Empowering Women, Transforming Agriculture

GROW: Guaranteeing Rural Opportunities for Women

Economic poverty in sub-Saharan Africa is entrenched and generational. Yet there is one group that can disproportionately affect positive change: women. Despite this evidence that advancing women benefits entire communities, women lag behind men. Legal, social, and cultural barriers disproportionately exclude women from equal participation in their economies.

However, capital in the hands of women is one of the best strategies to lift families out of poverty.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, closing the gap in farm labor, productivity, and wages between men and women could increase global GDP by nearly $1 trillion and reduce the number of food-insecure people by 45 million. This is especially critical given the rising levels of global hunger. Yet, in Africa, women own only 1% of land, receive only 7% of agricultural extension services, and are granted less than 10% of small-scale farmer credit.

Because of this, Opportunity International has been working to establish a comprehensive approach to address the challenges faced by female farmers.

At the core of our GROW strategy is the conviction that ensuring women have equal access to and control over productive resources and agricultural income will not only improve their productivity but also drive the economic growth needed to reduce poverty and hunger.

Patricia raises four children and cultivates maize, sugarcane, and pigeon peas, largely for home consumption. She hopes to save enough to send all her children to school and invest in a motorbike and dairy cows.

“Women farmers play a decisive role in rural communities and contribute to a more sustainable and food-secure world.”

QU DONGYU, FAO

DIRECTOR-GENERAL

The Need for Systemic Change

When women play a larger role in agriculture, rural families achieve less hunger, improved well-being, and increased income. However, systemic barriers limit their access to productive credit. Women entrepreneurs face challenges such as lack of collateral, absent credit histories, and financial institutions designed primarily for male-led businesses, preventing them from fully contributing to economic growth.

Women also encounter barriers in agriculture and entrepreneurship due to disproportionate home, child, and elder care, exposure to violence, and restricted control over earnings. Cultural norms and financial regulations further limit their access to resources, markets, and capital. Despite their economic potential, financial institutions often treat engagement with women clients as a “pro-social” endeavor rather than a core business strategy.

Expanding financial access for women in Africa could add trillions of dollars to the continent’s GDP. Women reinvest in their families and communities at higher rates than men, driving economic progress.

AgFinance client Dorka on her farm in Malawi.

Key Barriers to Women’s Access to Credit

Limited Collateral and Credit Histories – Women often lack property ownership and face discriminatory inheritance laws, reducing their ability to secure loans.

High Cost of Capital – Financial institutions often charge higher interest rates for women leading to high-cost borrowing, largely due to the fact that they show lower earning levels due to managing unpaid work such as family care and child rearing.

Regulatory and Institutional Constraints – Restrictive financial regulations hinder the growth of microfinance and digital credit solutions.

Inadequate Credit Products – Existing financial products rarely align with women’s cash flow patterns and life and business cycles.

Societal Norms and Discrimination – Biases and societal expectations lead financial institutions to view women’s businesses as riskier, despite their lower default rates.

Across the board, women face systemic and ingrained challenges that limit their ability to qualify for loans, own land, make money, and manage their businesses. These challenges are cyclical in nature, deriving from power, resource, and system obstacles.

These are just a few of the challenges smallholder women farmers face:

Expanding Access and Financial Inclusion

The GROW strategy focuses on empowering women economically by ensuring they not only access financial and technological tools but are also equipped to use them effectively.

Productive credit—used for income-generating activities—has been proven to help women entrepreneurs expand businesses, increase incomes, and improve household resilience. Targeted credit interventions help women transition from subsistence-level businesses to sustainable, growth-oriented enterprises. However, financial institutions must tailor loan products to their needs, including flexible repayment schedules, smaller loan sizes, and collateral-free lending options.

A woman is economically empowered when she has both the ability to succeed and the power to make and act on economic decisions. GROW helps remove systemic barriers by:

• Providing Financing That Follows the Farm – Seasonal loans and group lending built around farmers’ realities.
• Creating Smart Capital for Safer Bets – Blended finance to reduce risk and expand credit for women farmers.
• Powering Rural Banks, Empowering Women – Training local lenders to deliver digital loans to rural women.
• Rewriting the Rules for Rural Access – Advocating policy changes so small lenders can reach more women.
• Building the Digital Roads to Rural Finance – Driving digital tools that expand access for women farmers.
• Keeping Loans Local, Cutting Costs – Promoting local currency loans to make financing more affordable.
• Establishing that Women Who Save Together Earn More – VSLAs substantially increase women’s access to financial services, income, and the ability to start businesses.

Building Resilience and Unlocking Economic Potential

GROW also recognizes the disproportionate impact of climate shocks on women and helps them build resilience while expanding economic opportunities.

• Building Climate Resilience – Women face greater risks from weather disasters due to limited access to resources. GROW strengthens their ability to mitigate losses and adopt alternative livelihoods.
• Enhancing Agricultural Productivity – With 79% of women in low-income countries engaged in agriculture, GROW equips them with climate-smart practices and regenerative agriculture tools.
• Empowering Women in Farm Management – Promoting farming as a family business, ensuring women have equal decision-making power.
• Expanding Economic Opportunities – Increasing the number of women Farmer Support Agents (FSAs) to provide income while enabling them to train and support their communities.
• Addressing Household Burdens – Supporting childcare and domestic burden alleviation solutions, allowing women to focus on income diversification.

Since launching in 2019, 99% of women clients reported greater decision-making power in their households, and 58% reported increased earnings after receiving AgFinance training and loans.

Limited access to land, equipment, and financial resources disproportionately affects women, but overcoming these barriers is a long-term effort. Recognizing both practical and strategic priorities is key to lasting change.

Investing in Women for Lasting Change

Women’s equity in agriculture is the quickest way to uplift families and communities out of poverty and into productive agriculture. It is also an important battle for the basic equality of hardworking female farmers and rural entrepreneurs across Africa. Expanding financial access, investing in women-centered solutions, and challenging systemic barriers will unlock the full economic potential of women in rural communities. Governments, financial institutions, and development organizations must integrate women into their core strategies — not as a charitable cause, but as a critical force for economic growth.

Whether through advocacy, investment, or partnership, the GROW program and your support can help women farmers and entrepreneurs access the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. Join us in building a future where women are not just participants in the economy but equal drivers of prosperity and change.

Edith with her mentees in Malawi.