H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Initiative to Empower Africa’s Rural Women in Agricultural Sector
As part of an international strategic strategy aiming to eliminate the impacts of climate change, empower women and girls, enhance food security, and in alignment with the priorities of the UAE Foreign Aid Policy, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), General Women's Union, Mohamed bin Zayed Academy for Agriculture and Environment, UN Women, with support of the Emirati RCA launched H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Initiative to Empower Africa’s Rural Women in Agricultural Sector.
The Initiative aims to empower and habilitate 30 male and female trainees from Senegal and Ethiopia inside the UAE in the agriculture sector, as a first phase.The second and following phases will be implemented in several countries with the overall aim of training and building the capacities of more than 20,000 rural women to make their living and be entrepreneurs in agriculture sector, in addition to closing the gender gap in this vital sector. Other aims include developing the rural women’s skills and abilities in agriculture, imped concepts of sustainability and reducing carbon emissions by using new agriculture techniques, to help adapt with the climate change implications.The initiative also aims to make agriculture a primary source of income for the rural women in addition to fulfilling their personal consumption needs, or selling the produces to contribute in the economic development of their countries.