2SCALE has set up a series of measures to address these women-specific constraints . First , 2SCALE facilitated trainings on good agronomic practices and stem multiplication techniques and introduced highstarch varieties to increase yields . Through advocacy and sensitization , women were given land through their husbands and could lease land at an affordable price .
Introduction of new technologies , such as cassava planters , reduced workload and increased yields as well as farm size in certain instances . Psaltry agreed to introduce special measures to support women , such as supplying labor at harvest time and providing discounts on costs to transport women ’ s produce to the factory .
Psaltry ’ s Vision of Women ’ s Economic Empowerment – Corporate Social Responsibility Iranyole ’ s vision of women ’ s empowerment is to allow females to grow to any rank or any level in the company , not because they are women but because they are qualified . “ We need to mentor each other , especially young women . Mentoring is key for women to choose the right education and making a reality of their dreams and ideas ,” she says . Iranyole ’ s dream for 2017 is to begin a foundation to finance business education for young women . They need to be encouraged to attend school and not pressured to marry at such an early age . Parents already see the opportunities for their children , but financing education is still difficult . She would like to encourage more girls to go to school and own businesses .
4.7 Advocacy and Enabling Environment
2SCALE focuses on supporting the emergence of inclusive agribusiness clusters and value chains and made the choice not to get involved in high- ( sectoral ) level advocacy interventions to improve the agribusiness environment . However , 2SCALE supports grassroots actors in local-level advocacy activities as part of its support to strengthen local networks among private and public stakeholders . The examples below from Nigeria and Benin highlight how focused and local advocacy helps improve the competitiveness of agribusiness clusters .
Equality in Agribusiness : Facilitating Single-Tax Payment for Women – Nigeria
According to a 2012 gender analysis by the British Council in Nigeria , women not only provide over 60 % of the rural workforce ( while men are five times more likely to own land ), but they are also subject to multiple tax payments that limit their economic independence and their ability to prosper in business . The study outlines three taxation issues that reduce women ’ s competitiveness in business : multiple taxation and coercive prosecution at local level ; victimization and penalization of women ( many are illiterate and unaware of their tax liabilities ); and unfair deductions . In 2015 , there were complaints from women vegetable farmers supported by 2SCALE in Lamingo and Bokkos about deductions in their profit margin because of multiple tax payments .
As the first issue – multiple taxation ( fees / levies / tolls / charges ) – was raised many times by farmers and sellers in the vegetable partnership in Nigeria , it was given special
Maize farmers process their harvest using a threshing machine – Maize Partnership , Ethiopia .
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