Empowering Local Women Farmers and Restoring Culture in Mali and West Africa

It all begins with food.

Our mission in Action:
Empower rural women, return Mali and West Africa to food security.

Food, Land, and Women in West Africa


Food

The abundance of food, or its lack, now plays a big role in how often the people of Mali, Senegal and other nations in West Africa gather to eat and how much opportunity there is for families to come together and share their stories. Keeping this connection between family members thriving is a big part of Agile International’s mission. By working to increase the abundance of food, Agile International is helping to keep family bonds strong, culture and history alive.

 


Land

The concept of land “ownership” is an idea not native to Africa. People traditionally farmed the lands they occupied, and customarily a father’s land would be split up among his male heirs. This traditional concept of land tenancy is now crashing into the 21st century as multinational groups seek to purchase Malian land for giant agribusiness operations wanting to produce food for export. Agile International sees a remedy to this situation by purchasing land and holding clear title, then assigning that land to willing farmers to use as their own.

Women

Women make up the vast majority of agricultural workers in the region. While they are the muscle behind food production, cultural rules and traditions prevent them from having land under their control. Agile International has a new model in mind where women will have control of plots of land purchased by Agile for women farmers who will be the beneficiaries of the food they harvest and the profits of their surplus.

AGILE stands for: Action to Generate and Integrate the Local Economy.

Agile International’s commitment

By purchasing land to place women in charge of their destinies, providing instruction on sustainable farming practices to replace the reliance on western industrial farming techniques, increasing the food supply to provide more income, and a return to bounteous meals where culture is shared, the nations of Western Africa, such as Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, Ivory Coast and more, can have the future that they wish to have. The speed of these positive changes is something you can affect with a donation to Agile International. A new way to secure land tenure rights and empower women in west Africa. Agile International is a non-profit charity which is organized exclusively for charitable purposes intended to provide education and assistance to disadvantaged, displaced young people and their families throughout Mali and West Africa. Click here for Facts sheet

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