ABOUT US

ABOUT US

She tills the soil. She plants the seeds. She harvests the food.
But when the money comes…
She disappears.

This is the reality for millions of women farmers across Africa.

And it’s the reason Her Farm, Her Story Foundation was born.

It Started With Silence

My name is Alexandra Ngaiza.

I come from a community where women do the work—but are denied the reward. My own mother, one of the hardest-working women I’ve ever known, was denied a share of the family land simply because she was born female. Every acre, every tree, every inch of soil went to my uncles.

She raised us on resilience, not riches.

Years later, I would carry that pain into boardrooms, farmer training centers, and marketing campaigns across Tanzania. But it wasn’t until I met Mama Bao that something in me shattered—and then awakened.

The Story That Changed Everything

Mama Bao walked into one of our Farmer Excellence Centers hand in hand with her husband, Mzee Bao. They came to register as farmers with MazaoHub, where I worked at the time, and they hoped to cultivate rice on their 8-acre farm. The paperwork listed him as the owner. She signed nothing.

At first, I thought nothing of it. It seemed like a normal, united couple. But as I kept visiting and calling, I began to realize a painful truth:

Only one of them ever worked the land.

It was Mama Bao.

Alongside her 13-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son, she rose before the sun and worked long into the afternoon—planting, weeding, plowing by hand. No machines. No shortcuts. Just sweat and silence.

One day, I visited her. She was knee-deep in water, bent over, pulling weeds. I joined her in the mud. I only lasted an hour.

The next day, I was sick.

She had been doing this every day, for months. No complaints. No credit. No payment.

When the rice harvest came, the money went to Mzee Bao—because he was the one registered. He reappeared just in time for the profits. He took the funds, spent it elsewhere, and left Mama Bao with nothing.

She called us in tears.

“Why did you pay him? I was the one who worked that land.”
“Now my daughter can’t go back to school.”
“I have nothing.”

That call broke me. It broke our team. It broke the silence.

A Movement Was Born

That day, we stopped being quiet observers.
We became warriors.

And from those tears, Her Farm, Her Story Foundation was born.

This isn’t just a nonprofit.
It’s not just an initiative.
It’s a movement.
A fight for dignity, equality, and justice for African women in agriculture.

We exist because women like Mama Bao deserve more than just survival.
They deserve ownership. Recognition. Autonomy. And power.

Why We Exist

Women grow up being told that land is not for them. That ownership is for men. That their labor is expected, but their name on a deed is too much to ask.

But here’s the truth:

• 70% of the food in Africa is produced by women

• Fewer than 15% of women own the land they farm

• Most agricultural profits go to men, even when the labor is done by women

• Without land titles, women can’t access loans, insurance, or markets

• When harvest comes, women are too often invisible

We refuse to accept this.

Our Mission

We are here to change the story.

At Her Farm, Her Story, we work to ensure that African women farmers are no longer left behind.

Our mission is to:

1. Help women own or co-own their land

2. Ensure they receive direct payments for their crops

3. Connect them to climate-smart farming resources and tools

4. Support access to affordable loans, insurance, and digital markets

5. Provide continuous training, mentorship, and support through our network of centers

We don’t just advocate. We act.

What We Do

Every program we run is rooted in the lived realities of rural women farmers.

We start with her name—not her husband’s. We begin with her voice—not her silence. And we build systems that protect, empower, and reward her.

• Legal Support: We help women gain land titles, or co-register farms with legal aid teams.

• Digital Payments: We ensure harvest payments go directly to her mobile wallet.

• Tool & Seed Support: We provide access to tools, soil kits, and affordable inputs.

• Finance & Insurance: Women receive credit and climate insurance even without formal collateral.

• Training & Mentorship: Through Farmer Excellence Centers, women gain agronomic knowledge and financial skills.

We’re building an ecosystem where the woman who works the land owns the land, earns from it, and grows with it.

Why It Matters

When a woman farmer is empowered:

• Her children go to school.

• Her family eats more meals.

• She reinvests into the land.

• She lifts her entire community.

This isn’t just about farming.
It’s about ending poverty at the root.
It’s about transforming agriculture from the bottom up.

When you empower one woman farmer—you don’t just feed one family.
You feed a generation.

Our Impact So Far

Since launching, we've:

• Helped over 4,500 women receive direct mobile payments for their harvest

• Supported 1,200 women in gaining land co-ownership or title rights

• Connected 2,300 women to affordable input loans

• Enabled over 7,800 women to access agronomy training and mentorship

• Prevented crop loss for 2,000+ women through climate insurance

But this is just the beginning.

There are millions more Mama Baos still out there—waiting to be seen, to be respected, and to be free.

What You Can Do

You can be part of this story.

Whether you’re an individual, an organization, a policymaker, or a donor—you can change the future for women in agriculture.

You can:

• Donate monthly – Help us sustain women through planting and harvest

• Sponsor a woman’s farm – Fund land registration, seeds, tools, and training

• Partner with us – Join forces to scale this across Africa

• Share their stories – Use your platform to raise awareness

Your gift isn’t just money.
It’s her school fees.
Her land papers.
Her dignity.