African Union Commission Chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has emphasised that the NEPAD Agency has a key role to play in realising Agenda 2063, particularly with regard to the empowerment of African women.

As the implementing Agency of the African Union, “NEPAD needs to support women to access finance in agriculture and agro-processing and support their participation in the whole value chain for the transformation of agriculture and Africa’s economy”, Dr Dlamini-Zuma said at the closing session of the 2nd African Union High Level Panel on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) in Sandton, South Africa. She emphasised that it was now time to banish the hand hoe to museums, instead of it being the symbol of women farmers in Africa, and to prioritise the modernisation and use of science and technology.

The three-day Ministerial panel took place within the African Union landmark Year of women’s empowerment and development towards Agenda 2063, as well as within the context of Beijing+20 and the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

NEPAD Agency Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, commended African women for taking charge of their own economic development. He underscored that the “gender agenda is now at the centre of Africa’s development process because African women have conquered it”.

Interventions of the NEPAD Agency show that empowering women in agriculture, agro-processing and agribusiness lead to productivity gains, improved incomes, food security and improved nutrition, and also that women’s increased control of household resources improves outcomes for women as economic, social, and political actors.

Dr Mayaki particularly highlighted the NEPAD Gender Climate Change Agriculture Support Programme (GCCASP) aimed at empowering rural women and other vulnerable sections of communities to better cope with the adverse impact of climate change, as well as the NEPAD Spanish Fund for Women’s Empowerment.

The Fund has provided targeted technical assistance and financial resources to women, enabling them gain access to land, financial services to agriculture, agro-processing and agribusinesses, agricultural education and extension services, as well as agricultural equipment and technologies that optimise their time for value-adding and productive activities.

Also speaking on behalf of the NEPAD Spanish Fund, Mr Ignacio Ybanez Rubio, Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, said that the 20-million euro partnership has supported “77 projects in 35 African countries issues, both from civil society organizations and public institutions; besides, it has helped to set up women’s business incubators with 2 Regional Economic Communities in Africa, namely COMESA and ECOWAS”.

The High Level Ministerial Panel concluded with a Call for Action for greater financial inclusion of women in the agribusiness sector.