By Felista Wiston
Introduction:
Vailet Simulimi Nkoma is a woman smallholder farmer and the Chairperson of Tanzania Rural Women Assembly (TRWA) living at Mbozi district in Songwe region. A rural women movement in Tanzania aiming at creating a joint space for rural women by bringing them together to raise their voices and collective actions for social transformation through information, experience sharing & knowledge exchange.
Challenge:
In 2020, Vailet together with other members of the rural women forum from Mbozi District conducted budget analysis on District Council Agricultural Budget for four (4) consecutive financial years (2019/2020, 2020/2021, 2021/2022 & 2022/2023). From the analysis it was noted that coffee is a major cash crop in the area dominated by male. Women do carry out the majority of the work from planting to harvesting and processing. However, men are the ones who control the benefits leaving women without financial recognition for their hard work. Again, the budget allocated for the agricultural sector is minimal and what is allocated is mainly responding to men’s concerns.
Intervention:
Through these findings rural women especially in Mbozi district were presented to stakeholder’s dialogue meeting involving duty bearers and right holders who came up with alternatives to respond on the raised women budget issues.
Impact:
Through this process, their persistent efforts led to a significant increase in the budget allocation for District Agricultural sector improvement from 2.5% for the FYR 2019/20 to 13.7% for the FYR 2022/2023. Additionally, women advocated for women inclusion in the distribution of coffee seedlings and establishment of coffee nurseries managed by women within their areas. This also became possible as some of the women such as Vailet benefited from this scheme. A number of coffee seedlings nurseries have been established in ten (10) villages managed by women groups; where they received training on coffee husbandry including nursery management and now they are selling to other farmers in their areas generating income to them. Other women go beyond coffee nursery business to coffee farm ownership. For example Vailet narrated that ‘following the awareness of women ‘s involvement in coffee production and land ownership I bought 3 acres of land to grow coffee. I received 1,000 coffee seedlings from the scheme which have now begun to bear fruit as you see here being the first harvesting yield of 3 tins.
I’m applying agro-ecological farming practices for sustainable farming including use of organic fertilisers such as cow dung manure, decomposed manure, medicinal plants & herbs to control diseases and pests’.
She further mentioned that ‘I’m now capable to challenge gender inequalities together with my fellow rural women after receiving various trainings to build our capacities such as budget analysis to understand the gaps and how to advocate for change; leadership skills; business development for income generation; and participation in development processes including village meetings for planning and monitoring on the implementation of development plans’. She further acknowledged that the increased budget allocation and inclusion of women in coffee seedling distribution schemes has empowered women farmers in Mbozi, giving them a space to take a more active and recognised role in coffee farming. Vailet also urges other women to engage in coffee farming, highlighting the support available from the government and various agricultural stakeholders. She believes that with continued effort and support women can achieve financial independence and contribute significantly to the agricultural sector.
Conclusion:
The story of Vailet and the Rural Women Forum is a testament to the strength and resilience of women farmers. Their efforts have not only improved their own lives but have also paved the way for future generations of women in agriculture.
