FCS Trust Limited receives French Embassy grant to assist women and girls in organic and sustainable agriculture

FCS Trust, a development agency specialising in the provision of advisory services in Tanzania, is among the recipients of a 720,000 USD (TZS1.7 billion) French Embassy grant to implement a two-year project that aims to empower women and girls through organic and sustainable agriculture. The project is part of efforts to tackle gender inequality and empower women, girls and victims of gender-based violence.

Dubbed “the GAPE project”, the initiative will benefit and directly reach 2,000 women in Tabora, Dodoma and Zanzibar.

During the launch of the project on 19 April 2021, the Ambassador of France to Tanzania, H.E. Frédéric Clavier, said the GAPE project is part of the French Government’s endeavour to promote gender equality and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

“The Embassy of France to Tanzania is delighted to announce the launch of the GAPE project – Girls Empowerment through Agroecology and Permaculture. In Tanzania, 80% of the smallholder farmers’ labour force are women, but they face difficulties regarding access to land, credit and benefits from their production. To tackle this inequality, the Embassy of France is funding 4 Organizations: FCS Trust, Msichana Initiative, PPIZ, and SAT, which will work together to train women on agroecology and their rights, to increase productivity in quantity and quality while ensuring resilience and sustainability for achieving food sovereignty, security and safety, poverty reduction, enhancing the green and resilient economy and tackling gender inequalities,’’ he said.

The ambassador explained that the two-year project complements the Government’s Nation Plan of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children (NPA-VAWC) 2017/2018-2021/2022. FCS Trust Limited will implement the GAPE project through the NPA-VAWC strategy that calls for strengthening of households by empowering women, girls, and boys to pursue socioeconomic opportunities and through norms and values that empower women and support non-violent, respectful, positive, nurturing and gender-equitable relationships.

Martha Olotu, FCS Trust Limited CEO, said,”The GAPE project will empower survivors of gender-based violence, young mothers and youth; empower women’s voices, providing them with financial empowerment through sustainable agriculture development to tackle climate change.”

In Mainland Tanzania, the project will reach directly 1,000 youth, while in Zanzibar, the project will reach 820 youth. Many Tanzanian men, women, girls, youth and communities will indirectly benefit from the GAPE project. We join other organisations in working on this project. We are aware that to tackle systemic gender inequality, the participation and involvement of men is key. Hence, we will also involve men during the implementation of the project,” added Ms. Olotu.

FCS Trust Limited works with civil society to strengthen their capacity and create linkages and networks within the sector building on its access to hundreds of grassroots organisations across a vast array of thematic areas both in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.

Related News