Seventy-eight rural women in Rwanda completed our foundational training and are ready to build farming businesses but lack inputs, extension support, and market connections. This Graduate Support Programme equips women to grow high-value horticultural crops through Good Agricultural Practices, climate-smart techniques, quality seeds, tools, and field coaching. Women form cooperatives to access buyers directly, transforming from subsistence farmers into entrepreneurs earning life-changing income.
Rural women farmers grow basic crops with little left to sell. Without quality seeds, training in market crops, extension support, or land - harvests stay small and inconsistent. Climate shocks and limited irrigation worsen yields. Women sell through informal channels at low prices or to middlemen taking margins. Income barely covers basic expenses so women cannot invest in their children's education/healthcare. Without support, women remain trapped in subsistence farming despite potential.
This programme supports 78 women farmers to transition from subsistence to market-oriented horticulture. Women receive training in Good Agricultural Practices and climate-smart production of high-value crops such as French beans and chili, alongside quality inputs and on-farm coaching from trained extensionists. Through strengthened cooperatives and direct market linkages with exporters - women increase yields, reduce losses, and earn sustainable income.
With increased farming income, women pay school fees, access healthcare, and improve housing for their families. Organised into cooperatives, they gain collective bargaining power and negotiate fairer prices. As nutrition-sensitive agricultural entrepreneurs, they expand production, create local jobs, and strengthen household resilience. Their success reshapes expectations for girls and women in rural communities, demonstrating that sustained support can drive lasting economic change.
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