Strengthening the role of women in agriculture and natural resource management

This case study was prepared for the first of a virtual dialogues series to advance gender equity through a women's producers' exchange platform. This space brings women-led or majority women forest and farm producer organisations together to support and inspire each other through sharing and exchanging experiences, ideas and initiatives to tackle some of the challenges they face.

The African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests (Réseau des Femmes Africaines pour la Gestion Communautaire des Forêts or REFACOF) has established six Women’s Leadership Circles for Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WLCANs) in Cameroon, and one each in Liberia and The Gambia. The objective of the WLCAN groups is to organise and strengthen the capacities of rural women who are active in agriculture and natural resource management and to develop leaders among them capable of speaking with authority on behalf of their peers.

The case study gives an overview of the WLCANs model for peer-to-peer support and leadership development, as well as its outcomes and lessons.