The program was launched by the company in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity, along with CARE International in Egypt, in hopes of empowering women in rural areas.
As part of the ‘She Feeds the World’ programme, PepsiCo Egypt and CARE International in Egypt celebrated the third potato harvest season in Beni Suef Governorate. In fact, this praiseworthy program was launched by the company in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity, along with CARE International in Egypt, in hopes of empowering women in rural areas, integrating them into the agricultural value chain, improving their living conditions, and achieving self-sufficiency in light of PepsiCo’s PEP+ strategy.
The celebration took place in Beni Suef, and was attended by Dr Mohamed Hany Ghoneim, Governor of Beni Suef, Mohamed Shelbaya, CEO of PepsiCo North Africa, Eugene Willemsen, CEO of PepsiCo in Africa, Middle East and South Asia, and Dr Hazem Fahmy, CARE Egypt Executive Director, with the participation of actress Arwa Gouda, media representatives and program beneficiaries.
The event encompassed the on-ground monitoring and following up on the results of the program to ensure the extension of its impact on the lives of rural women and their families. During the event, an inspiring discussion was held with the female farmers to listen to their experiences and influential success stories, in addition to discussing the development that touched them at both practical and personal levels. Accordingly, they were honoured during the ceremony and handed certificates of appreciation in recognition of their efforts.
On that occasion, Mohamed Shelbaya, CEO of PepsiCo North Africa, said, “Over the past months, the program was capable of increasing the number of direct beneficiaries to more than 45,000 farmers, equivalent to 72 per cent of the target that was set at the beginning of the program, and more than 250,000 indirect beneficiaries. In addition, the program was able to enrol more than 11,000 women in the village savings and loan groups, and provide 989 male and female farmers with technical training in potato farming in Beheira and Beni Suef governorates. The aforementioned achievements luckily help the company achieve its bigger goal which is reaching 100 per cent of its direct supply of potatoes in Egypt from sustainable sources, in accordance with the International Guidelines for Sustainable Agriculture Practices (SFP).
Dr Hazem Fahmy, CARE Egypt Executive Director, stated, ‘She Feeds the World program has achieved impressive results along the past period, either in increasing the income of female farmers, and the number of investment loans that reached more than 300 loans which enabled female farmers to start their own projects. By far, the program was able to enrol more than 11,000 women in the village savings and loan groups, at a rate of 111 per cent of the target, through which they were trained on the basics of proper nutrition for women and their families, water rationalisation, personal hygiene, and women empowerment. Through the Field Business Development methodology, 989 potato farmers were included in PepsiCo’s supply chain; contributing to linking male and female farmers with 10 marketing opportunities for small farmers, both women and men. Having said that, job opportunities were created for 360 women in the value chains of artichoke and okra crops, and 420 million litres of water were saved as a result of the training of more than 1,000 small farmers in Minya and the creation of 30 pilot irrigation fields for modern irrigation systems.”
It is worth noting that the ‘She Feeds the World’ program achieved impressive results in increasing the income of female farmers, reaching more than 300 investment loans. This is in addition to providing training to more than 1000 farmers on water-efficient irrigation, which resulted in saving 420 million litres of water. On the other hand, 17 health units were activated and supported by medical equipment in Menya, Beni Suef, and Giza.