The Vodacom Foundation, in partnership with United Nations Women, officially launched its national Women Farmers Programme at The Capital on The Park in Sandton last week.
According to Vodacom group chief officer of corporate affairs Takalani Netshitenzhe, the programme will allow women in the agricultural sector to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution and successfully participate in the agricultural value chain.
“With this initiative, we will be able to support female farmers in staking their claim in the agriculture sector through the use of technology, which, in turn, can help reduce poverty, ensure food security and boost the industry’s contribution to the economy,” she added.
In 2017/2018, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries valued agricultural production at R281 370 million.
As part of the Women Farmers Programme, Vodacom created an app for farmers to track and maintain their production, contacts, finances and sales in real-time.
According to Anne Githuku-Shongwe, representative of UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office, the Connect the Farmer app will provide women with a detailed analysis of their products and services.
“Our partnership with Vodacom is on digitising the female market. By putting this product in the hands of women, you are changing the game,” Shongwe said.
Netshitenzhe added, “We want to connect the farmers across the value chain after realising that small businesses actually experience a lot of barriers to access resources.”
South African Women in Farming (Sawif) had the opportunity to test out the programme during its pilot phase last year. In turn, over 600 small-holder female farmers in four provinces were provided with digital literacy training.
“The digital and financial training from Vodacom is preparing us for bigger things and we are now confident in using digital platforms to transact, communicate and market out produce,” Sawif president Deborah Motuka commented.
The second phase of the programme will connect small-scale farmers in the value chain to larger enterprises and potential suppliers through the app.
“Vodacom is a purpose-led brand which understands that partnerships will transform our nation,” Netshitenzhe concluded.
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