Women empowerment and water productivity improvement in organic cotton farming system
The WAPRO sub-project on organic cotton at bioRe® India, in collaboration with Helvetas and SDC, has already completed 2 years. The aim of the sub-project is the formation of 100 women’s groups with a total of 1’000 women, who are trained in organic and biodynamic cultivation methods and water management. In addition, the income of the participating farming families is to be improved through the use of organic and biodynamic farming methods that are in line with the sustainable use of resources.
Through WAPRO, water-saving technologies such as drip irrigation are promoted and the population is also sensitized to the problems of sustainable water use. The women’s groups are being set up as “water stewardship groups” so that they can also become politically involved in water issues.
The bioRe WAPRO project’s key strategic intervention for capacity building of rural women’s groups is based on the fact that women perform nearly 65% of all agricultural work in India.
This strategy has proven successful. The women’s groups participate enthusiastically in the project activities. We have observed that in the villages where women’s groups are active, biodiversity in cultivation has increased significantly. Nearly 700 women from organic farming families have benefited from training on improved cultivation methods. A remarkable 70% of them have adopted the practices learned.
