A young Malawian woman is going above and beyond to provide for her family.

29 year old Esther Beza, takes care of her four children, three of her brother's children and her elderly parents, all while farming two hectares of land.

Beza's husband left for South Africa two years ago, in search of work. This left Beza to take care of everything including all the farming and household work.

She struggled with changing weather patterns, low soil fertility, poor access to seeds, and not enough crops to feed her children.

One day she heard about an agricultural training project supported by Canadian Foodgrains Bank member Presbyterian World Service and Development. Th

e program was being offered to about 6000 families in the area, so she decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

"I was a poor woman so I decided to participate in the project so I could depend on myself to help my family and friends," she says.

Through the program, Esther learned new farming techniques which she implemented on her own farm. She also received new seeds and learned how to save some to use in following years.

"There have been many benefits since the project," she says. "I no longer struggle to find seeds, and I have learned to use pig manure for fertilizer."

Beza no longer worries about food and her family going hungry. She says she grows almost all the food that she needs to provide her family with healthy meals.

"I am happy because I can provide for my family and share my excess crops with others," she says. "My new goal is to save money so I can send my relatives and kids to school."

For Foodgrains Bank executive director Jim Cornelius, that’s why supporting female farmers in the developing world plays a critical role in ending poverty.

"By providing female farmers like Esther with access to the same kind of training and resources as men, we could reduce the number of people living with chronic hunger by as much as 150 million people around the world," he says.