The UN has provided $2 million to fund an agricultural business project for 500 women farmers in the Ivory Coast over 10 years. $1.5 million will go toward annual planting kits for the women, including seeds, tools, and materials. The remaining funds will go toward an environmental hazard fund. The project aims to help the women harvest and export crops for profit. It also establishes goals for money management, education, working conditions, and sustainability to ensure the project's long-term success. Potential problems like drought and heat are addressed through a $500,000 safety fund to replant crops if needed.

1. Overview
Refugees from the Ivory Coast with their belongings
The UN has given us $2 million to design an agricultural business project for
500 woman of a farming community in the Ivory Coast. The funding should
last for 10 years and ensure sustainability in the future.

2. Our Plan
• $1.5 million will go toward planting kits
and training for the women.
– 500 kits will be distributed every year.
– Kits will include seeds, planting tools and
other materials.
• The rest of the money will go toward an
“environmental hazard” fund, in case of
environmental emergencies.
• The women can harvest these crops
and export to other countries for a
profit.

3. Women’s Rights/Roles
• - Role expectations for women first changed in 1939, by the
Mandal Decree of 1939, where the age of marriage was fixed
to the minimum of 14 and there had to be mutual consent
necessary for the marriage
• -The Jacquinot Decree of 1951, enabled women to obtain a
divorce more easily and recognized that monogamy as the
only legal form of marriage - However, in the 1960s, legislation
established the husband's right to control the wife's property
and required her to obtain her husband's permission to get a
bank account or a job
• -Association of Ivorian Women was formed in 1963 to
establish judicial equality for women

4. Women’s Rights/Roles
• -Legislation was enacted in 1983 to allow women to control
some of her property after marriage and appeal the courts to
redress of the husband's actions
• -After 1987, educational opportunities increased, about 1/6 of
the students at the National University of Ivory Coast were
women and the number of women in the work force also
increased
• -Women made up one fourth of the civil services and held
positions in medicine, law, business and teaching

6. History of Agriculture
• Foundation of economy
• Main source of growth
• Coffee, Cocoa, and Timber
• Fertile land, Cheap labor, Favorable prices

7. Agriculture
• Provides work for 2/3 of the workforce
• Close ties to France
• Exports mostly related to petroleum and agriculture to Europe
or U.S.

8. Government Involvement
• Ruled by democratic government for 30 years
• Enforced opposing political parties
• Political turmoil due to unfair elections

9. Economy
• The Ivoirian economy is largely market-based and depends heavily
on the agricultural sector
• They had a poor economy in the 1980s and 1990s, and continued to
be poor as population increased
• A majority of the population remains dependent on smallholder
cash crop production.
• Exports: petroleum, cocoa, coffee, pineapples, tuna, rubber, and
tropical woods.
• Foreign investment is a part of the Ivoirian economy, in which
France plays a big role in

10. Economy
• Achieved independence from France in the 1960s
• France financed most major commercial enterprises, and
supported the country's banking and credit structure.
• France purchased--often at rates higher than market value--most
of the country's exports.
• During the first phase, from 1965 to 1975, the economy grew at a
remarkable pace as coffee, cocoa, and timber exports increased
• Towards the end of the first decade of being independent, the
importance of coffee, cocoa, and timber was reduced and demand
for banana , cotton, rubber, palm oil, and sugar increased.

11. Overall Goal
By setting financial systematic goals it will help the
project stay task-oriented and driven, and
eventually make the project sustainable which
will bring in profit each year. Improving the
wages and working conditions of the women will
help them work harder and more efficiently
during their acquired shift.

12. Goals
• Money Management
• Manage money that was given by the government and maintain
a steady financial profit each year.
• Reach a profit of $100,000 after 1 year
• Reach a profit of $500,000 after 5 years
• Reach a profit of $1,000,000 after the period of 10 years
• Education
• Have 60 individuals in management trained positions to be able
to further educate the employees under them to continue
training incase someone needs to take their place
• Everyone will have the same work experience and same
knowledge of what needs to be done to accomplish the profit
goals for each year
• All management trained positions will be filled by women (no
discrimination against pay)

13. Goals
• Natural Disaster Prevention
• Damage control
• Backup water system
• Build an “eco-friendly” water system so that rain water collects
and
• Crop damage prevention
• Pesticides
• Storage systems
• Insect nets

14. Goals
• Working conditions
• Pay will be double the current minimum wage for
women
• Health benefits
• 8-hour work days (6am-2pm or 2pm-10-pm)
• Uniforms to keep workers cool and prevent fatigue and
over exhaustion
• Sustainability
• Start project with 500 kits
• Train the 60 individuals on how to use the kits
efficiently
• Recycle beginner kits to lesser the money used on
future materials

15. Benefits
• The planting kits will provide a self sustained source of income
for the women in the tribe
• The they will be able to grow major cash crops, such as coffee and
coco, more efficiently then before.
• They will be able to grow other crops such as corn and sugar
cane to provide themselves with a reliable source of food.

16. Benefits Cont.
• The training provided by professionals, will ensure that the
women will be able to do all of the work themselves and wont
need to hire outside help, thus cutting out the middle man.
• The seeds leftover from each season will be able to be planted
at the beginning of the next season and ensure that the
program will be self sustaining.

17. Benefits Cont.
• The planting kits will provide a self sustained source of income
for the women in the tribe
• The they will be able to grow major cash crops, such as coffee and
coco, more efficiently then before.
• They will be able to grow other crops such as corn and sugar
cane to provide themselves with a reliable source of food.

18. Benefits Cont.
• The training provided by professionals, will ensure that the
women will be able to do all of the work themselves and wont
need to hire outside help, thus cutting out the middle man.
• The seeds leftover from each season will be able to be planted
at the beginning of the next season and ensure that the
program will be self sustaining.

19. Potential Problems
• DROUGHTS
• Without water to irrigate crops, the crops could not succeed in growth. So if ever there is a
drought, farmers may be forced to migrate because they do not have alternative food sources.
Regions that depend on crops as a major food source like the Ivory Coast may suffer a great
deal during a drought.
• Some problems surrounding a drought include:
• Dust bowls, themselves a sign of erosion, which further erode the landscape
• Famine due to lack of water for irrigation
• Habitat damage
• Malnutrition, dehydration and related diseases
• Mass migration, resulting in internal displacement and international refugees
• War over natural resources, including water and food
• HEAT
• If crops are exposed to long periods of heat it could cause them to dry out and become
susceptible to accidental fires. If farmers are not able to put a fire out in time, it will spread;
destroying all the crops and leaving the farmers with nothing. Besides having no vegetation,
there are other problems that stem from crops being wiped out by fires. It also affects the air
quality, the wind and heat.

20. How to Solve Potential
Problems…
• $500,000 safety fund
• In the case of a drought or extreme heat, the season’s crops could
be ruined.
• If this were to happen, the women of the Ivory Coast could use
money from the $500,000 safety fund to buy more seeds and re-
plant crops once the drought or extreme heat is over.
• This money is purely for emergency situations (if all vegetation
were to die)

21. Conclusion
• With this program, we are empowering women—helping
them to help themselves
• We are educating them and providing them with tools to
create sustainable incomes for themselves
• We also have a back-up fund just in case!

22. Questions?

23. References
• http://worldpress.org/profiles/ivory_coast.cfm
• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/139651/Cote-
dIvoire/55129/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing