On a buyer trip to DR Congo this summer, one moment stuck in my mind. I was visiting a women’s committee to see how the two cents per lb women’s premium that Twin negotiates on the sale of Sopacdi co-operative coffee was being spent.

I inspected a community flour mill and learned of a motorboat service set up on Lake Kivu. I asked the women how they would spend the extra income from these businesses. They were full of ideas: medicines, pigs and cows, books and lessons for the kids. But poignantly, one woman simply said she planned to send herself to school - she wanted the education she and countless others like her had been denied.

According to FAO figures, 73% of working women are farmers in the DRC and half of all farmers in the country are women. Despite this, women often have little say in the running of their farm or on how household income is spent.

This is compounded by barriers in accessing credit and owning land. A Twin report launched last week at a joint food industry event with the Fairtrade Foundation and UN Women reveals a similar picture across producing countries.

“Businesses can help unset the poverty trap for women”

Empowering women farmers in agricultural value chains’ found that despite providing the majority of the labour in the field, it is men who take the crop to market, complete the sale and control the household income.

Businesses can help unset this poverty trap for women. Twin’s partnership with Sainsbury’s and Finlays, which saw the launch Sopacdi Fairtrade coffee in July, is already bearing fruit. Just small investments in women there have brought rapid change to the confidence and standing of the women concerned, and to the wider community. Women show a high ROI because they prioritise spending on family health, education and food security. The FAO estimates that if women farmers had the same access to agricultural inputs and credit as men, there would be up to 150 million fewer people living with hunger.

But why should businesses invest in women? Firstly, women tend to take the lead at crucial stages of the production process that influence quality, taste and even food safety. They are largely responsible for shelling and grading nuts, fermenting and drying coffee and fermenting cocoa.

Secondly, women are often more responsible with money. Giving them leadership opportunities can lead to more efficient, reliable producer organisation, so establish corporate gender policies that encourage suppliers to commit to equal representation for women on co-op boards, as well as in the general membership. Finally, businesses should not forget that as well as depending on women to grow their ingredients, they rely on their custom to make a healthy profit.

And, in an increasingly crowded market for ethical goods, deeper Fairtrade engagement is needed to stand out. A good example of this is the Equal Exchange ‘Grown by Women’ coffee range (project managed and supplied by Twin), which continues to show growth above other Equal Exchange coffee lines. It’s a no-brainer investing in women is good for development and good for your business.

Nicolas Mounard is MD of Twin & Twin Trading