This is the first post of Farming First’s #FillTheGap campaign to highlight the gender gap facing rural women working in agriculture.
With only 60 per cent of Bangladeshi women economically active, it can be difficult for those who want to grow a business to engage others. One of the major challenges that rural women often face is a lack of access to social networks, which hinders entrepreneurialism.
When Jahanara Begum, 45, started out as a Farm Business Advisor (FBA), she faced negative comments and scepticism from her family and community in Hizla Upazila, in the Barisal district.
But as her networks began to grow and bring together local market systems, she proved her doubters wrong.