Amanda Namayi

It is broadly acknowledged that women face a whole range of gender-related barriers when starting or developing their agricultural businesses. The gendered division of labour determines women’s role in and outside the household, and limits their access to resources and business assets. This subsequently affects their active participation in agricultural value chains.

While the economic and social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have further exacerbated these gaps, the accompanying restrictions have also opened up opportunities for female-owned businesses due to the expansion of internet usage and uptake of digital solutions. The government’s e-citizen portal has eased the process of setting up an online shop or business page, which can be done in a few minutes.

“Never let a good crisis go to waste”

As digital solutions become the “new normal,” social media platforms have evolved from being primarily about recreation to offering new avenues for business. A growing number of female entrepreneurs are adapting to this new market environment by building on their existing social networks to grow their brand awareness and customer base.

Jannette Rotich, a young farmer from Uasin Gishu, attests to the power of social media is growing her profile. When she joined Twitter, she had no intention of creating a business account; she was simply sharing titbits of her day as she went along.

However, as she kept posting pictures of her vegetable farm and of herself going about various farm-related tasks, she drew the attention of various agri-related companies, who proposed collaborating with her as an influencer and promoter of their products, especially farm inputs. As Janette’s reputation as a role model grew, she was nominated as a brand ambassador for an international fertilizer company.

But success did not happen overnight. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, Janette struggled to find a market for her indigenous vegetables. She attributes the attention she is now receiving to the growing popularity of kitchen gardening, as well as the emphasis on healthy diets, which has led to a rise in consumption of fruits and vegetables. With more people looking for practical farming advice, Janette began to receive a lot of inquiries and her social media following grew substantially. Additionally, the demand for her vegetables has also skyrocketed.

The digitalisation of agricultural information

With mass events like farmer field days affected by Covid-19 containment measures, agricultural marketing and extension services are also increasingly turning to social media and digital platforms.

According to a study conducted by DEI Worldwide, out of 70 percent of participants who visit social media platforms to obtain information, 49 percent make buying decisions based on the information they find. Like Janette, Wangari Kuria has harnessed the power of information sharing to increase her customer engagement and ultimately, drive up her sales.

Wangari goes by the alias ‘Farmer on Fire’ on her social media accounts. On her YouTube channel, she shares various tip and tricks of urban farming. The growth of Wangari’s social media profile has not only earned her more customers but has also unlocked many opportunities. Stemming from the positive feedback she has received, Wangari has organised farm tours in various counties where she conducts training for her clients. Recently, Wangari was selected to represent farmers from Kajiado County to provide input to the proposed National Agricultural Insurance Policy. She believes this would not have been possible if it were not for her active and vibrant social media presence.

The ugly side of social media

However, it is not all pixies and daisies for these young agripreneurs. They have had to deal with a fair share of cyber bullies and trolls, as well as cat-fishing accounts.

Janette says she has had to grow thick skin and learn how to filter out the noise. “With social media, there is the pressure of painting a perfect picture for the world when in reality, things could be far from it,” she cautions. She had to make a conscious decision to share not only the positive side of agriculture, but the hard work involved behind-the-scenes. This includes the disappointments that she faces every so often and at times, and the tears shed in secrecy.

In a vivid illustration of these challenges, Wangari’s Twitter account was hacked prior to our interview and she is now working to rebuild her following on a new account. After taking years to build her profile, she has no choice but to roll with the punches and keep moving regardless.

Reflecting on the journeys of these phenomenal young women raises a number of critical issues for a largely unregulated sector. As the popularity of social media grows, how can we ensure that digital platforms make more efforts to protect against identity theft? How should online scammers be dealt with? How should we handle gender-based “virtual” violence given that most sexist trolls are aimed at women?

Inasmuch as social media is seen as the silver bullet in building a virtual business with minimal restrictions, much is often left unsaid about the challenges that emerging champions such as Janette and Wangari face in their agripreneurship journey.

Written by Amanda Namayi

This article is part of Covid-19 Food/Future, an initiative under TMG ThinkTank for Sustainability’s SEWOH Lab project (https://www.tmg-thinktank.com/sewoh-lab). It aims at providing a unique and direct insight into the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on national and local food systems. Also follow @CovidFoodFuture, our Video Diaries From Nairobi, and @TMG_think on Twitter. Funding for this initiative is provided by BMZ, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.