Officials from various institutions have welcomed the “Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index” (WEAI) which was released last week.The index is a partnership between the US Government’s Feed the Future initiative, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) of Oxford University.Ramathan Barengayabo, the Deputy Chief Gender Monitor in the Gender Monitoring Office (GMO) observed that although more women were involved in agricultural activities, they earn less than their spouses when it came to sharing profits from their produce.“I thank USAID and other stakeholders for launching WEAI because it will help decision makers and all Rwandans to easily analyse how best women can be empowered more in the agricultural sector,” Barengayabo said.He added that the index would enable government institutions in Rwanda and other developing countries to encourage women to get more engaged in commercial farming.Piloted in three countries with diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts, among them Bangladesh, Guatemala and Uganda, the index was developed to track the change in women’s empowerment that occurs as a direct or indirect result of US government intervention under the Feed the Future initiative to tackle global hunger and food security.It focuses on five areas which include decisions over agricultural production and income, power over productive resources like land and livestock, leadership in the community and time use.According to a press release the index “focuses on women because they play a critical role in agricultural growth in developing countries yet face persistent obstacles and economic constraints, limiting further inclusion in the sector”. According to Barengayabo, mindset was one of the factors still hampering women empowerment in agriculture. Emma Marie Bugingo, the Executive Secretary of Profemme Twese Hamwe, an umbrella association of women associations, noted that over 88 percent of women in the country are engaged in the agriculture sector.“This index is very beneficial because it will help us identify and analyse how best women can be more empowered in the field of agriculture, and I am optimistic that it will enable our nation to achieve sustainable development in the future,” Bugingo said.She added that there was need to train women modern farming techniques to increase their output and improve their living standards as well.Jean Chrisostome Mutsindashyaka, the Executive Secretary of HAGURUKA, a local Non-Governmental Organisation that fights for the rights of women and children, also affirmed that WEAI is crucial towards improving the living standards of women in the country.“I thank our government for putting in place a succession and inheritance law because it has contributed a lot in terms of women empowerment in developmental sectors, including agriculture, since it allowed women to inherit land from their parents unlike before,” Mutsindashyaka said.Dr. Agnes Quisumbing, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow, said: “Identifying gaps in empowerment is especially useful for designing interventions that are appropriate in terms of context and culture.”She added that knowing the gaps in women empowerment in the agriculture sector will help policymakers to be in a better position to design and implement interventions to close the gaps.
