Female farmers turning organic in Ivory Coast

Many women have grouped together in Divo and are switching to organic farming just to become financially independent. They go to the fields with machetes and dabas (a traditional African hoe) to farm their produce, which they say helps preserve their health and traditions.

A statement from a female farmer:

We’ve thrown out the chemicals. We don’t pump chemicals on crops anymore. We don’t eat vegetables from crops that have touched chemicals. Now we work with our hands.

President of the women’s agricultural cooperation said: 

Before, we did not treat the soil (with chemicals). But at some point this practice was introduced in agriculture and we lost the local rice from the past. We thought about it. I called my friends, I said no. We need to raise awareness in the field, and at the same time we need to talk about cocoa, we need to talk about our food, because that’s what keeps us going, so we need to raise awareness amongst women so that they don’t treat the soil with chemicals.

Data source: Africa news