#AskAg Twitter Chat: Empowering Women at the Head of Family Farms

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2014 is the International Year of Family Farming. But who is at the head of these family-farming households? Research from the FAO has found that up to 40% of households are headed by women in Eastern Africa, and across the developing world, women account for 60 to 80% of smallholder farmers.

Yet these women face economic and social constraints. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 15% of landholders are women, and they receive less than 10% of credit and 7% of extension services.

Policies that address gender inequalities could lift 150 million people out of hunger. How can women be empowered to make this estimation a reality?

Experts from USAID and global agriculture coalition Farming First debated the issues. Uniting over 130 organisations from around the world, Farming First is one of the most diverse and active agricultural coalitions in the world. Farming First supporters represent the world’s farmers, scientists and engineers as well as agribusiness associations and non-governmental organisations.

Watch the video below to better understand what Agrilinks #AskAg Twitter chats are. Also, as part of our efforts to get everyone comfortable with using Twitter, Agrilinks produced 101/102 trainings that can be accessed by clicking here.

What are #AskAg Twitter chats?

Guiding questions

  1. What challenges do women in family farming face in the developing world, and what do they need to thrive?
  2. How can we reach more women farmers worldwide with tools and skills they need?
  3. What are the success stories that show the benefits of investing in rural women? How do we measure this success?
  4. How do we identify and empower male allies in the quest to improve women-run family farms?
  5. Women farmers are often both the breadwinners and the bread bakers. How do we improve the nutritional status of family farms?

The chat is organized around these five guiding questions. If you have additional questions you'd like to ask our experts, tweet @Agrilinks using the #AskAg hashtag!

Twitter accounts to follow

ExpertsOrganizations & featured contributorsSylvia Cabus: @sylviacabusFarming First: @farmingfirstStephanie Hanson: @HansonStephOne Acre Fund: @OneAcreFundSusan Carlson: @susanmcarlsonSPRING Project: @SPRINGProject2Thembi Ndema: @FANRPANWorld Farmer's Organisation: @worldfarmersorg

 How to participate

  • If you are new to Twitter, visit Twitter.com to sign up for an account. (For more tips on getting started, check out our Twitter training.)
  • Explore the guiding questions that will be discussed during the chat.
  • Join us for discussion by using the hashtag #AskAg and following @Agrilinks.
  • You can also follow on Twubs or through the livestream below.

Livestream:

Tweets about "#AskAg"

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Speakers

Sylvia Cabus

Headshot: Sylvia Cabus

USAID Bureau for Food Security

Sylvia Cabus is the gender advisor for the Bureau of Food Security at USAID and for the Feed the Future Initiative. She worked for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Kenya, Morocco, Mali,and Burkina Faso. In the United States, Sylvia worked as a program officer with Heifer International, Handicap International, and USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.Before joining USAID, Sylvia was a gender analyst with DevTech Systems, an international development consulting firm. She received a BA with Honors in History from U.C. Berkeley and an MA in international relations from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon.

Stephanie Hanson

Headshot: Stephanie Hanson

One Acre Fund

Stephanie Hanson is the director of policy and outreach at One Acre Fund, where she manages the government relations and policy team and One Acre Fund’s global policy and advocacy work. From 2006 to 2009, she covered economic and political development in Africa and Latin America for CFR.org, the website of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2008, she won a News and Documentary Emmy for Crisis Guide: Darfur, an interactive media guide that explores the history and context of the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Susan Carlson

Headshot: Sue Carlson

World Farmers' Organisation

Sue Carlson has been a farmer and family farm advocate much of her life. She currently serves as Facilitator and Chairperson of the World Farmers' Organisation Women’s Committee, a GAP Catalyst for the Global Funding and Research Gender in Agricultural Partners, and serves on the Shamba Partnership Board. Over the years she has traveled to nearly 40 different countries advocating for family farmers. Carlson was elected President of the Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU) in February 2003, the first woman to serve in that capacity and served until October 2009. Sue represented WFU at the WFU Foundation (President), the NFU Board of Directors, a founding member of the National Farmers Union (NFU) Foundation Board from 2003-2012, and was the first woman elected to the NFU Executive Board as well as the first (and only) woman to serve on the Farmers Union Enterprise Board and their Executive Board, and the Farmers Union Industry Foundation Board.

Thembi Ndema

Headshot: Thembi Ndema

FANRPAN

Sithembile Ndema Mwamakamba is a Project Manager with the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN). She coordinates the FANRPAN Youth and Gender Programme Portfolio, aimed at developing a holistic agriculture policy framework in Africa that will support engagement of youth and women in the agriculture sector. She is responsible for maintaining and managing a knowledge base on evolving issues on youth and women farmers and agriculture in Africa as well as within the global context. She is also responsible for identifying platforms and opportunities where trained women farmers and youth can engage with policy-makers and advocate for better policies.

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