Annex VI: Innovative programmes, projects and initiatives in support of rural women
Cyprus:
· In the period 1979-1990, three studies on the role of women in agriculture and rural development were carried out in order to: (i) highlight rural women's roles and their impact on social and economic life; (ii) identify needs, constraints and possibilities in channelling assistance to rural women, as well as key areas for future action; and, (iii) provide assistance in reviewing and strengthening on-going training programmes in the Home Economics Unit.
· The Home Economics Programme was revised to include training in agricultural activities especially designed for women. Home Economics officers assumed the role of intermediaries to establish communication channels with rural women.
· A project to encourage women's access to improved small-scale industries for the processing of agricultural and livestock products was established by the Department of Agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment. This project aimed at providing financial assistance and support to women farmers strengthening women's participation in obtaining loans and credit, and increasing family income.
Egypt:
A number of innovative programmes, projects and initiatives in support of women in agriculture were implemented in Egypt between 1980-1993, which include the following:
· The Agricultural Production and Credit Project, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture. This project sought to provide a rapid low cost source of credit for women. Women benefitted from credit and were trained in improved and modern production methods, and in marketing activities. Women also conducted their own income generating schemes which increased their income levels. However, women did not exceed 12% of the total borrowers for short-term production loans, and 16% for investment loans in 1993.
· Biogas and Efficient Use of Agricultural Residues. Women were trained in biogas technology and its efficient application.
· Improved Manufacturing of Salt Cheese. Women were trained in using modern technological methods, which increased cheese production and income for women.
· Introduction of Appropriate Technologies in Olive Processing. Women were introduced to technologies to produce high quality olive oil and olive pickles.
· A Complete Small Poultry Production Unit for Small Farmers. Through training and demonstrations, technology was introduced to women to increase eggs and poultry production, which increased income and consumption.
· Rabbit Production Package for Small Farmers. The project aimed to increase high protein food and income from marketing.
· Development of Basic Life Skills of Village Women. Up-to-date technology for food production was introduced. The target of the project was to adopt new concepts in nutrition and food habits. The project led to the formation of new skills, increased income, new nutritional patterns, and created work opportunities and small-scale investment enterprises for food production. The project also supported the training of women extension officers and women leaders.
Iran:
· The Council of Coordination of Rural Women's Activities was established at the Women's Affairs Office. Members of the Council are representatives from organizations active in rural affairs and at the village level. The first activity of the Council was to coordinate the publication of various materials aimed to give women information in agriculture, public health, law matters, etc.
· Office for the Development of Rural Women's Activities was established to plan and implement activities concerning the advancement of rural women. It's headquarters is in Tehran, with its agents (rural women extension officers) located in the provinces.
· Rural Women's Cooperatives were established by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1992 in conjunction with the Central Rural Cooperatives Organization. Currently, there are five active women's cooperatives which will be extended to 25 provinces. In these cooperatives, women learn to discuss and evaluate problems which they face to arrive at proper solutions.
· The Imam Khomeini Relief Committee's Plans aims to assist poor and elderly women in rural regions throughout the country.
Iraq:
· In the 1976-1979 period, GFIW organized a number of rural campaigns to raise the awareness of women's legal rights and the importance of female education and health, and women's full participation in socio-economic activities.
· In 1972, GFIW established a Women's Farm completely managed by women. GFIW assisted women in obtaining subsidized agricultural inputs and credit. In addition to land grown to vegetables, the farm also included several livestock rearing sheds, nine poultry houses and a bee-keeping unit. The farm currently operates as a mini-modern village, with a literacy centre and social, educational, health and agricultural extension services. The project was later handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1987, the Women's Farm joined the General Federation of Farmer's Cooperatives. Currently, 180 farmers (half of whom are women), participate in this initiative. In 1987, a cooperative for cottage industries was incorporated in the farm (to sew women's and children's clothing), and women are paid by output and by annual profit shares.
Jordan:
· The Queen Alia Fund sponsored six innovative agricultural projects for women with 310 beneficiaries. Three of these projects were in animal production sheep husbandry, milk products, and domestic bird processing. The remaining three were in plant production medicinal plants, palm forest project and home gardening project.
· The Women and Development Programme in Noor Al-Hussein Foundation pursued a number of projects. A Rabbit Husbandry Project with 30 women beneficiaries; Sheep Husbandry and Dairy Products with 10 families as beneficiaries; Bee Husbandry Project with 70 families as beneficiaries; Life Developing Project with 600 families as beneficiaries.
Lebanon:
With the exception of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Lebanon lacks well-defined units to address the needs of rural women.
· Prior to the civil war in 1975, the Ministry was active in social welfare centres which provided informal training to rural women in health and education.
· In the past five years, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the Lebanese University has been active in providing specialized extension services to women farmers.
· The Village Welfare Society conducted four pioneering projects in Mount Lebanon which targeted rural women: (i) in 1973, an agricultural cooperative was established to assist women farmers to purchase inputs at subsidized costs, obtain credit and extension services and assistance in marketing; (ii) Annual Agricultural Exhibitions, where women marketed their produce; (iii) established a training centre for women in areas such as bee-keeping and poultry production; and, (iv) established literacy programmes and training women to acquire a diploma in agricultural social work. While these projects were very successful for the most part, they were discontinued due to the civil war.
· The Lebanon Family Planning Association is an NGO active in training women at the community level to become social workers. Women were selected from various villages and trained in rural sociology, family planning, primary health care, vocational training and food processing.
Mauritania:
· Project for the Advancement of Women was established by the Ministry of Rural Development and the Environment in cooperation with FAO. The objectives of this project were to: (i) develop a methodology for gender analysis; (ii) develop a plan of action to integrate women in rural development; and, (iii) undertake budget-time surveys on women's activities in rural areas.
· Central and Regional institutional Project, financed by the World Bank, UNICEF and GTZ. The main objectives are to: (i) elaborate a national strategy and plans of action for the advancement of women; (ii) provide training of the State Secretariat for Women's Cadres; (iii) establish a monitoring system on women's status, a documentation centre and a databank; and, (iv) reinforce cooperation between different technical departments and donors.
Morocco:
· Ministry of Agriculture programmes for women are relatively recent in Morocco. In the last decade, emphasis was placed on research to assess women's situation in agriculture, and to identify their constraints and needs. Currently, a strategy to establish intervention mechanisms, train personnel and conduct sensitization campaigns is being developed. One of the most original components of the strategy is the integration of social and population aspects to extension activities. Most agricultural projects at the Ministry are beginning to include a women's component.
· Ministry of Youth and Sports Programmes. This Ministry has a network of 360 women's units, half of which are located in rural areas. These units are focal points for women's education, family planning, income-generating activities and the creation of women's cooperatives. The Ministry also has 277 kindergartens, 45 % of which are located in rural areas. The lack of resources is the major problem facing these units.
· Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs Programme. This Ministry has 300 socio-educational centres providing education to mothers. Two-thirds of these centres are located in the rural areas. It also has 458 Education and Work centres, of which half are located in rural Morocco. These centres train young women in sewing and embroidery, and provide training in functional literacy and income generating activities.
· Ministry of Education Programmes conduct campaigns to encourage parents to send their daughters to school. Currently, the Ministry is in the process of elaborating reforms to encourage the education of girls.
· The National Union of Moroccan Women (NUMW) is the most active NGO in rural areas with 550 regional units and 120 local ones. The Union established 15 women's cooperatives to implement income-generating projects for women in crop and livestock production.
Oman:
· A number of projects have sought to create income generating activities for rural women in the past decade. These were initiated by women's associations and production groups with full technical assistance and some financial support from the Ministry of Social Affairs.
· Social Development Programme. This programme included training courses in income-generating activities such as tailoring, sewing, embroidery, weaving, spinning and incense-mixing for women community development workers and women local leaders.
Pakistan:
· The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, established in 1982, aimes at promoting rural development through the organization of communities for both women and men. Approximately 571 women's organizations have been formed with 19,600 women members. These organizations developed an efficient credit system as members collectively saved to provide joint collateral for credit. A common method used to increase savings has been to collectively cultivate a village plot and place the earnings in a common savings fund. The success of this model has resulted in its replication in the form of a National Rural Support Programme.
· In 1990, The Aurat Foundation, a national NGO, in collaboration with other NGOs and with support from UNIFEM, organized a gathering of rural women. In this gathering, rural women expressed their concerns regarding their heavy workload, as well as highlighted areas in which they needed community and governamental support. In 1992, a second regional conference took place with the participation of women from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. A third gathering took place in Pakistan in 1993 and was attended by 103 rural women.
Somalia:
· Women Farming Families Project, funded and implemented by GTZ, FAO, and the agricultural extension project (AFMET). The project aimed to increase agricultural production by providing training to women farmers in agriculture and agroforestry, and to improve women's access to credit in cash and kind. The project increased awareness regarding the importance of trees for rural women's work by creating commercial village nurseries, and assisted women by reducing the time allocated to wood gathering for fuel and collecting fodder for livestock. The project lasted from July 1988 to October 1989, and had to be discontinued due to the civil war.
Sudan:
· School Gardening and Education Department is implementing 18 projects financed by UNICEF, Dutch Aid, ADRA and Oxfam. Approximately 420 women benefitted from livestock projects in Western Sudan. Dutch Aid financed cheese production and dairy farms projects in Eldmar, which benefitted 182 women.
· Yed Elmarah, with financing from the Dutch Embassy, benefitted 270 women in three different projects relating to vegetable, cheese and brick production. Two grain grinders and one cereal bank were provided by the Dutch Embassy with financial assistance from Oxfam and Community Aid Abroad.
· With finance from USAID, the Dutch, Norwegian and Sudanese governments, the Bediri Scientific Society is training 6 women in leadership, and is running two women cooperatives in the Kosti area, as well as 15 projects in income-generation.
· The Ministry of Social Planning financed vegetable and goat production schemes which benefitted 210 women.
· The Sudanese Development and Relief Agency financed a fish processing project with UNDP finance. About 25 women entrepreneurs received credit for this project.
· The Sudanese Development Society, with financing from Oxfam/America and the Dutch Embassy, financed 60 women to obtain licenses to run coffee and tea shops in the market.
· With financing from the Dutch Embassy, 3 women's vegetable and dairy production cooperatives have been established, and one grain grinder has been provided in Eramesh, Wad Hashim and Sinnar.
· Hawa Society, with UNDP financing, implemented income-generating projects for 400 women in El-Obeid
· Amal Society, with financing from Rada Barrein, helped to establish charcoal, goat and vegetable production units to benefit women refugees.
· Canadian Aid financed a variety of income generating projects which benefitted 300 women.
Tunisia:
No projects specifically targeting rural women are being implemented, with the exception of one project to train young women in handicrafts. Projects which have indirectly benefitted women include:
· Productive Family Programme The project aimed at agricultural intensification and the improvement of infrastructure by introducing appropriate technologies and the training of professional women in agriculture.
· Support of Single Parent Families Project, implemented by the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1992, aimed at providing aid to improve agricultural production for 223 small women landowners and heads of households in Kairouan.
· Office of Pastoral Development in the North West. A women's training and extension unit was formed to target women farmers in mountainous and forest zones of the region.
Turkey:
· The Area Based Services for Children and Mothers in the Priority Provinces Project was launched by UNICEF and the Turkish Government for the period 1991-1995. The programme mobilized community members to achieve social and economic development through "women's groups" organized at the village level. The project aims to enhance social development and create and increase social demands for services while mobilizing community resources in support of such services. A set of integrated activities have been initiated, include the development of social infrastructure through education oriented activities (reducing illiteracy of girls and women), and mobilizing, creating and strengthening women's groups and women's houses. Women's groups are organized by provincial education and agricultural directorates. Women's houses have been established through the use of local material and physical input provided by the villagers. The houses are used to improve communication among women, and provide basic health, nutrition and consciousness-raising courses and activities.
Yemen:
· Khawlan Rural Women Development Project. The Project aimed at distributing chicken to rural families at a low cost, and fruit and forest tree seedlings free of charge.
· Rada'a Integrated Rural Development Project. The project aimed at training women in the proper use of natural resources such as wool for carpet-making. The project also distributed forest tree seedlings free of charge, introduced high quality goats for the improvement of local races, and established a Women's Training Centre and guest house.
· AI-Mahwit Rural Development Project The project constructed a kindergarten for children supervised by rural women to allow mothers to work, and provided training in fodder gathering.
· Forestry Development Project. The project aimed at distributing forest tree seedlings to rural women and provided training in establishing forest tree nurseries in various governorates and districts.
· Southern Upland Rural Development Project. The project aimed at creating nine training centres for women extension officers from local villages. The project succeeded in improving the coordination of efforts between governmental organizations and participating NGOs
The above projects, with the exception of the last two, included literacy, health, education, maternal and child care programmes, handicraft training and family planning as important components to their efforts.
