Overview

Shared meals will fund training and resources for female farmers in Rwanda, Peru and Zambia.

Despite growing food, many smallholder farmers do not have enough to feed themselves. With little or no access to funding to grow their businesses, it leaves many unable to progress their livelihoods. This especially affects women and fuels cycles of financial exclusion. Currently, 35% of women do not have a bank account globally. The World Food Program is on the ground empowering female farmers through its SheCan project. SheCan is a blended finance initiative that funds WFP programmes focused on resilience and economic growth for women. There is a 20-30% projected increase in agricultural yield if women have access to the same resources as men. This is what SheCan strives for. As part of the program, WFP provides women with loans which they can use to expand their business. This includes financial training, digitalising processes and buying supplies such as seeds, herbicides and fertilisers. This enables them to expand their produce and in turn, income. SheCan aims to reach 6,840 smallholder farmers and micro-entrepreneurs in its pilot projects in Rwanda, Zambia and Peru.