Dutch-funded project empowers women in Binh Thuan

Binh Thuan (VNA) - A conference was held in the south-central province of Binh Thuan on October 8 to review the results of the “Enhancing Opportunities for Women’s Enterprises (EOWE)” project, which has been underway in the province since 2016.

Part of the “Funding Leadership and Opportunities for Women” (FLOW) programme, the EOWE project has been implemented in the central province of Quang Binh and the south-central provinces of Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, and Binh Dinh by the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation since 2016, with funding from the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The project aims to advance women’s economic participation and self-reliance by creating an environment conducive to female entrepreneurship, thus narrowing the gender gap. It focuses on supporting women working in agribusinesses by increasing their access to relevant models, assets, technology, markets, and information.

Five years of implementation in Binh Thuan has helped 9,727 people secure higher incomes, better access to agricultural techniques, and better awareness of climate-resilient agriculture, and 2,069 women gain access to training in production and management.

According to Phan Van Tan, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the project partnered with the local Women’s Union in a range of activities to raise women’s incomes from growing rice, cashew nuts, and dragon fruit.

The project has helped develop rice farming models using the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) on nearly 1,000 ha in Ham Thuan Bac, Tuy Phong, Tanh Linh, Duc Linh, and Bac Binh districts. Farmers practicing the model have seen profits increase by 2.5 million VND or more compared to traditional methods.

The department has proposed the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation continue carrying out the second phase of the project, so that Binh Thuan can effectively sustain current activities./.