As you have recently come on board, how do you see the work that IFAD is doing in the context of support to rural women?

IFAD is an organization that has consistently made a concerted effort to provide rural women with the means and opportunities to make their voices heard. In addition, IFAD has ensured that they have the tools that they need to overcome barriers to gain better access to assets, both economic and socio-cultural.

One example is IFAD’s work to increase rural women’s access to microfinance, which has opened up a world of opportunities for them. Allowing them to start micro-enterprises gives them greater autonomy and improves their participation in the economic, social and political decisions that impact their lives, families and communities.

What steps can IFAD take to improve its outlook of economic empowerment of women?

IFAD is already actively supporting women’s participation in rural development by providing the means to access assets and increase their capabilities to engage in remunerable economic activities. However, to complement these efforts and further strengthen economic empowerment of women, public investment, services and policies for agriculture and rural development have to consider their specific needs. In fact, both women and men must be equally involved and heard at all levels during that process.

I believe that it is important to show young women that they can succeed in agriculture, that they can play leadership roles in farmer and rural producer organizations. You can find strong, empowered women in almost every IFAD supported project. These women farmers and rural microentrepreneurs are important role models for girls and young women. IFAD could increasingly bring the two groups together, so that young women and girls learn from these successful women for their own lives.

How do we ensure women’s inclusion in the economy and enhance their positions in business, in particular in agricultural businesses?

IFAD has made it a priority to strengthen women’s leadership and entrepreneurial capabilities.

This is crucial in order to enhance their positions in business, particularly in agricultural businesses, and to improve their opportunities in the entire agriculture value-chain.

For example, in Bangladesh, the Agricultural Development and Intensification Project worked with local non-governmental organizations to organize savings and credit groups that focus on improving the income-generation prospects of small farmers, women-headed households and destitute women. Forty-five per cent of the women in the groups used loans to buy land. In Ghana, an IFAD-supported project improved women’s links to markets and income generation by providing them better access to capital.

Being relatively new to IFAD, what do you think is the Fund’s unique opportunity in empowering girls and women?

Considering the empowerment of girls and women must go hand-in-hand with a change in mindset and behaviour, IFAD’s focus on young rural people is a unique opportunity. Young people are the agents of change. They are the next generation and they can change the status quo. This is why we have to keep investing in them.

Also, IFAD’s close collaboration with governments, local organizations and rural women themselves makes it possible for us to directly advocate for women’s empowerment in the immediate local context and to provide them with an opportunity to influence and actively participate in all project components.