Empowering Women in Agro processing: A Story of Resilience and Innovation

By Keneilwe Bungile  Agro-processing allows for the transformation of raw agricultural products into higher-value products. Women involved in this sector contribute to adding value to the agricultural output, making it more marketable and profitable and contributing to the overall sustainability of agricultural systems. Ms Marcia Sento is a living example that women have the capacity to establish themselves in the agro-processing space. She started her company called Dune through self-financing. The company mainly focuses on extending the shelf life of traditional canned products and boasts a variety of Setso branded products. "Setso" is a term that is often used to refer to culture or tradition in various African languages. It is derived from Setswana, one of the Bantu languages spoken in Botswana. In this context, "Setso" encompasses local traditional food for the community of Botswana. Presenting at the CCARDESA side event for Promoting gender and youth- responsive food systems in the region, Ms Marcia Sento mentioned that Setso brand started with canned beef tripe/Mogodu. The beef Tripe comes in different flavors, either gravy, chilly, or plain. Over the years, she has managed to add more innovative products such as the Setso beef tripe/Mogodu in gravy, pounded meat seswaa, Mophane worms, and Jugo beans ditloo.  Their products are unique because they are indigenous, and they offer convenience at great prices to the local community. She attributes her success to the support she has received over the years from the government of Botswana through a variety of support programs such as facilitation to connect markets locally and regionally, Policy Advocacy for women in agriculture, and financial support. She also mentioned that her hard work and resilience have paid off since the establishment of the business. Although Setso has been successful, Ms Marcia highlighted some challenges she has been faced with, such as access to sufficient financing schemes, which she wanted to use to upscale her business, low production, and inability to access viable markets. However, she encouraged the women and youth to take part in agriculture especially the agro-processing industry ‘because establishment of processing enterprises gives women an opportunity to add value to raw agricultural products, creates employment and contributes to the overall economic growth of the country’ She mentioned.   Various women and youth from CCARDESA member states also presented their success stories and the challenges they have faced in their agribusiness. The key issues limiting women-youth from engaging in agriculture included cultural and social roles, lack of transport to markets, lack of access to inputs, unpaid care, and domestic work, religious restrictions, access to weather information, lack of access to land, affordable credit facilities, and climate-smart technologies. It is envisioned that the Gender-Mainstreaming action plan to be developed by CCARDESA will benefit the women and youth. Efforts to empower women and youth in the agro-processing sector can have positive ripple effects on food security, poverty reduction, and rural development. The author is a  Records Manager at NARDI and also a CCARDESA Information, Communication, and Knowledge Management  Focal Point Person in Botswana.