United Nations and Food and Agriculture Organisation are developing local techniques to promote broader gender-sensitive approaches to role-sharing in farming and collaborative decision-making in the household.
UN noted that transforming traditional attitudes is a necessary requirement to strengthen sustainable economic security.
The fruits of the initiative are already showing as women in West Pokot have reportedly become more vocal on issues of family planning and gender-based violence.
During the project, Monica Siliyang' a mother of six explained her disappointment when her daughter got pregnant at a young age.
"I was disappointed when my daughter became pregnant and had to drop out of school at 16. I wanted her to be educated. At the moment she is a mother of six," Silinyang said.
Just like her daughter, Siliyang' had to drop out of school to focus on childcare.
The issue is said to be common in a community that precludes women from even discussing family planning.
"It is difficult to speak to men in the community. Not wanting to have children brings up cheating suspicions. We are expected to comply and there is always a reason to have kids," Siliyang' said.
UN Women’s implementing partner Nelly Wanjiku said they engaged the women in talks on family planning and sexual reproductive health rights.
"Family planning and sexual reproductive health rights were not the intended topics in the women's economic empowerment but the women in the community engaged when it was brought up," she said.
They noted that providing women farmers with the right techniques would be ineffective in a cultural environment where they cannot take decisions.
However, one woman Milka Chepkemoi is now beginning to share a more equal role with her husband when it comes to matters of business and their financial plans.
Chepkemoi says through community discussions on gender equality, her husband has been promoting the new approach to his friends and others in the community.
"Before the project started, there was a rejection or confusion from some households. Many husbands thought it was a programme to influence their wives and make them become more powerful," Chepkemoi said.
