In 2019, PepsiCo partnered with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) initiative to empower women in agriculture and help build a more sustainable food system.
As Rekha Balakrishnan reports for YourStory, this partnership empowers women farmers with new skills and knowledge under PepsiCo’s Sustainable Farming Program in the potato value chain in West Bengal, India.
Globally, last year, PepsiCo and USAID announced a $20 million partnership to demonstrate that investing in women in PepsiCo’s supply chains can lead to greater profitability and sustainability, as well as development outcomes, like gender equality and economic growth.
PepsiCo India has been working with USAID for over two years to empower women farmers by educating them on sustainable farming practices, best irrigation and crop rotation techniques, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, etc. through training programmes. These help them become lead farmers on their own.
Other community initiatives include supporting women to lease land, training men and women to support gender norms and change, and engaging male champions to design local approaches to more equitable and sustainable agriculture.
