Ugandan and Australian Women Farmers Share Common Challenges
Polly and Tina in Tina's Strawberry Patch
Photo: ActionAid
Polly sat awkwardly on my soft and comfy sofa but dealt so confidently with the stream of media that passed through my home. It was an unusual situation even for me…I am not accustomed to radio and newspaper journalists lining up at my door!
Ocola Apio Polly is a Ugandan farmer. She describes to the journalist her home.
My homestead is just grass thatched houses…and around it I have animals…..I have 10 acres of land….
What she doesn’t mention is that the land belongs to her husband but he does not tend it, or that she must walk 20 minutes each morning and afternoon to her farm.
Polly, what do you hope to achieve through your visit to Australia?
Wow. What a big question! ActionAid have brought Polly to Australia is to highlight the role of woman farmers in developing countries and build connections between them and our rural community.
Ninety percent of the food in Africa and around half of all food worldwide is produced by small scale farmers. Despite the fact that women make up to 80 percent of these farmers, the majority of people going hungry worldwide are women and girls.
Polly’s gently delivered answers surely disguise how she feels. I am on home turf; I am in my living room; I am on my farm, yet my tummy churns and my fingers indiscernibly tremble!
Finally the journalists leave. It is now just me and Polly. No more objectives to discuss, no need to try and sound informed and intelligent. The real questions start….and for us both they come from the heart.
Amongst my strawberry plants and between my passionfruit vines we discover that despite living worlds apart we share the common primary concerns of looking after our families and providing water for our crops. Polly is a mother of five. I am a mother of four. What keeps us awake at night and what gets us out of bed in the morning?
Our hopes and aspirations for our children drive us forward, providing not just an education for them, but a good one. Food must be put on the table each day and the crops must be watered and tended.
I am humbled by the conversations and concerns we share at my farm.
In 10 days’ time I will travel to Uganda and to Polly’s home and farm. I will see firsthand her challenges and concerns and have the privilege of meeting her family, just as she met mine.
Through the stories I write about Polly perhaps we can all understand better the role of women farmers in developing countries and how they can be a part of the solution to the global food crisis. And how we can help!