PRESS RELEASE; Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Celebrating Women in Leadership from the Agriculture and Fisheries Sector
As part of International Women’s Day #IWD2021 we are showcasing some of the talented and dedicated women in farming and from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Shelley Burich | President of Samoa Women’s Association of Growers (SWAG)
We only need to look around us to know women play a considerable role in agriculture and rural livelihoods in Samoa. Despite being essential food producers, growing cash crops for income, taking care of their families while also running agri-businesses; women in Agriculture still lack representation at the decision making level and in the management and governance of natural resources.
However there is a bold new story emerging with women in Agriculture, particularly from the private sector who are stepping up into leadership roles.
The Samoa Women’s Association of Growers (SWAG) is demonstrating the power that comes from mobilising the support of other like-minded women in the sector who are passionate about empowering each other in agriculture through policy, programming and organizational strengthening.
Samoa’s leading vanilla farmer and exporter, Shelley Burich is in her second term of being the President of SWAG. Known for her nurturing and inclusive approach to leadership she is a firm believer and practitioner of the “slow but sure” approach to building a successful business. Ms Burrich was again chosen to lead SWAG through unchartered waters while also weathering the economic impact of an ongoing global pandemic on her own export business.
While SWAG is only three years old, the organization is already being recognized as an important sector partner helping to promote the interests of women growers by creating platforms and opportunities for them to share their experience, knowledge, and challenges.
The organization also develops workshops and knowledge sharing forums that are based on what the membership wants and this is assessed based on their regular surveys carried out on their member to find out what their interests are.
“We are invited to national and international level stakeholder consultations and reviews such as women empowerment, organic certification and growing, economic sustainability, access to finance for women, markets for women, food security and nutrition which gives SWAG ample opportunities to always promote the interests of women growers.” Says Ms Burrich
“Building strong and trusted partnerships with our local government sector partners is not only vital for the sustainability of this organization but it also keeps the interests of women growers and farmers at the forefront of these discussions. It may not all be achieved immediately but positive progress can be made, even with small steps.”
While SWAG have raised the visibility of women in farming and empowered the role of women as leaders in the sector, Ms Burrich says there’s still a lot of room for improvement.
“ In the last 12 years I have not seen that many more females engaging in farming than previous years. Yes, there have been a small number but not enough. Since covid-19 there was an increase in women ‘growers’ but I would not say there has been a significant increase in women ‘farmers.’
Women have an added challenge of being the main household organizer, primary caregivers and becoming a fulltime woman farmer adds another new challenge for them.”
“There needs to be more support at national level to enable women to become fulltime farmers. Since covid-19, there have been several local and international programme initiatives to help women become financially and socio-economically empowered. We need these types of initiatives to continue long-term for women and is where SWAG can positively contribute too.”
Being one of Samoa’s only commercial Vanilla farmers has had its own set of challenges having transitioned from being a “hobby farmer” to a full time operator of a vanilla exporting business demonstrating the resilience and determination behind many of the successful women in farming.
“It has only been in the last few years that I have been calling myself a vanilla farmer, before that, I was a ‘hobby farmer. For many years, it was a personal challenge for me to believe that I was an experienced farmer, when comparing myself to experienced commercial farmers who had many more years of farming and growing than I did. I’ve challenged myself to believe in my skills, expertise, and knowledge in vanilla, believing that I was just as capable as any other male farmer, keeping the faith and drive to change my perception and confidence.”
Looking ahead to the future, Ms Burich has a vision to further develop SWAG into a trusted and respected organisation for its members and stakeholders.
“I want the organization to have all the necessary policies and procedures at management and administrative level that will ensure good governance and sustainability. It has been my goal to get a well-designed inclusive strategic plan in place that reflects the needs and wants of our membership. I am a firm believer and practitioner of “being slow but sure” in the way I do business, building a strong foundation is key for our success.”
