Description
CARE's Farmer Field and Business School (FFBS) is a participatory, women-focused extension approach that helps farmers build the skills necessary to increase production, access markets and sell at competitive prices, collaborate with each other and engage in beneficial and efficient decision-making. It also transforms the status and recognition of women by providing the support they require to be successful farmers, businesspeople, leaders and agents of change. Evidence shows that participation in the FFBS builds women's self-confidence, expands their autonomy, reduces gender-based violence and engenders respect from their families and communities.
Given the economic support and savings skills established in Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), these groups are a natural entry point for the FFBS approach. Additionally, VSLAs build financial literacy, which is necessary for agricultural productivity. VSLA members have a solid foundation of cohesion that facilitates their self-organisation into larger producer groups based on readiness and interest. Once they graduate from the FFBS programme, members of producer groups will form larger groups called FFBS producer associations. FFBS producer associations have collective productive capacity and market skills to negotiate favourable terms with buyers and suppliers. VSLAs provide initial savings for investment in improved inputs and techniques. As groups mature, they reinvest profits into pooled funds for equipment, warehouse storage, etc.
Overarching commitment (for commitments submitted pre-2025)
Title
Increasing women's control of assets
Description
CARE will fulfil this commitment by enabling women's access to inclusive markets. Applying the best of our food and water systems and women's economic justice approaches, we will aim to unlock greater production, profits and social and environmental returns for women in small-scale agriculture. We will increase food, water and nutrition security as well as climate resilience by promoting women producers' ability to participate and take leadership in collectives and service delivery. Thus, they can voice their needs, access input markets, negotiate better outcomes, make decisions in market systems and play non-traditional roles, such as aggregators, innovators and water, sanitation and hygiene service providers and business leaders, thereby transforming markets to become more inclusive, sustainable and just. We will also ensure our market systems work builds resilience so that communities can better absorb and adapt to economic, social, political or environmental shocks.
GNR assessment
| Verification status |
Unverified
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| SMARTness index |
Low
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Details
| Target population characteristic |
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| Nutrition Action Classification(s) |
Impact >
Food and nutrition security
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| Linked event(s) |
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| N4G Summit theme(s) |
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Measurement
| Key indicator | Percent increase in household income |
|---|---|
| Measurement plan | Unknown |
| Value | Measurement date | |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | TBD | 2021 |
| Target | TBD | November 2030 |
Progress
| Value | Measurement date | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progress report | 431,000 women have participated in decisions about agricultural production and household income. | November 2023 |
Progress not able to be assessed
Despite the commitment maker’s active participation in the process, they were unable to provide the required information about the baseline data or the progress indicator's updated (latest) level or status, or the data provided were not in a format allowing calculation of progress.
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