Partnerships to Empower Women in the Agribusiness Value Chain Radha Muthiah Vice President, Strategic Partnerships &

1. Partnerships to Empower Women in the Agribusiness Value Chain Radha Muthiah Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Alliances CARE USA

2. Women’s empowerment framework based on Strategic Impact Inquiry Buffett portfolio review of gender in agriculture programming Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Women & Agriculture Analysis Long-term commitment: 10-15 year country level strategies A Leader on Gender Programming

3. CARE Focus Industries Financial Services Ag/Food Products Health/Pharma ICT Retail • “Social Value across the Value Chain” • Partners support CARE’s work through program funding, employee expertise, lending their brands and corporate voice, and engaging customers

4. Sourcing from Women Smallholders:Ghana Women’s Groups Cocoa Communities Partnerships • Started in 2006 with Cargill • Ashanti Region, 70 communities • 14,000 smallholder farmers (25% women) • 25,881 children, inc. 7,350 primary school graduates • Objective: Healthy rural cocoa communities Background • Declining Yield, Child Labor • For Women • Lack control over cocoa • Access to Land • Extension Gender Innovation • Women’s Groups (3,500 members) • Linked with Farmer Groups (70 with 14,000 members) • Build up production • Support and mentor 1,500 girls to stay in school and learn about cocoa • Diversify Income Sources

5. Women Processors: India Women’s Cashew Federation Women’s Cashew Federation • Started in 2009 • Approximate budget of $1 million • Assist 1,250 women to move into ownership of cashew processing • To process 10% of 2 districts yields • 10% quality premium over other facilities Background • Cashews employ 500,000 women as unskilled labor • One of India’s highest value crops • Few to not opportunities for women to move up • Hazardous working conditions • Low literacy, self confidence, poor reproductive health Innovations • Establishment of women-owned and operated processing units • Federated structure from village to regional level • Backward integration into collection • Linkage to health microinsurance • Functional literacy and life skills

6. Women-Led Distribution Model:Bangladesh Rural Sales Program Rural Sales Network & Dairy Value Chain • Objective: Establish rural, social enterprise with double bottom line: incomes & improved nutrition • In 2009 generated $1 million USD sales, via 3000 women agents • Danone & CARE co-investing to develop new products and take model nation wide Background • BoP market leveraging corp products, skills • Seasonal glut of raw milk • 43% of children under 5 are stunted • Anemica prevalent in pregnant women • Lack of safe dairy products in rural areas • Employment for otherwise vulnerable women Innovations • Take RSN model nationwide • Adapt for Africa • Cross-Selling of a number of other products • Personal care • Agriculture inputs

7. Invest in comprehensive approaches to empowerment that go beyond economic constraints Increase direct linkages between business sourcing and philanthropic support for women at key points along the value chain Grow BoP investment in marginalized women producers, processors, distributors Gender-responsive social enterprise models Financial products for women at BoP Looking to the Future To increase productive, gender-responsive engagement of poor women along agribusiness value chains… • Explore development of standards for investment in women at key points along the value chain • Continue to build the business case for investing in poor, marginalized women in agribusiness