Women breaking through trade barriers

For 12 years now, the women around Tsangano in Malawi’s southern district of Ntcheu have put together their tomato harvest, selling some 20 tons at the outdoor markets that abound in Lilongwe, the capital. But they have very little to show for their hard work. “We use most of the money from the tomato sales for the upkeep of our households. Some of the money goes towards paying school fees,” Virginia Kandiado, a member of the Tsangano agricultural cooperative, told IPS.

But now the members of the Tsangano cooperative want to go further and diversify from selling to processing vegetables. They think they could earn more if they canned the tomatoes and made jam and juice. “We could make more money if we processed the produce. We are now working on securing a bank loan which would allow us to buy machinery for our new venture,” said Kandiado. The members of the cooperative are not alone in this dream. Read more