key Informant Interviews. The workshops were organized in a form of Focus Group Discussions bringing together 60 participants at each meeting, including 40 women and 20 men. The meetings foremost created an opportunity for the participants, especially women, to discuss what Just Food Transition and Food System are so that they can effectively discuss the roles of women and key challenges that they face in the Food System.
The role of women and their challenges
Women were able to identify the following as key roles they play in Just Food System Transition at various levels including production, processing, marketing and post-harvest management. It is critical to note that during the meetings, the women explained that they play the most significant roles and carry the greatest responsibilities during farming seasons, since men are mainly involved in land preparation. The women outlined that their role in farming includes but is not limited to the following; planting, removal of weeds, harvesting, processing of the produce, and marketing.
Highlighting their challenges, they stated that they cannot afford seeds unless they borrow from family and friends and are required to pay back twice the amount after harvest. They have to balance between taking care of their families and working on the farm, which does not give them enough time to take care of their own personal needs. Inadequate support from government for farming poses a challenge for them too, and poor road networks and storage facilities make it costly for them to take their goods to the market for sale at a good price and, hence, they have to sell at the farm gates for less. Furthermore, land depletion and erratic weather patterns cause a huge burden on land preparation and impacts negatively on the organic farming model.
Women also cited access to and ownership of land as another obstacle affecting their agricultural productivity and, thereby, preventing them from being actively involved in the food system. Before the National Land Policy was developed, Sierra Leonean women, especially those in the northern region, were subjected to restrictive customary laws that prevented them from owning property, including lands, as they themselves were considered property. Land ownership is denied to most women in northern Sierra Leone where GrESiL operates, with an exception for those who are members of the Limba tribe, which recognizes women's rights to inherit land to some degree (paternal and marital inheritance). When a woman farmer is not empowered to make decisions about the land she works, it is impossible for her to enter into contract farming agreements that could provide higher earnings and reliable sources of income for them and their households.
Solving the challenges together
In response to these challenges, GrESiL is currently providing livelihood support for 90 women in Mayefeh village, Tonko Limba Chiefdom in Kambia district, Sierra Leone. The district is in the Northern Province, bordering with the Republic of Guinea to the North, Port Loko district to the South and Bombali district to the East. The district population is ethnically diverse; the largest and most prominent ethnic groups are Temne, Susu, Limba, Fula, and Mandingo. The district provides a vital trade route between Sierra Leone and the neighboring Republic of Guinea. The average household size is 1 to 7 people per family. The livelihood activities of the district residents are mainly farming (rice and roots crops - cassava and yam), followed by cross-border trade with neighboring Guinea. A revival of the cross-border trade in the traditional markets known as 'Luma' increased from 5 in the pre-war period to 15 currently, in the towns and villages on both sides of the border, according to 2015 Housing and Population Census.
Through a small project that is being run by the organization, women are provided with seeds, training, access to market, and help in land preparation. The women are encouraged to grow Cashew for long term investment, and Rice and Vegetable farming for short term income generation. In a first stage, the project leased 16 Hectares of arable land for rice cultivation for the women's group. 6 hectares of land have been secured for vegetable cultivation and 8 hectares of cashew have been cultivated already. It is hoped that this support will strengthen the ability of the women's group to cultivate more area of land and get more yield.
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GrESiL organizes its beneficiaries into groups of 30 members to form a Farmer Based Organisation. Training in organic farming, leadership, basic bookkeeping, and agribusiness is offered to the groups to enhance their capacities. GrESiL also helps them with seeds, land preparation, harvesting and post-harvest management. The groups are mainly involved in rice and cashew farming but also grow vegetables for fast income while waiting to harvest the rice and cashew.
GrESiL's support have come in at a time when the women need it the most and this has made a huge difference. Madam Mariama Turay, one of our project beneficiaries, stated that GrESiL's support to their communities has created a positive change in their lives because it has improved their household income. She also stated that the approach used by GrESiL has been very helpful because it makes them feel part of the project as no interest is required on the seeds and services provided from them.
One of the key factors preventing women from going into farming is the lack of access to loan facilities, and in the case where they have access to loans, it comes with a high interest rate. To address this, in a second stage of the project, GrESiL changed its approach. Instead of leasing land, GrESiL has introduced a community partnership model of farming that reduces the burden of interest rates.
The project is implemented in the form of a partnership wherein GrESiL provides seeds, prepares the land, provides food for work, and capacity training for the Farmer Based Organization. In turn, the beneficiaries provide the land for farming and labour such as for weeding and tending to the farm. These contributions from the beneficiaries are converted into monetary value and considered as part of their own investment in the project. At the end of every harvest season and sale the profit is shared based on the capital invested by both parties. This model creates a sense of ownership for the beneficiaries and also gives them confidence to participate in the project.
Power to the women
GrESiL believes that women play a critical role in achieving sustainable food systems. Thus, empowering them to be actively involved in sustainable food production is key to achieving global Food Security and greatly contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 2 - Zero Hunger.
The project has raised the confidence level of women in the project communities as it has created a platform for engagement between them and men where they are able to discuss relevant issues. They are now able to have open discussions with their men on issues affecting them. We are proud to state that we have seen how the women who we work with can now confidently articulate livelihood issues and are more grounded on Agriculture related matters.
Our work with the women has led to them pushing for more knowledge on livelihood related matters, which enables them to engage other women in their communities who are not beneficiaries of the project. Over the past two years, we have been able to bridge the existing gaps between the consumers, agribusinesses and the women we are working with to ensure the smooth running of their agricultural products by putting these parties in direct contact.
Despite the challenges faced, women are today more willing to take part in discussions around their roles in the food system as they actively participated in the action research activities that GrESiL implemented in the context of Just Food? Project. Even though the women were not able to explain clearly what the food systems are within this context, their articulations made clear that they do understand what a food system is. They want to see that they have control over their own farming model and to maintain a connection between them and the consumers.