PELUM Kenya
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Women and Youth Inclusion in Agroecology

PELUM Kenya aims to increase women and youth involvement in AE in Kenya through its women and youth thematic area. Men and women have a shared responsibility in producing agricultural crops, tending animals, processing and preparing food, working for wages in agricultural or other rural enterprises, collecting fuel and water, engaging in trade and marketing, caring for family members and maintaining their homes.

According to existing data, women comprise over 50% of the agricultural labour force in Kenya. It is evident that women are key agents for development. They play a catalytic role towards achievement of transformational economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development. Women produce 60-80 percent of the world’s food, and due to this important role they play, women are inherently better stewards of the environment than men. Therefore, within this narrative, there is a great need for women to drive the AE agenda.

Young people are usually not interested in Agriculture because of their perception of farming being antiquated and unprofitable. The image of agriculture traditionally has been more about subsistence – producing enough for you to eat. There is a need to change this narrative and bring in the element of agribusiness in Agriculture. This will encourage the youth to take up farming without bothering about the market risks.

The justification/rationale for strengthening women and youth leadership in agroecology:

  1. Most farmers are women and hence resonate / connect and learn well from women trainers.
  2. There is a need to mobilize and organize and empower women leaders to push for their space in leadership in agroecology.
  3. Women are best in practicing and scaling up what they learn.
  4. Women are best placed to feed the family and the world hence placing them as leaders in agroecology is putting agroecology in sustainable and safer hands.
  5. The youth are ambitious, enthusiastic and energetic and hence can push the AE agenda.