Under the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program, a five-year global mechanism (2018-2023), USAID partnered with PepsiCo to make the business case for empowering women economically in PepsiCo’s potato supply chain in West Bengal, India. Although women are heavily involved in potato farming in West Bengal, they are often overlooked in areas of work such as seed cutting and seed treatment, which are activities typically conducted in the home. As a result, most PepsiCo registered farmers in the PepsiCo supply chains are men. Through the partnership with ILRG, PepsiCo aimed to reduce the barriers that women face in fully participating in PepsiCo’s potato supply chains and increase their participation in these markets. The partnership worked with women and men farmers in 11 target communities. Resources produced under this activity include lessons learned, best practices, and reflections on building a business case for promoting gender-responsive supply chains.
Implementation Resources:
- Women’s Economic Empowerment and Equality, Land Rights, and Agricultural Engagement in the PepsiCo Potato Supply Chain in West Bengal, India Implementation Plan: Implementation plan for Year 1 of work under ILRG India activity.
- Women’s Economic Empowerment and Equality, Land Rights, and Agricultural Engagement in the PepsiCo Potato Supply Chain in West Bengal, India Year 2 Implementation Plan: Implementation plan for Year 2 of work under ILRG India activity.
- USAID-PepsiCo Partnership to Empower Women in the Potato Supply Chain in West Bengal, India Year 3 Implementation Plan: Implementation plan for Year 3 of work under ILRG India activity.
- USAID-PepsiCo Partnership to Empower Women in the Potato Supply Chain in West Bengal, India Year 4 Implementation Plan: Implementation plan for Year 4 of work under ILRG India activity.
- Women’s Economic Empowerment and Equality, Land Rights, and Agricultural Engagement in the PepsiCo Potato Supply Chain in West Bengal, India Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plan: MEL plan for ILRG India activity.
Final Reports and Lessons Learned Resources:
- Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) Program: India Fact Sheet: Overall factsheet for the ILRG India activity.
- PepsiCo – Integrating Women Smallholder Farmers into International Supply Chains: Case study in private sector partnership between PepsiCo and USAID in India.
- The Business Case for Women’s Economic Empowerment in PepsiCo’s Potato Supply Chain in West Bengal: Key Results and Recommendations: Final summary brief on ILRG India work with PepsiCo, including key results and recommendations for both USAID and the private sector.
- Working with Community Agronomists to Reach Women Farmers: Outcomes and Lessons Learned (Brief, Report): ILRG hired 17 women from local communities to work as part time community level agronomists to increase outreach and engagement with women farmers. This report shares lessons learned from this approach and the viability of this model for other private sector partners.
- Self-Help Group Land Leasing: Outcomes and Lessons Learned (Brief, Report): ILRG worked with existing women’s self-help groups to help them collectively lease land to enable them to enter PepsiCo’s potato supply chain as independent producers. This report shares lessons learned from this approach and the viability of this model for other private sector partners.
- The Business Case for Women’s Empowerment in the PepsiCo Potato Supply Chain in West Bengal, India – Final Report: Final report on ILRG India women’s empowerment work with PepsiCo.