Walmart Foundation supports women farmers

On International Rural Women's Day, Walmart Foundation highlighted the impactful efforts of NGOs like PRADAN, ACCESS, Mercy Corps and Srijan, working in collaboration with the Walmart Foundation's Market Access Program.

The Walmart Foundation, through its Market Access Program, is committed to support agrarian communities in nine states across India – Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, and Maharashtra, the company said.

In March 2023, expanding on its commitment to improving farmer livelihoods in India, Walmart Foundation announced a new five-year strategy that aims to reach 1 million smallholder farmers by 2028 with at least 50 per cent women.

Since 2018, the programme has invested over $39 million designed to reach 500 Farmer Producer Organizations/Farmer Producer Groups targeting 800,000 farmers, of which more than half are women.

According to an impact study conducted by Sambodhi, an India-based impact measurement firm, women farmers under Walmart Foundation’s Market Access Program showed greater participation, awareness, and decision-making as FPO office bearers. Fewer women in program FPOs had to borrow from their household to pay FPO membership fees, indicating greater independence. An analysis of key farm metrics showed that women farmers had significantly higher cropping intensity (210% for Market Access women farmers vs 149% for the comparison set) as well as diversity, and they cultivated more high-value crops.