Rural women in Mauritania face numerous challenges that impede their socio-economic advancement and overall well-being.
Development Diaries reports that one of the primary issues is limited access to resources such as land, credit, and agricultural inputs.
Cultural and legal constraints often restrict women’s ownership and control over land, while financial institutions typically have stringent requirements that women find difficult to meet.
Additionally, limited access to quality seeds, fertilisers, and modern farming equipment hampers their productivity and capacity to engage in value-added agricultural activities.
These challenges are made worse by the harsh climatic conditions of the region, which further threaten food security and livelihoods.
The $17 million grant from the African Development Bank (AfDB) represents a significant boost to gender empowerment in Mauritania.
By specifically targeting female market gardeners, the initiative aims to enhance their resilience against climatic and economic shocks.
‘This project is an important lever for agricultural transformation in Mauritania. It will help to empower the country’s women by supporting their work in the vegetable production and packaging industry, explained the bank’s Country Manager for Mauritania, Malinne Blomberg.
‘It will create local market garden production centres and irrigation basins that operate throughout the year, preventing production disruptions at national level’.
It is understood that the project will be implemented in 12 districts of the Brakna and Trarza regions which are among the most vulnerable in Mauritania and where the situation of women is particularly precarious.
Also, it will directly benefit up to 22,200 households and indirectly impact nearly 90,000 people.
Empowering women with the tools and knowledge to improve their productivity enhances food security and enables them to participate more actively in the agricultural value chain.
This increased participation can lead to higher incomes and more significant economic independence for rural women, breaking the cycle of poverty and dependency.
Source: AfDB
Photo source: AfDB
