Over the years, Winrock International’s Farmer-to-Farmer Program has worked with numerous women organizations who have shown incredible resilience and determination to succeed. Women like Fatou Titine Cissoko founded Enterprise Fatou et Kadija, a Guinean agribusiness specializing in the solar drying of fruits and producing exotic Guinean drinks. With the help of Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteers, Fatou received training in financial literacy, food processing, and food preservation, which enabled her to expand her product offerings and increase her profits by 40% to 50%. Fatou’s success is just one example of how women in agriculture drive innovation and growth in their communities. Through the Farmer-to-Farmer Program, women gain confidence and become leaders in their fields. We have also witnessed the positive impact women’s participation in agriculture can have on their families and the broader community. 

The Prefecture of Kindia, commonly called the capital of citrus fruits due to its abundance of a variety of tropical fruits, is full of young entrepreneurs who process fruits and produce local drinks. Under-equipped and lacking knowledge of good manufacturing techniques and hygiene standards, these entrepreneurs flood the market with lower quality products. Thanks to the support of F2F volunteers, one youth-led enterprise is rising above its peers. Enterprise Fatou et Kadija (EFK), a startup company led by a young woman named Fatou Titine Cissoko, is gaining success by providing juice and jam products that meet market demand and quality standards.  

EFK is a Guinean agribusiness processing company specializing in the solar drying of fruits (pineapple and mango) and the production of exotic Guinean drinks. The founder and owner, Ms. Cissoko, was trained in entrepreneurship topics by prior USAID-funded Associate Awards implemented by Winrock International and CNFA. As part of her participation in entrepreneurship training, Ms. Cissoko created a business plan and received a grant of US$ 900 (8,134,500 GNF) to start her fruit drying business, EFK.  Since starting the business in 2019, she has added the production of drinks and jams made from fruits such as ginger, pineapple, mango, etc. 

Recognizing that she needed further technical and organizational capacity building skills to grow her business, Ms. Cissoko reached out to the Guinea Farmer-to-Farmer program to receive trainings in financial literacy and food processing and preservation to better produce tropical fruit drinks.  

“During the financial literacy training, I learned how to approach financial institutions with my business plan. I admit that I was afraid because these institutions are very demanding, and as a young entrepreneur, I have no guarantees to offer. Nevertheless, following my meeting with them, two of the most important banks in the area came back to me and offered me credit opportunities…”, explains Ms. Cissoko.

She plans to utilize a finance option soon to invest in expanding her production and feels that the banks’ willingness to offer her credit options offers an opportunity to prove that young entrepreneurs are solid investments. The F2F technical training focused on processing techniques followed the financial literacy capacity building and has led to additional product offerings for EFK. Prior to receiving training, EFK was unable to produce quality ginger juice and jams. Since receiving training, EFK now produces and sells quality ginger juice, jams, and monkey bread juice, resulting in a 40 to 50% increase in profits. EFK has sold more than 300 bottles of monkey juice alone within the few months after learning of this new product from the Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer. Ms. Cissoko and EFK’s goals are to continue to expand product offerings that meet quality standards and hope as the business grows that they are able to employ more young staff in the future.

Investing in women’s leadership means prioritizing and centering women’s perspectives and their lived experiences of the kinds of gender bias and discrimination that drive exploitation. Women’s perspectives and profound personal knowledge of such gendered power structures are the keys to fully understanding vulnerability, preventing exploitation, and advancing sustainable change. Even more importantly, we need to promote diverse forms of leadership of women who can authentically speak with and for those most directly affected. We asked several women from across Winrock to answer in their own words why they think women’s leadership is essential in their respective areas of expertise.

Every year in March, we celebrate women, their achievements, and their tremendous contributions to our society, and what better way to celebrate than by highlighting a woman who is making a significant impact in her field? Mina H. Lassey, Winrock International’s Farmer-to-Farmer Country Director, is one such woman dedicated to empowering women in the agricultural sector in Ghana. Mina Lassey boasts over two decades of experience in the development sector, with a particular focus on managing projects to improve the lives of individuals and communities. She has held various roles during her career, including serving as the F2F Program Manager for nine years. Mina’s expertise lies in project management, monitoring and evaluation, agribusiness, and natural resource management, which she has leveraged to implement impactful development projects. Presently, Mina is the Country Director of The Farmer to Farmer Program in Ghana, where she continues to make significant contributions towards empowering local communities and promoting sustainable development.

According to studies, 62% of economically active women in Africa work in agriculture as producers, traders, and processors. Unfortunately, despite their high representation in the sector, rural women still lag behind men in terms of productivity and earnings. Mina recognized this problem and has worked tirelessly to empower women to thrive in the agricultural sector. Mina leads the West Africa F2F Country Project, which supports post-harvest, predominantly female-dominated areas. Through this project, Mina aims to empower women-owned agribusinesses with technical support, business training, and access to high-value markets and resources. She believes empowering these women will transform Ghana’s agricultural sector’s productivity and prosperity.

Mina’s work has already yielded positive results. For example, Meannan Foods, a woman-led agribusiness, received an award for being the best agribusiness in which the owners are under 40 years old. The F2F project provided support in online marketing skills to help increase sales and access international markets. Another success story is Hendy Farms, another woman-led agribusiness that received support from F2F to build a processing facility and diversify its product lines. Hendy Farms was also awarded during a Hortifresh Fair for having the best-packaged products.
These organizations are a testament to the power of women’s leadership in the agricultural sector. With the proper support, women-led businesses can thrive, impacting their livelihoods and the agricultural sector as a whole. Mina’s work gives us hope for the future and inspires us to support women’s leadership in our respective fields. Mina’s dedication to empowering women in the agricultural sector exemplifies what can be achieved when women are given the support they need to succeed. Her work inspires us all, and we can learn from her example to empower more women in our communities and fields of work.

As we end the day of celebrating International Women’s Day, we are reminded of the countless women worldwide who work tirelessly to support their families, improve their communities, and build more equitable societies. In rural areas of many developing countries, women face numerous challenges in accessing education, resources, and economic opportunities. However, they are often the driving force behind innovative solutions to these challenges, working together to create positive change. One example is the women of the Bakel Horticulture Producers Union in Eastern Senegal, who are collaborating to improve their postharvest processing techniques and expand their market reach. With the help of the West Africa Farmer-to-Farmer program and volunteer Pamela Karg, these women are transforming their harvests into high-quality products that are attracting local and international attention. Their story is a powerful reminder of women’s resilience, creativity, and potential of women worldwide and a testament to the importance of investing in women’s success. Read more about their story below. 

In the Senegalese language Pulaar, “Debbo Galle” means a group of women who work together to improve their homes and their communities by raising incomes and expanding women’s access to business. The Bakel Horticulture Producers Union (BAKHPU) draw members from local Debbo Galle to make positive changes in their small community in Eastern Senegal, near the border with Mauritania. A remote location distant from major markets, BAKHPU and its women members were struggling with postharvest losses due to the inability to process fruits and vegetables and thereby increase their shelf life. BAKHPU members were producing 30 tons of vegetables, peppers, onions, and sweet potatoes, but would lose over 30% of the harvest due to poor processing and preserving techniques.  

Seeking a new way to do business, the women sought help from American expert, Pamela Karg, through the West Africa Farmer-to-Farmer program in Senegal. Karg traveled to Senegal in February 2020 to train women fruit and vegetable producers how to best process their products while ensuring flavor, durability, and maintaining food safety. Karg worked hand-in-hand with local members of BAKHPU to demonstrate techniques such as sun drying, development of jams and jellies, and creation of new product lines for the market.Aita Ndao, secretary of a Debbo Galle, reflected on the impact of the training by discussing the group’s plan to develop new and unique products: “‘We continue to see spice advertising on TV and almost every week with a new product, but we are not interested anymore.’ We have learned to make our own spices for our families and our communities.’’ Now their plan, with the help of the Union, is to work with the local agriculture services to find the means to scale up and expand their business. Following Pamela Karg’s training with BAKHPU members, participants are sharing lessons learned throughout their cooperative. Women in Eastern Senegal are learning from one another, growing their businesses, and building stronger communities.