In the fields, processing units and modern livestock farms of Sierra Leone, Ghana and Togo, many women are now writing a new chapter in the history of West African agriculture. Having long faced limited access to finance, technology, markets and training, they are now demonstrating that women can be key drivers of change in food systems.
Thanks to the West African Food System Resilience Programme (PRSA/FSRP), funded by the World Bank and implemented by regional institutions (ECOWAS, CORAF and CILSS) and eight (08) countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Chad and Togo), five (05) agribusiness women from Sierra Leone, Ghana and Togo are demonstrating how targeted investments in technical capacity-building, technology and the organisation of value chains can generate higher incomes, create jobs and enhance food security.
From nurse to onion grower, Mary is helping to strengthen her community’s food resilience
In Lungi, Sierra Leone, Mary Mani used to divide her time between her job as a nurse and running a small farm. Despite her passion for farming, low yields and limited access to high-yielding seeds and technical advice prevented her farm from reaching its full
potential.
Aware that Sierra Leone imports a large proportion of the onions it consumes, she decided to make onion farming her focus.
Support from the FSRP has profoundly changed the trajectory of her farm. Improved seeds, fertiliser, technical advice and close support have enabled her to significantly boost her productivity.
Today, she runs a farm of around 90 hectares, 10 of which are dedicated to onion cultivation. Support from the FSRP in the form of inputs and fertiliser enabled her to harvest 150 tonnes – a yield of 15 tonnes per hectare. She has supplied local markets whilst gradually reducing dependence on imports.
But the impact extends far beyond her own farm. As a woman committed to leadership and driven by a desire to lift many women out of poverty, Mary now leads a group of 300 women farmers who have benefited from modern greenhouses for market gardening. Their produce is sold not only in Sierra Leone but also in neighbouring Liberia, opening up new market opportunities and thereby facilitating cross-border trade.
The income generated has enabled Mary to acquire new land, build a house for her family and continue her farming activities.
“Thanks to the FSRP, we are producing more and earning a better living. Today, we no longer farm just to feed our families; we farm to create jobs and supply the markets,” explains Mary Mani.
Through her leadership, Mary is also helping to strengthen the economic empowerment of hundreds of rural women who are now fully involved in local agricultural development.
From the field to the supermarket: processing cassava to create greater wealth
Cassava, the second most widely consumed crop after rice in Sierra Leone, was previously marketed mainly in its traditional form with little added value. The difficulties involved in packaging its by-products severely limit access to modern markets. The establishment in 2023 of ‘Sierra Bo Garri’, an industrial unit processing cassava into gari and attiéké, aims, according to its founder Frances Conteh, to help reverse this trend.
In Bo, in southern Sierra Leone, Frances Conteh is convinced that local processing is one of the key drivers of food security.
Support from the FSRP has boosted the company’s production capacity through the acquisition of a modern bagging unit, which significantly improves the presentation and quality of the products.
Today, ‘Sierra Bo Garri’ gari is sold in several supermarkets across the country in modern packaging that includes sugar and milk, which is particularly popular with schoolchildren and students.
This modernisation benefits all stakeholders in the value chain. The company works with numerous local cassava producers, directly employs women and young people, and regularly takes on aspiring entrepreneurs for training. “We want to build a value chain where everyone has a place: producers, processors, traders, young people, women and transporters. Agricultural transformation creates opportunities for everyone,” emphasises Frances Conteh.
As well as creating jobs, the company is now developing new cassava-based products, notably attiéké, with the aim of conquering regional markets.
Two women driving the poultry sector forward in Ghana
In Ghana, nearly 80 per cent of the chicken meat consumed still comes from imports. This high level of dependence poses a major challenge to food security in the country and the region, as well as to local producers.
In Gomoa Potsin, at Aglow Farm Processing, Akua Adoma Brobbey, head of processing and marketing, is now helping to reverse this trend.
Thanks to FSRP training on business management, marketing and production organisation, the company has significantly improved its competitiveness.
The results are remarkable. The facility now processes up to 2,000 chickens per hour, compared with 1,000 chickens previously, supplying households, hotels, restaurants and distribution networks across the country daily. The workforce has grown from 250 to around 500 employees, nearly 70 per cent of whom are women.
For Ms Akua Adoma Brobbey, Head of Processing and Marketing, this progress demonstrates the importance of capacity building.
“The FSRP has enabled us to improve our organisation, our productivity and the quality of our products. We are now meeting growing demand whilst maintaining high quality standards.”
IFSRP also works with small-scale producers through the Women in Poultry Value Chain (WIPVAC) association, chaired by Dr Victoria Norgbey. More than 150 women poultry farmers have received chicks, feed, vaccines and training in biosecurity, farm management and marketing.
Between 2023 and 2025, at least 25,000 chicks will be distributed to boost their production capacity. The results observed include, amongst other things, a reduction in poultry mortality, improved farm performance, a gradual increase in income and better organisation among women in the sector. Campaigns to promote local chicken, organised with the support of the FSRP, are also boosting consumption of domestic products and stimulating the entire sector.
“Women are now working with greater confidence. They have a better grasp of livestock farming techniques and are developing their farms as proper businesses,” says Dr Victoria Norgbey.
In Togo, turning local fruit into wealth with Julado
In Togo, a large proportion of the mangoes, oranges, pineapples, papayas, tamarinds and other local fruits was being wasted each year due to a lack of efficient processing facilities.
In response to this situation, Ms Dakey Adzovi Dodzi founded Julado in 2011, a company specialising in the production of local fruit juices.
The main challenge was to meet growing quality and food safety requirements in order to gain access to more lucrative markets.
Thanks to FSRP, the entrepreneur and her staff are receiving training on quality management systems, good hygiene practices, agri-food standards and control procedures. Support from the Central Laboratory for Analysis and Testing (LACEN) and the High Authority for Quality and the Environment (HAUQE) has also helped to improve product compliance.
The company’s performance has improved rapidly. Julado now has a production capacity of up to 5,000 33 cl bottles and 3,000 one-litre bottles per week.
The company employs around 20 people, 70 per cent of whom are women, whilst providing regular opportunities for local fruit growers.
“The knowledge we have gained through the capacity-building sessions organised by the FSRP has enabled us to improve the quality of our products. Consumers have greater confidence in us and we can now look to new markets,” explains Ms Dakey Adzovi Dodzi.
By reducing post-harvest losses and adding value to local produce, Julado is directly helping to increase producers’ incomes whilst developing a competitive agri-food industry.
The stories of Mary Mani, Frances Conteh, Ms Akua Adoma Brobbey, Dr Victoria Norgbey and Dakey Adzovi Dodzi all illustrate the same reality: investing in women accelerates the transformation of food systems at country level.
FSRP has helped to improve their productivity, professionalise their activities, create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs, boost producers’ incomes and develop more efficient value chains.
Their businesses promote local processing, reduce post-harvest losses, improve food safety standards, stimulate consumption of domestic products and strengthen the economic resilience of rural communities.
Beyond the figures, they embody a more modern, inclusive and market-oriented approach to agriculture. By empowering them to innovate, produce and undertake business ventures, the FSRP demonstrates that women are not merely beneficiaries of agricultural policies: they are the key architects and driving forces behind the sustainable transformation of food systems in West Africa.
