Wire Discuss Scripts Français

FRR Packs > Women Produce Most of Our Food

Salma Goes into Business
Package 57: Women are Key to Rural Development
Shares

Script 57.1

jennifer.pittet

Women Produce Most of Our Food

October 1, 2000
From Package 57: Women are Key to Rural Development
Like 0

Tweet

Notes to broadcasters

In many communities women grow most of the food. But often their work is not recognized. The important contribution of women farmers to food
production deserves to be acknowledged and valued. It is necessary to listen to women’s concerns about farming and support them by providing
access to land and credit so they can maximize food production.
Suggestions: We recommend that you conduct interviews with women in your own community to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise. When
doing interviews with women, go on foot to meet the women at their own homes. Conduct interviews in an informal, relaxed and respectful manner. It
is preferable to keep the interviews short, probably not more than one hour.

Script
Characters:

Narrator:
Shares
This can be the program host.
Chief Kufa:
The wise Village Headman. He has a strong, authoritative, voice that people will respect.
Mrs. Mirla:
Woman farmer.
Mrs. Kamanga:
Woman farmer.

MUSIC TO INTRODUCE PROGRAM.

FADE OUT MUSIC.

Narrator:
Welcome to today’s show, “The women of my village.” In this program the respected Village Headman, Chief Kufa, will be with us. Here is Chief
Kufa now.

Chief Kufa:
Greetings to you all.
I want to start today’s program by telling you something that has been bothering me. I feel that here in my village we do not value and appreciate the
work of women farmers. In fact their work is often ignored.

Who are the women of my village?

The women of my village are farmers. They grow most of our food. They tend crops in the fields. They grow nutritious garden vegetables. They take
it upon themselves to sell extra produce at the market so they can buy clothes and books for our children. In my village it is even the women who take
care of the livestock — they cut feed for animals and take cattle to graze. They make medicines from wild plants. They have special ways to store
seeds. They preserve fish, meat, vegetables and fruits by smoking or drying them.

Need I say more? I’m sure you understand that they are very hardworking.

Chief Kufa (cont)

: Many times I have thought about how to calculate the value of women’s work. It is difficult to measure, but if we could measure their work in local
money — well, it would be a lot of money.

FADE IN MUSIC(a short musical break here will allow the listener to consider Chief Kufa’s message).

CONTINUE MUSIC QUIETLY UNDER NARRATOR.

Narrator:
Dear listener, do you agree with Chief Kufa? The chief is proud of the women. Can you understand why?
Shares
BRING MUSIC TO NORMAL VOLUME FOR 5 SECONDS AND FADE OUT.

Chief Kufa:
Welcome back. I’ve invited two women farmers from my village, to talk with us today. I’ve asked them here because they both operate successful
farms. You will be interested to know the reasons for their success. It is my pleasure to introduce Mrs. Mirla and Mrs. Kamanga. A respectful good-
day to you both.

Mrs. Mirla and Mrs. Kamanga:

Good-day Chief Kufa.

Chief Kufa:
Let’s start our discussion right away. Mrs. Kamanga, may I start with you?

In our village you are known as a farmer who gets very high yields of grain. Is it possible for you to explain your high yields of maize and sorghum?

Mrs. Kamanga:
I have a secret to tell you. I don’t really grow more grain than the other farmers. But I store the grain very carefully so the insects don’t get it!

Let me tell you how I do it. First, like many other farmers, I store my grain in gunny bags.

Then, I mix the grain with different things to protect it from pests. I am always trying new methods. I have tried wood ash, powder from soap nuts,
nochi leaves, neem leaves and eucalyptus leaves. When one of these methods works — I use it.

So, Chief Kufa, I always have a lot of grain to sell and the reason, as I have said, is that there is not much insect damage in my stores.

PLAY MUSIC FOR 3 SECONDS AND CONTINUE QUIETLY UNDER NARRATOR.

Narrator:
Women are experts at food storage. They have special ways of storing grains and other foods. They experiment with different ways of storing foods
just like researchers at the university. They do their research in their homes, and their fields and gardens.

FADE OUT MUSIC.

Chief Kufa:
Hello again to our listeners. We’re back with Mrs. Mirla and Mrs. Kamanga discussing their successful farm businesses. Mrs. Mirla, I remember that
you used to have a job with the government. But lately I see you working in the field every day. Why did you come back to farming?

Mrs. Mirla:
Chief Kufa, I lost my job with the government five years ago because the office moved to another part of the country. My husband was also
unemployed. He has had very bad luck finding work. I had to find a new job. I already had a large garden. I decided to make the garden bigger. Now I
grow many local varieties of sweet potatoes and beans and sell them in the village market. People enjoy the taste and they always buy my vegetables.
Shares
Chief Kufa:
Mrs. Mirla, now I know you grow a lot of vegetables and I am sure that your family is eating well. May I be so bold as to ask if your farm is
profitable?

Mrs. Mirla:
Chief Kufa, I am happy to tell you that I am making a lot of money on my farm. In fact, I make more money growing food than I did at the
government job!

And there is something else I should tell you. Because I do so much farm work, my husband and I agreed that I will decide how to spend the money
from farming. Now I still have my own income. I use the money for food and clothing for the children. We all have a better life now.

MUSIC(uplifting and cheerful).

CONTINUE MUSIC SOFTLY UNDER NARRATOR.

Narrator:
What kinds of vegetables do the women in your community grow? Women know how to grow vegetables that are nutritious and taste good.

FADE OUT MUSIC.

Chief Kufa:
We are back again with Mrs. Mirla and Mrs. Kamanga, who are sharing with us their tips for operating a successful farm. I have been saving one
more question to ask them.
The question concerns a drought that we had two years ago. Everybody in this village remembers that drought. Some villagers say it was the women
who saved the village from starvation.

Mrs. Kamanga:
Yes, many people believe this. All of the women together — we collected wild fruits and vegetables to feed to our families. Many of us know where
to find the plants and how to harvest them. We know how to prepare them for meals. These days, although there is no drought, we are still collecting
these vegetables and fruits and preserving them. We save them in case of another drought.

MUSICAL BREAK.
Chief Kufa:
Dear listeners. Do you understand now my ideas about women farmers? I feel that women deserve more respect. In our community we would not
survive without their contribution. And yet, as I said earlier, their concerns are often ignored. But their work allows us to survive and prosper. Women
put visitors, men and children first. And yet often they eat last.

START MUSIC AND HOLD QUIETLY UNDER NARRATIVE(starting music here will emphasize the important points that the chief is about to
discuss).

Chief Kufa:
Shares
I know what I can do. I can talk about this at village meetings. The other men on the village council listen to me. Together we can change some of the
outdated attitudes so that women who feed their families receive the respect due to them.

We must consider this. Women produce most of our food. Listening to them and responding to their needs is the only way to increase food production
in our villages.

HOLD MUSIC AND FADE OUT.

Acknowledgements
Contributed by: Jennifer Pittet, Researcher/Writer, Toronto, Canada.

Reviewed by: Dr. Helen Hambly, Research Officer, International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), The Hague, The Netherlands.

Information Sources

“Women and dryland post-harvesting practices in Tamil-Nadu, India,” S. Parvathi, K. Chandrakandan and C. Karthikeyan, Indigenous Knowledge and
Development Monitor, Volume 8, Issue 1, March 2000. Centre for International Research and Advisory Networks, PO Box 29777, 2502 LT The
Hague, The Netherlands.

“Organic farming lifts the status of women,” John W. Njoroge, Ecology and Farming, January 1996. International Federation of Organic Agriculture
Movements, Okozentrum Imsbach, D-66636 Tholey-Theley, Germany.

“African women farmers utilize local knowledge,” Monika Hoffmann-Kuehnel, ILEIA Newsletter, December 1989. Information Centre for Low-
External Input and Sustainable Agriculture, Kastanjelaan 5, PO Box 64, 3830 AB Leusden, The Netherlands.

This script also available in:

French

Other scripts in Package 57:

 57.2 Salma Goes into Business
57.3 Women and Credit – Part 1: Women Learn About Credit
57.4 Women and Credit – Part 2: Women Start a Revolving Loan Fund
57.5 Women and Credit – Part 3: Women Set Up a Purchasing and Marketing Cooperative
57.6 Nutrition – Advice to an Expectant Mother
57.7 A Community School for Boys … and Girls!
57.8 Making Ends Meet
57.9 Land Ownership Rights: Access Denied – Why Women Need Equal Access to Land
57.10 My Body, Myself: A Bittersweet Choice
Shares
57.11 Women Working Together Can Make a Difference in Their Community
57.12 It’s Important for Women to Vote in Elections

Related Scripts:

94.3 Improved shea butter changes the life of women in the Fana region of Mali
94.10 Gender mainstreaming in farmers’ co-operative: Groups in Ghana achieve food security for small-scale farmers
93.9 Florence saves girls from human trafficking
91.9 Prevent malaria in pregnancy!
87.4 Women are actively involved in planting jatropha in a Malian village

About Farm Radio

Farm Radio International is a Canadian-based, not-for-profit organization working in direct partnership with approximately 600 radio broadcasters in
38 African countries to fight poverty and food insecurity.

Latest Tweets

RT @gad_rogers: 1. Farm Radio international - Start-up Year: 2014 - Problem: Farmers lack access
to reliable information - Soluti… https://t.co/lMp6tTXSmi, 20 hours ago
RT @MAAIF_Uganda: Also participating in the #DisruptiveAgriTech is @farmradio represented by Mr. Stephen Ecaat the Founder. Farm
Radi… https://t.co/9LS0fkqndH, 21 hours ago
RT @MAAIF_Uganda: @FrankTumwebazek The opportunities presented by ICT for sector development as discussed by the main panel are
numer… https://t.co/yzUdtZIOKb, 23 hours ago
Follow us on Twitter

Barza Wire

Stay in Touch

Sign up for Farm Radio International's eNewsletter and stay up to date with all of our work and events.

Shares
Subscribe
Subscribe

Farm Radio International is a Canadian not-for-profit organization that works in direct partnership with more than 500 radio partners across 38
African countries to fight poverty and food insecurity. Our materials are also available electronically to broadcasters and to rural development
organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Charitable Registration Number (BN) 11888 4808 RR0001

© Copyright 2019. Farm Radio International / Radio Rurales Internationales