Agriculture offers great opportunities for enhancing the economic empowerment of women and building their resilience to climatic stresses. A multi‐pronged approach is needed, focused on building the capacities of women individually and collectively, expanding opportunities of employment and entrepreneurship along rice value chains, and ensuring services and
inputs that would contribute to diversification of their livelihood base and fortify economic empowerment.
From July 2018 to March 2019, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), funded by UN Women and in collaboration with the Myanmar Ministry of Agriculture and other partners, implemented the project ‘Inclusive Development and Empowerment of Women in Rakhine State in Myanmar’.
The project covered 4 townships, namely Mrauk U, Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, and Sittwe, with the goal of contributing to the enhancement of livelihood security of women, and economically empowering them to contribute to community resilience and inclusive development.
Woman of Rakhine: Knowledge leads to Agency
Entrepreneurship is one of the many entry points in engaging women in Rakhine. The UN Women-IRRI collaboration in the region trained women in this area and helped them make more confident decisions, but more importantly, allowed them to train other women with the knowledge and skills they gained.
Woman of Rakhine: Agents of Change
Overwhelming food insecurity both in quality and quantity has contributed to Rakhine’s poverty, vulnerability, and the continued marginalization of its women. An IRRI-ILO collaboration in the region provided support and training for selected Rakhine women, improving their skills and know-how, and helping them train other women in their communities in return.