LAG AGRO LEADER with the support of the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia organized the conference “Equal Opportunities for Sustainable Communities” which marked the International Rural Women’s Day, October 15. The event is organized in order to actively involve all stakeholders in the movement for socio-economic empowerment of rural women. At the same time, the new website www.domasno.mk, was promoted at the event, a platform that is direct support for women farmers and through which they will be more easily connected to the markets in the country while providing income in an epidemic with COVID-19.
Exercising the rights and equal opportunities for all citizens in society is the foundation of an open society. Therefore, for more than 28 years, the Foundation has been investing resources and supporting initiatives to promote women’s rights and achieve full equality in society. Globally, women makeup over 40% of the agricultural workforce and play a key role in the community and contribute to households. However, due to unequal social norms, women farmers have less access than men to secure land ownership and compared to other women workers in our society, women farmers do not have the right to use maternity leave – said Dance Danilovska-Bajdevska, Program Director at the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia that spoke at the event.
The Foundation Open Society – Macedonia, with the support of the Joint COVID-19 Rapid Response Funding provided $ 148,000 for the development of innovative models for dealing with economic disadvantages and direct support for workers in the agricultural, textile and informal economy, in order to mitigate the socio-economic consequences. One of the supported organizations is LAG AGRO LEADER from Krivogashtani. LAG AGRO LEADER managed with the allocated resources to develop the first platform in the country, www.domasno.mk, specialized in promotion and marketing of agricultural products of women farmers and connecting the producers of agricultural products with the markets. This platform is direct support for women, i.e. it provides income for women farmers. “With this idea, they contribute to reducing the socio-economic consequences caused by COVID-19,” said Danilovska-Bajdevska.
Watch the promotional video for domasno.mk
The Foundation remains committed to the issue and together with LAG AGRO LEADER and 5 other civil society organizations continue to work actively to advocate for the adoption of new or redefining existing policies in the national and regional context, in order to improve the protection and well-being of workers from agricultural, textile and informal economics.
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16 October 2020