Women provide over 40 percent of agricultural labor in the world but only have ownership of 12 percent of agricultural land.

 By investing in women-led entrepreneurship and food systems, these women-led farms and businesses can increase productivity by 20 to 30 percent and increase agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 percent. Harvest Plus is working to support women through business support and the introduction of nutritious and high-value biofortified crops. Supporting women in agriculture is integral to improving the food security, nutrition, and overall well-being of rural communities.

Harvest Plus is working with women around the world to increase and improve women farmers’ access to quality inputs and business support. By bringing biofortified crops to women farmers, Harvest Plus is empowering farmers and mothers to solve hidden hunger (deficiencies caused by micronutrient shortages) while also increasing farmer incomes. 

Dinavance Kyomuhendo’s story

For the past 8 years Dinavance Kyomuhendo, a single mother of 5 children and guardian to 10 children, has been building her life as a biofortification farmer and advocate within her community in Uganda. After collaborating with Harvest Plus Kyomuhendo has worked her way from being without a home and farmland to now having a thriving farm business. 

Through funding by USAID, Harvest Plus has been working to bring Orange Sweet Potatoes to Kyomuhendo’s region. Orange Sweet Potatoes are biofortified to have high amounts of Vitamin A which helps vision, skin, and the immune system. In Sub Saharan Africa, 40 percent of children under 5 have vitamin A deficiencies which can be solved by consuming 100g of OSP each day.3 

After Kyomuhendo’s first year of growing OSP her entrepreneurial determination led her to start a vine multiplication business. After seeing Kyomuhendo’s efforts Harvest Plus trained her and provided supplies for her business. In addition to selling vines to her neighbors, Kyomuhendo has become the leading chicken producer in her area by using OSP flour as feed, selling OSP cakes in her town. 

This young entrepreneurial woman farmer has helped to produce nutritional food for her community and lift her family out of hunger. 

Miriam Chipulu’s story

Based in Zambia the CEO and founder of Shia Foods, Miriam Chipulu, is a fierce supporter of biofortified crops and employing women in her community. Shia Foods is an agro-processing enterprise that provides vitamin A fortified maize to her area. Starting in 2016 Chipulu has received support from Harvest Plus to provide small-holder farmers in Zambia with vitamin A maize. Since then she has contracted and trained 600 farmers and hopes to one day have 5,000 small-holder suppliers. 

In addition to technical support, Harvest Plus has helped to offer Shia Foods visibility. Harvest Plus gave Chipulu the network to feature Shia foods at a trade fair in Ndola, and an Agriculture Agritek exhibition in Chisamba, and the Agriculture and Commercial Show in Lusaka. 

Supporting entrepreneurs like Miriam Chipulu allows women to uplift each other. In her own words, “The main objective is to improve food security at the household level and create a sustainable source of income for smallholder farmers, especially women and youth. I am proud to say that 92 percent of Shais Foods workers are women.”

Lilian Murangariri’s Story

Before Lilian Murangariri founded her business the Sunshine Group she was struggling to feed and pay for her family’s basic needs in between harvests. The rainy season yields abundant sources of food but without proper storage, much can go to waste. By investing in a simple solar dryer, Murangariri helped to improve her family’s nutrition and bring biofortified foods to her community in Zimbabwe.

Murangariri’s life improved largely after her involvement with the  Improved Nutrition Sustainable Production for Increased Resilience and Economic Growth (INSPIRE) project, which is one of the consortiums active in the UKAid-funded Livelihoods and Food Security Programme (LFSP).  HarvestPlus is the technical partner on biofortification in LFSP. 

After being trained how to manage her own finances and diversify her income outside of farming Murangariri built her own solar dryer and started selling dried tomatoes, squash, okra, and cabbage to her community. As of June 2020, Murangariri has accumulated an income of more than USD 1200 through her solar drying business alone. With the additional resources, Murangariri is paying for her daughter’s tuition fees at Magamba Training Centre as well as buying clothes and nutritious foods for her family.