By: Jacintha C. James Assoc. CIPD; MSc 
APT Consultancy Services
Principal (Independent Consultant)
Training and Human Resource Management
email: jcordeliajames21@hotmail.com
Tel:1-784-529-5430

“Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty”: International Women’s Day March 8, 2012

On March 8, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. This year the UN’s theme is ‘Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty’. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, rural women, especially, those engaged in farming play a critical role in sustaining livelihoods by not only providing food for their families’ consumption but also producing surpluses for distribution to local and even export markets. It is these women who on small plots of land epitomize agricultural diversification. They have been able to feed, clothe and educate their children very often single-handedly from these plots. 

My grandmother!

 My grandmother’s plot grew sweet potatoes, eddoes, tannias, dasheen, ginger, guinea pepper, hot peppers, peas, corn, cassava, yams, bananas, greendy, pineapple and passion fruit. There were also, carrots, christophene, pumpkin, soursop, tangerine, grapefruit and lime and of course coconuts, breadfruit and mango and a few pigs and ‘creole’ fowls. Rural women like my grandmother knew how not to go hungry and through their efforts many of us have been saved from poverty. Sure some rural women today still do this and it’s to them that we continue to be grateful. However, there are many factors which still prevent women from fully contributing to the goals of ending hunger and poverty. Although I am not convinced that we could truly end hunger and poverty, I do believe we can do better. But maybe it’s just important to make these gains one family at a time.

The realizations of these goals will only happen when:
1. As women we understand the importance of educating ourselves and our daughters to the highest levels and in subject matters that help them to understand the role they can play in rural development;
2. Literacy/Adult Education programmes are implemented in all rural communities to make basic and lifelong learning opportunities available to women especially those who didn’t complete primary and secondary schooling;
3. As rural women we understand and teach our children that it’s okay to eat what we grow;
4. As educators we teach our children that agriculture is more than hoes, cutlasses and forks and that there are many higher level career paths which they can pursue;
5. As a government we provide special grants for women to fund farming and rural economic development activities and incentives through scholarships for rural females who want to pursue studies in Agricultural and Social Development;
6. As financial institutions we provide greater access to credit to rural women especially those engaged in farming and other entrepreneurial activities within their communities;
7. As government we distribute Crown lands to rural women interested in farming;
8. As government and other international agencies such as FAO we provide special assistance and ensure equal access to fertilizers, seeds and tools to rural women;
9. As rural women more of us become involved in decision-making at the national level;
10. As politicians and other policy makers we understand that the poorest sectors of the population experience greater welfare gains when there is growth in Agriculture. Hence it makes sense to invest in Agriculture;
11. As the Ministry of Agriculture we provide meaningful extension services that would help rural women farmers to incorporate their existing indigenous technical knowledge with new technologies and practices to increase yields, etc.;
12. As a Nation we award more rural women with OBEs and MBEs and any other recognition for the contribution they make to ensuring sustainable livelihoods for their families, communities and by extension SVG. 

On behalf of all the children, grandchildren, spouses, neighbours and everyone who never said thanks, I say THANKS and Happy International Women’s Day to you who have been and continue to be the true heroines of our Nation!