"This is more than just farming - it is about building confidence, lifting each other up, and shaping a brighter future together," says Anita Mandal, a small-scale farmer from Dhangadimai Municipality in Siraha District. Once too shy to speak in public, Anita has now transformed into a confident leader, advocating for her community and encouraging women to take charge of their livelihoods and household decision makings.

Anita's journey began when CARE Nepal's Rupantaran project introduced Farmer Field Business Schools (FFBS) to her community. The project helped women like her establish nutrition gardens, providing fresh vegetables for their families while enabling them to sell surplus produce in local markets to generate income. Along with these gardens, women received training in livestock rearing, poultry farming, and climate-smart agricultural techniques, giving them practical skills to improve food security, earn extra income and build their resilience.

The Rupantaran project, implemented across 500 Farmer Field Business School (FFBS) groups in Saptari and Siraha districts, engages 12,500 smallholder farmers, most of them women. The project empowers these farmers to boost agricultural productivity, adapt to climate change, and improve family nutrition. The FFBS model goes beyond progressive farming techniques; it helps women challenge harmful social norms and claim leadership roles in decision making in their communities. So far, 6,845 households have developed and implemented climate adaptation plans, created through participatory hazard assessments and farmer-led participatory evaluations. Through collective advocacy, FFBS groups have successfully accessed local government resources like land, agriculture inputs and technologies; ensuring long-term sustainability and broader impact.

Shyamwati Sardar with the organic produce from her fields

Another inspiring transformation is of Shyamwati Sardar. Like many others, her family relied on chemical fertilisers and pesticides, unaware of more sustainable, climate-smart options. After joining an FFBS group, she learned about nature-based farming practices, including cattle shed improvements, composting, zero-tillage, and safe food production, transforming her approach to agriculture. Inspired and determined, she invested in sustainable and climate smart methods, covering 30 per cent of the cost herself, with the project supporting the rest.

Today, Shyamwati proudly cultivates vegetables using homemade compost fertilisers, harvesting bottle gourd, brinjal, beans, okra, and leafy greens. Her family consumes fresh, chemical-free produce, and by selling the surplus, she's generating extra income. "Now, my family eats healthy food, and I feel proud that I am able to contribute financially as well," she shares. The shift to safe-food farming has not only improved her household's nutrition but also inspired neighbouring farmers to adopt similar techniques.

Anita and Shyamwati's stories highlight how investing in women farmers transforms agriculture and entire communities. The initiative goes beyond technical training; it creates an environment where women can take ownership of their development, advocate for their rights, and influence decision-making in their communities. Their journeys also show the power of collective action and knowledge-sharing. By embracing sustainable farming, challenging outdated practices, and stepping into leadership roles, they have inspired others, creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond their fields.

CARE Nepal is also working to institutionalise this model within government agricultural systems, ensuring its sustainability and wider adoption. By integrating FFBS principles into national policies, the initiative helps position women farmers as leaders in agriculture, climate adaptation, and food security.