The African Women’s Network for Community management of Forests (REFACOF) with the support from WOCAN organized the Women Leadership Circle in Agriculture & NRM (WLCAN) at Akonolinga on 29 October and at Edéa on 26 November. The objectives of WLCAN were to:
- Share information on the results of the study ‘An Appraisal of Women’s Rights concerns through a Gender Analysis of legal documents in the natural resources management sector and its contributions to the harmonization of policies’;
- Provide information to rural women of various opportunities for support and accompaniment that exists for them in projects and programs developed by the sectoral authorities in charge of natural resources such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Women and Family, and the Ministry of Youth;
- Develop an action plan for leaders and rural women to address issues related to the weakness of their rights in laws as presented by the scoping study and the Government representatives;
There were 30 participants in both WLCAN meetings, representing government agencies and women’s groups. The meetings not only provided a platform for women farmers to learn about various government programs but also provided a rare opportunity for government staff to interact directly with women farmers. The government staff expressed their interest to become regular members of WLCAN and mobilize other agencies for the next WLCAN meetings.
The women leaders also developed a 3-year action plan to address issues related to the weakness of their rights in laws as presented by the scoping study.
