At the three-day workshop. Photo: SNV

Review on project results as well as experience, lessons learnt and human resources of two major projects showed a well-planned, strategic and community-oriented approach of SNV and stakeholders in scaling up project achievements. In the workshop, general strategy on overall approach in management and technical issues was discussed and analyzed with in-depth information about 3 key project components: Business/Enterprise development on climate smart agriculture; Gender/Women’s economic empowerment and Policy advocacy.

The most controversial topics included women’s economic empowerment barriers, farmers’ financial access, women-led SMEs/cooperatives and disasters/climate change effect on agricultural models, etc. To complete the project intervention framework, participants also discussed about some criteria such as the number of women with increasing income, the number of Women-led SMEs with credit access, the number of SMEs/cooperatives with sustainable and income-generating production.

After 3 days of discussion, the workshop ended successfully. In the meantime, participants had the opportunity to visit An Nhien farm – a woman-led organic farm. The bamboo row, protective mangrove forest and the enthusiasm of the young female CEO who dared to start up in a harsh land, which started to receive fruitful rewards and positive results incredibly impressed and left great inspiration to the visitors.

The sharing experience of project implementation and effective use of human resources an infrastructure in the past 3 years will become the solid foundation for FLOW/EOWE and WEAVE projects to continue the other half of the meaningful journey.

The workshop is also an opportunity for local government and project staff to discuss about the possibility of connecting climate smart agriculture with women’s economic empowerment, the impacts of gender transformation and intervention on consolidating climate smart agriculture and gender regardless of goals and social factors./.

SNV