Partnerships to
Empower Women in
the Agribusiness
Value Chain
Radha Muthiah
Vice President, Strategic
Partnerships & Alliances
CARE USA
A Leader on Gender Programming
• Women’s empowerment
framework based on Strategic
Impact Inquiry
• Buffett portfolio review of gender
in agriculture programming
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Women & Agriculture Analysis
• Long-term commitment: 10-15
year country level strategies
CARE Focus Industries
Health/Pharma
ICT
Ag/Food
Products
Retail
Financial
Services
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“Social Value across the Value Chain”
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Partners support CARE’s work through program funding, employee
expertise, lending their brands and corporate voice, and engaging
customers
Sourcing from Women Smallholders:
Ghana Women’s Groups
Cocoa Communities Partnerships
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Started in 2006 with Cargill
Ashanti Region, 70 communities
14,000 smallholder farmers (25% women)
25,881 children, inc. 7,350 primary school
graduates
Objective: Healthy rural cocoa communities
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Background
Gender Innovation
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Declining Yield, Child Labor
For Women
– Lack control over cocoa
– Access to Land
– Extension
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Women’s Groups (3,500 members)
Linked with Farmer Groups (70 with
14,000 members)
Build up production
Support and mentor 1,500 girls to stay
in school and learn about cocoa
Diversify Income Sources
Women Processors:
India Women’s Cashew Federation
Women’s Cashew Federation
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Started in 2009
Approximate budget of $1 million
Assist 1,250 women to move into
ownership of cashew processing
To process 10% of 2 districts yields
10% quality premium over other
facilities
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Background
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Cashews employ 500,000 women as
unskilled labor
One of India’s highest value crops
Few to not opportunities for women
to move up
Hazardous working conditions
Low literacy, self confidence, poor
reproductive health
Innovations
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Establishment of women-owned and
operated processing units
Federated structure from village to
regional level
Backward integration into collection
Linkage to health microinsurance
Functional literacy and life skills
Women-Led Distribution Model:
Bangladesh Rural Sales Program
Rural Sales Network & Dairy Value Chain
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Objective: Establish rural, social enterprise with
double bottom line: incomes & improved nutrition
In 2009 generated $1 million USD sales, via 3000
women agents
Danone & CARE co-investing to develop new
products and take model nation wide
Background
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BoP market leveraging corp products,
skills
Seasonal glut of raw milk
43% of children under 5 are stunted
Anemica prevalent in pregnant women
Lack of safe dairy products in rural areas
Employment for otherwise vulnerable
women
Innovations
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Take RSN model nationwide
Adapt for Africa
Cross-Selling of a number of other
products
– Personal care
– Agriculture inputs
Looking to the Future
To increase productive, gender-responsive engagement
of poor women along agribusiness value chains…
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Invest in comprehensive approaches to
empowerment that go beyond economic constraints
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Increase direct linkages between business
sourcing and philanthropic support for women at
key points along the value chain
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Grow BoP investment in marginalized women
producers, processors, distributors
– Gender-responsive social enterprise models
– Financial products for women at BoP
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Explore development of standards for investment in women at key points along the
value chain
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Continue to build the business case for investing in poor, marginalized women in
agribusiness