THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN AND YOUTH: Enhancing climate-smart productivity of vegetables and key livestock value chains, Sudan

Abstract

This Community Action Research Project strengthened technical and organizational assistance to rural women and youth in the semi-arid eastern Gezira State, Sudan. It emphasized the importance of climate-smart, small-scale, income-generating activities to contribute to women’s empowerment, nutrition security, and poverty reduction. Locally suitable vegetables, fodder, poultry (chickens and quails), goats, optimal household water harvesting, and conservation agriculture methods were selected and trialled with the women farmers. Their marketing was strengthened with group formation. The project provided vegetable seeds and some inputs, training, and technical support to rural women and youth with a focus on building their businesses after the project through the formation of a cooperative for marketing. After two years of implementation, results indicate that all the women benefited. They were producing vegetables and using compost fertilizer, and most were very satisfied with their progress. The monthly income, food diversity, and child nutritional status of project participants were significantly better than those who had not participated.