attention during a workshop organized by 2SCALE in 2015.
Some specific questions were clarified, such as: Who is
collecting these multiple taxes from female farmers? How
many women are affected? How often are women taxed?
Where are they taxed? And moreover, what can be done to
stop this inequality?
The participants indicated different ways, including
advocacy at both the federal and local government level,
to urge them to design and enforce laws and policies that
would forbid multiple tax payments. Although taking the
issue to the legislative level could be envisioned, this could
take a very long time, and there is no guarantee that the
regulations would be enforced or that it would be the most
effective way to solve the problem.
As a way forward, 2SCALE met with the Plateau State Board
of Internal Revenue (PSBI), Local Government Area Council
(LGAC), and Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) in
Nigeria. In November 2015, 2SCALE facilitated a meeting
between representatives of PSBI, FIRS, and LGAC and
women vegetable farmers from Lamingo and Bokkos.
During the interactive session, the Director of Corporate
Affairs of PSBI indicated that PSBI was aware of multiple
tax payments and willing to stop this practice. According
to him, “One of the innovations we are setting up to remove
this challenge is the establishment of a Tax Identification
Number (TIN), which has been operational for almost two
years now.”
In March 2016, based on the recommendation of PSBI on
the need for TIN for Lamingo and Bokkos women, 2SCALE
facilitated registration of TIN for 24 women (15 from Bokkos
and nine from Lamingo) as a pilot to test the effectiveness of
TIN to resolve multiple payment of taxes and levies. Initial
results show the effectiveness of the system for educated
women who understand the TIN scheme; results are less
encouraging for women with a low education level, who
struggle to understand the TIN scheme. Based on the results
of this pilot, 2SCALE will combine the introduction of
TIN to all women in the vegetable clusters and their
sensitization/education on how to use the TIN for single
tax/levy payment.
Advocacy to Improve Women’s Wages –
Rice Partnership, Benin
Lalo ESOP is a farmer-owned mill in Lalo, Benin, that
purchases rice from small-scale farmer groups for grading
and resale. The key step is hand-sorting, to select the best
grains for premium markets. Sorting is done mostly by
women for very low wages. When starting its support to
Lalo rice farmers and ESOP, the 2SCALE team in Benin first
examined costs and margins of ESOP and other processors.
2SCALE carried out a study to understand the wage
structure and gender-based division of tasks. Sorting is done
almost entirely by women, while men are responsible for
other tasks such as de-hulling and packaging. Hand-sorting
is tedious and time-consuming, but the women earn only
1,250 FCFA (€1.80) per day on average, while ESOP’s male
staff earn more than 4,000 FCFA (€6) daily.
2SCALE support
enabled UNIRIZ-C
cooperative
members
to increase their
production capacity
of parboiled rice,
improve quality,
and better promote
their product in
a market largely
dominated by
imported rice –
Parboiled Rice
Partnership, Benin.
Grading accounts for only 6% of processing costs – implying
that higher wages for grading activities would not seriously
affect the millers’ profitability.
The findings were discussed with the ESOP management
and with the women employees, first in separate groups
and then in a plenary session. The 2SCALE team, which
facilitated these discussions, used a soft approach, simply
laying out the facts and leaving the decision to the ESOP
managers.
Lalo ESOP decided to increase the women’s salaries by 50%,
from 1,250 to 1,875 FCFA per day. That is still less than €70
per month, and gender disparities remain. But the women
are grateful that a first step to improve their situation was
made. “The money was so low, we had to borrow often from
others just to meet our daily needs,” explains Lucienne
Hossou, a rice sorter at ESOP. “That is why most sorters
resigned after a few months. With this increase, thanks to
2SCALE, we can breathe a little bit better.”
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