Key Findings

6 key findings emerged from our research

1. The value of enterprise training for rural women

Enterprise training can help farmers take – and manage – the risks involved in introducing new technologies.  It can also help women diversify their productive activities by branching out into small business, which can address the risk of crop failure and help develop more stable year-round incomes.  Successful enterprise training requires an approach which addresses the many challenges of rural business development.

2. Barriers to accessing training

Improving women smallholders’ access to relevant training is an important step in increasing agricultural productivity. Women smallholders often can’t access training as well as men so the training needs to take into account their particular situations – including their level of literacy and domestic chores. 

3. Systematic approaches to training for women

Extension officers and trainers need the right skills and information to systematically address the challenges faced by women smallholders. By engaging with the whole community (men included), development projects can help women access training without taking the ownership from women. Projects should provide channels for women to articulate their needs, and should work with the community to improve women’s positions.

4. Learning within groups

Smallholder groups are very helpful in delivering training and sharing and retaining information from that training. For women, groups are particularly important in facilitating access to training. 

5. Participation in technology development

Increasing technology use helps increase agricultural yields and reduce the amount of time that women spend on tasks, thus freeing up time for other productive activities.  Women have different technology needs to those of men and training needs to take this into account. Participation in technology development can have significant benefits but needs to be carefully managed. It is important for women to be connected with technology developers and empowered to invest in technologies which will suit them.

6. Reducing the risks of applying training

Decreasing the risk of investing in new processes is necessary if smallholders are to apply training.  Initiating new businesses or acquiring new technologies requires access to capital. Likewise, the ability to sell products and attend training depends on adequate rural infrastructure.  In order to support training, projects need to address the connections between skills and these factors.

To read about these findings in more depth, download the Summary report.