IN a bid to facilitate the inclusion of women in the region’s agricultural sector, the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) has introduced a new interview series, dubbed FarmHER, as part of its Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) project.

The five-year SAC project is funded by the Government of Canada and implemented in five Caribbean countries: Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Suriname. It aims to promote and strengthen climate-resilient agriculture in the Caribbean.

FarmHER is a series of live social media knowledge-sharing interviews with women farmers. WUSC Caribbean will use the series to encourage equitable economic prosperity for women and youth through inclusive, sustainable, and climate-resilience agricultural market systems.

“The introduction of the series is in line with WUSC Caribbean’s mandate to break the bias in agriculture for women and to facilitate discussions surrounding women’s participation in sustainability and climate change,” the organisation shared in a release.

On the first episode of FarmHER, Latoya Rattray, a Clarendon, Jamaica-based farmer shared her experience growing sweet corn, yellow yam, Scotch bonnet pepper, and sweet potato. Having started her journey in farming over two years ago, she highlighted some valuable lessons and best practices she learnt while navigating the industry.

As such, Rattray advised women who want to work in agriculture to be strategic in their approach while targeting and penetrating their market, securing funding, logistics, and record keeping. She also shared some of the challenges she faced within the sector, including facing gender bias, and underscored how hard work, tenacity, and determination allowed her to stay afloat.

“There are some cultural biases when it comes to women in agriculture and some people don’t take you seriously because you’re a woman,” the farmer reiterated, adding that “even financial institutions make it difficult for women to get involved in agriculture”.

On that note, Rattray made an appeal to agriculture stakeholders, including financial institutions, to provide better support for women farmers through increased funding.

“Just [the way] people can apply on their phones for a motor vehicle loan, farmers should be able to do the same for an agriculture loan. If it’s a case where you are concerned about your investment then allow us to show you that we have the resources,” she asserted.

Notwithstanding the challenges, Rattray is committed to farming and encourages young farmers, especially women, to consider the impact of their service on others.

“It’s not about you. It’s about the people who work with you, your customers, and the people who depend on you to feed their families. When you feel like you can’t go anymore, think about the importance of the service that you’re giving.”

WUSC Caribbean plans to continue initiatives like FarmHER to address gaps and challenges faced by women and youth in the sector, and to promote climate-resilient agriculture for economic growth in the Caribbean.