Across Zimbabwe, women produce most of the the country's food yet own and control only a fraction of the land they work. Some 86% of women live in rural areas and depend on land for their livelihoods, but land audits show that women have received only a small share of land allocated under resettlement models, despite making up over half the population and providing the bulk of the agricultural labour force. This imbalance leaves women without secure tenure, without a voice in the institutions that govern land and agricultural policy, and without fair access to the resources and markets that would let them thrive.
This ZFU led intervention responds directly to that gap. It builds a nationwide leadership training and movement building programme for women in agriculture, bringing women together to strengthen their voice, reflect on their constitutional rights, and consolidate their demands into a clear advocacy agenda that is carried to duty-bearers at community, district, provincial, and national level.
The project is designed for national reach, with the intervention implemented across all provinces of Zimbabwe. It is delivered through ZFU's existing structures its women's, youth, and commodity association wings using a participatory, community driven model. Transformative leadership training sessions use participatory methodology so that women's voices, once gathered, are consolidated into a communique carrying clear advocacy demands. This communique becomes the evidence base used to engage duty-bearers and stakeholders at every level, ensuring that community realities directly inform national policy and programming.
- Movement building: facilitate networking opportunities that connect women in agriculture with each other and with key stakeholders across the sector.
- Raise awareness of the roles women play in agriculture and the structural barriers they continue to face.
- Identify and facilitate access to resources including funding opportunities, technical assistance, and market access to help women in agriculture thrive.
The project targets 1,200 beneficiaries drawn from women in small-scale farming, Ministry of Agriculture extension farmers, and traditional leaders. Its five core workstreams are a Feminist Land Rights Advocacy Campaign; a Leadership Training and Mentorship Programme; Community-Based Paralegal and Rights Education; Collective Bargaining and Agricultural Value Chain Empowerment; and Gender Mainstreaming within ZFU's own structures, including advocacy for a 20% quota for women in leadership positions at all levels. Together, these workstreams aim to deliver increased women's land ownership and secure tenure, stronger participation and leadership in decision making, improved economic empowerment and livelihoods, and strengthened legal and institutional support for women's rights.
This programme is implemented by the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) and it is Sponsored by KARIBU