Women Farmers: A Day in the Life of Polly Apio

Available for over a year

Polly Apio is a smallholder farmer in rural Uganda. Almost as soon as she gets up in the morning she starts work and she doesn’t stop until it’s time to go to bed again. Polly’s life is typical of most women in Uganda, where men own and control the land, but women who toil in the fields to provide the food to feed their families. Women produce over 50% of all food grown worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa, they grow around 90% of the food, yet little global investment is being made to support women farmers. With the help of the charity, Action Aid, Polly has been learning how best to farm her land. It provides training, and advice on things like crop rotation, the best crops to grow in the climate and soil, and money management. In turn, she passes on the training to other women. Women’s access to land ownership, financial services, education, healthcare and human rights is the key to assuring food security for all, and emboldened by the support of the charity Polly is trying to set up a women’s co-operative to help and support women secure their rights. Cecile Wright went to Uganda to experience a day in the life of Polly Apio, and to explore the efforts and determination of women in Uganda to take control of their lives.