WOCAN is an expert and passionate organization in providing a voice for women in all spheres of life. WOCAN ensures that women’s voices are heard and contributing in the development of their communities. In August 2009, WOCAN organized women involved in cassava processing in three communities in Ghana in a research being undertaken by the Meridian Institute of USA, in a project to add value to cassava funded by the Bill and Berlinda Gates Foundation. WOCAN mobilized to provide a platform for the women to speak their minds and to ask the scientist questions that affected them. WOCAN aimed at ensuring that women had a say in all this and were not left out in the research but participated actively. The organization ensures gender mainstreaming in whatever project is undertaken to add value to agricultural produce by rural women by providing opportunity for them to express their concerns and to provide appropriate suggestions for improvement. WOCAN advocates on behalf of women to ensure they are not left out in discussions on issues affecting their families and communities and provides avenues for women to improve on their incomes. WOCAN does all these with passion and commitment and I am confident that WOCAN to continue to spearhead the cause of rural women involve in agriculture and the food security for their families.

WOCAN is unique and original in its mission and in its approach. It works on the institutional transformation for gender mainstreaming in agriculture and in NRM at all levels, from ministers’ to farmers’ level. Women and men I met in Kenya as well as in Nepal are really focused on improving the lives of female farmers. They feel stronger being part of this network, learning from each other and assisting each other.

I am very impressed with WOCAN’s approach towards developing leadership among rural women in Africa and Asia. I have met some of the women who have benefitted from WOCAN and its heartening to see them spreading the good work. This also adds a multiplier effect to the work done by WOCAN. In terms of the network building, I have directly been involved and have seen how this effort benefits professional women not only in developing countries, but also in developed countries like USA.

WOCAN is designed to bring (mainly) women professionals with expertise agriculture and natural resources together to address global problems. I worked with them to provide support to a group in Central Africa (mainly Cameroon) for a meeting of women addressing such issues; and I collaborated informally with them, as they provided training on gender issues at the Center for Int’l Forestry Research. They also provide a valuable service in encouraging networking among such professionals—aimed at strengthening women’s conditions and positions in developing countries.

I have worked with WOCAN as a volunteer at the UN over the past 2 years. I was very impressed in 2009 with how they managed to organize the female Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry to come together and recognize their common issues and problems. It was especially liberating for the African Ministers who had been somewhat marginalized by males. Talking to one another under the auspices of WOCAN they managed to draft various common needs and to more effectively raise the issue of women’s involvement in agriculture. WOCAN also ran a learning desk at the UN which also drew a large number of people, and has developed numerous permanent connections with female’s in decision making positions all over the globe.