Background
Women in Agriculture Union WAU was established in September 2019 to operate as the umbrella/apex board for Zimbabwe women farmers and in the space of 3 months WAU had gained a membership of more than 1000 and still counting through its nationwide drive of free field schooling for women farmers.
WAU is a consortium of women from various agrarian organizations who realized the need to unite and have an apex/umbrella body to identify gender gaps and disparities in the agriculture sector. WAU aims to reach and coordinate thousands of Zimbabwe women farmers by December year 2020, for this goal to be achieved there is need for WAU to partner with other players in the agrarian sector. Your organisation is an important player in the agriculture sector and as an apex/umbrella union we have a lot to gain as well as to give to the linkages that come with collaborating our works.
As an umbrella union WAU’s roles for women in the agriculture value chain include.....
• Providing free membership and free access to agriculture trainings
• Researches and offers practical solutions for agriculture challenges
• Facilitates and offer guarantor service for women farmers loans
• Assesses and monitors women farmers projects for loan evaluation or market evaluation
• Research and promote climate smart agriculture
• Lobby and advocacy for equity and equality in agriculture
• Facilitate and secure partnership that benefit women farmers in the whole agrarian value chain
• Produce a detailed women farmers database that represent women farmers in Zimbabwe
• Farmer profiling
• Promoting agro-tourism
In order to ensure women farmers learn good agronomic practises (GAPs) and access good seed variety WAU partners with local seed houses in field schooling women farmers. In order to ensure women access finance to purchase seeds, fertilizers, chemicals and other inputs WAU partnered with Red Sphere CBZ and currently are working on loans for farmers. In order to address climate change challenges and aid women to farm, WAU is working on an affordable scheme that will see women farmers acquire irrigation centre pivots in clusters. However for all this to succeed WAU needs to have an efficient administration system. Putting in place operational systems that run the day to day works of WAU is proving to be cumbersome with the current situation of our nation.
VisionThe union envisions a well coordinated economically empowered woman championing equity in the agrarian sector .
MissionA national coordinated approach for equality and equity in agribusiness for women to ensure food security and nutrition in Zimbabwe.
Our Structure
The apex union’s structure has portfolios that are representative of the complete agriculture value chain. The portfolios are:
- Lobby and Advocacy
- Business Development and Research
- Information, Technology and Publicity(SMART-AGRO)
- Inputs and Production
- Agro-processing and Agro-Tourism
- Packaging and Branding
- Marketing And Distribution
- Transport, Infrastructure and mechanization
The union’s founding members are farmers and business consultants who share a passion for farming and voluntary work. Each member is a director of one portfolio making it The Board Of Directors. The union has on consultant basis external relations, legal affairs and finance persons.
Administrative Arrangements
WAU membership and access to training is free, so the union’s administration works is currently being supported by personal funds and resources of the visionary. The union has a membership card facility which it intends to introduce for administration costs, however paying for the card will be optional. A membership card identifies WAU members to access privileges like discounts on inputs and services (e. g CBZ loans guarantor service, seed and fertilizer discounts, services discounts and many more) from companies in partnership with WAU. However for the card system to be introduced the union needs to have an operational administration system first so we can have an active database that supports our card system.
WAU requires assistance establishing a working administration.
• WAU has a call centre and help desk facility which needs a receptionist Responsible for taking and recording information which includes compilation of database information brought in from field events.
• For the Provincial programs WAU needs a roadworthy vehicle that can take the teams to field visits.
• WAU needs to have sitting allowances for the Board of Directors to cover their expenses when they attend meetings
• WAU needs assistance installing a solar power system that can power the office’s desktops, WiFi router, desk printer and to keep call centre phones charged.
• As a new baby it is also important for WAU to have a media house covering and publishing WAU events.
Assistance is welcome in all various forms even donations of pre-owned working items that can assist the WAU office to function. We are hereby appealing to your humble office for support. If supported women farmers are capable of producing enough for local and export markets, and contribute significantly to our economy I trust that you will see value in supporting us to succeed in our national agro-business initiatives.
ACCOUNT DETAILS
ZIPIT account details
BANK ACCOUNT: ONE MONEY
NAME: WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE
ACCOUNT NUMBER 263712008054
DESTINATION ACCOUNT 0712008054