Government, NGOs asked to empower rural women farmers

A lecturer at DMI St. John the Baptist University in Mangochi, James Chilita, has appealed to government and development partners to implement training programmes that improve women farmers’ access to agricultural technologies.

Chilita, who is a lecturer in the Department of Commerce and Management, said this on Saturday at the end of a National Level Conference on Technology and Innovation in Environmental Sustainability.

The conference was held in  partnership with Nico Technologies Limited and was organised for students, researchers and professionals from local and foreign universities and organisations.

In an interview, Chilita said rural women farmers play a crucial role in the eradication of hunger and poverty, but are limited to produce to their full capacity due to inadequate resources and lack of skills.

“If women farmers have an access to the same opportunities and resources as their male counterparts, productivity would rise and the food security at household level would also improve,” he said.

Marirajan Lovely Chizimba,  a lecturer at DMI St. Eugene University in Zambia, said it is high time women were empowered to reduce the socio-cultural norms that affect their progress. n