EGYPT – The Ministry of Social Solidarity in Egypt in partnership with PepsiCo Egypt and CARE Egypt have inked a partnership protocol to launch the She Feeds the World (SFtW) program with a US$3.7m investment targeting 390,000 female small-scale farmers.

The program set to run for three-year aims to provide resources and good practices training to the female farmers to help increase crop yields and income in Beheira, Giza, Minya, and Beni Suef governorates.

SFtW will apply an integrated approach to address the primary barriers that female farmers face such as access to tools, inputs, financial services, agricultural training, and markets to sell their products, reports Daily News Egypt.

It also seeks to improve the nutritional wellbeing of 10,000 households through promoting improved nutritional behaviour, water replenishment, sustainable water usage, private and public sector engagement and improving access to reproductive resources.

The partnership having an all rounded representation has the Ministry of Social Solidarity representing the public sector, CARE Egypt representing civil society organisations and the private sector represented by PepsiCo Egypt.

The Minister of Social Solidarity will be supporting the project with a database that includes 30 million citizens. “We firmly believe that cooperation and integration is the best formula to achieving this programme’s great success.” said Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly

The SFtW is set to support with the “2 Kefaya” programmes launched by the ministry,” added Waly.

 “This important programme is in line with our support for Egypt’s 2030 vision and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals to achieve gender equality, especially in the agriculture sector – one of Egypt’s key national GDP contributors,” said CEO of PepsiCo Egypt  Mohamed Shelbaya.

CARE aims to integrate women’s empowerment activities to engage both women and men in addressing barriers of women’s entry to agricultural supply chains.

 “This is why CARE has launched SFtW, an initiative to empower women farmers in developing countries to better support themselves, their families and their communities,” Hazem Fahmy, CARE Egypt’s country director and acting CEO of CARE Egypt Foundation said.

Liked this article? Subscribe to Food Business Africa News, our regular email newsletters with the latest news insights from Africa and the World’s food and agro industry. SUBSCRIBE HERE