CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT: CASE OF WOMENS GROUPS IN THE PREFECTURE OF KISSIDOUGOU, GUINEA

This work aims to determine the role that women play in the rural development process in the prefecture of Kissidougou. The activities took place in Kissidougou prefecture from July 16 to October 25, 2023.To better understand this study we adopted the following methodology:Consultation of executives, archives and documents and socio-economic surveys. To this end, our surveys focused on: 240 women surveyed using the direct interview method, including 168 women belonging to groups formed, i.e. 6 women per group and 72 women working individually.From the data collected we arrived at the following results: 1. The annual income of women from all activities combined amounts to 221,479,000 GNF or $25,840 with a total expense of 177,064,570 GNF equivalent to $20,659 or a net profitability of 25.08% 2. The annual expenses of a female farmer increased from 385,200 GNF ($45) to 700,600 GNF ($81.8) or a variation of 82%, that of crafts 422,200 GNF ($49.3) to 710,200 GNF ($83) for a variation of 68% and those of traders from 643,400 GNF ($75.1) to 979,100 GNF ($114.23) for a variation of 52% 3. A change in mentalities for development 4. An increase in the purchasing power of women thanks to the increase in income and their strong application in family expenses (food, health care, schooling, clothing, housing, etc.), purchase of livestock, means travel and house construction. 5. Better management of the family budget and improvement of the conditions of members and non-members of groups. However, it should be noted that despite the efforts made by womens groups for rural development, there is still a lot to do in the sense that the groups are so far confronted with certain problems which are among others: 1. Insufficiency of areas specific to women farmers, inputs, seeds and materials 2. Insufficient infrastructure and craft equipment 3. Insufficient working capital and difficulty in selling finished products. 4. To remedy this problem, in the process of perpetuating the groups it is necessary to adopt the legislative, financial and administrative measures necessary to create an environment favorable to the entrepreneurial spirit of women and their participation in active life. Based on these observations and the testimonies of some women interviewed, we can say that women play a leading role in direct or indirect rural development and in improving family living conditions.