45675It would be incorrect to say that this exclusion of
women has been deliberate, for cultural or other reasons, in
agricultural development. As a matter of fact, research points
to how Southeast Asia’s female food producers fare much
better than their counterparts in other parts of Asia or Africa.
There are varying degrees of empowerment across the region,
with the Philippines and Thailand displaying greater levels
of empowerment initiatives for female farmers.
In short, regional trends seem to run counter to narratives
that paint female food producers as disempowered members
of rural communities.
Despite these positive revelations, there are some
troubling commonalities across the region. These include
underestimating the nature of the work women do, and
ignoring their limited access to research and development,
such as new innovations in agriculture.
“Women’s work” remains underrated and not fully, if
at all, accurately priced. In rural areas across the region,
women are almost exclusively responsible for food and
nutrition security for their families. A large proportion of
work on farms is done by women; in addition, women are
also involved in post-harvest activities such as storage,
handling, stocking, processing and marketing.
Employment surveys often target the formal sector, which
means that most of the data collected primarily reflect men’s
experiences, as much of the agricultural work that women do
may not be classified as “formal” sector labour, including the
work they do as farm workers. This leaves a significant gap in
knowledge, which makes for poor planning in management
strategies. Such incomplete information becomes
dangerous when planning for climate change mitigation
and implementing adaptation efforts. Not only will such
skewed data create unsustainable policies that undermine
the economic security of half the population, it can also
severely compromise the household food security of rural
communities. Women spend a significant proportion of their
income on food, in addition to what is cultivated by them for
their families. A loss of their income could translate not only
to reduced food, but also to reduced healthcare and education
opportunities for their children.
Additionally, technology including climate-smart
agricultural developments, is not often extended to female
farmers, and it is mostly men who have the opportunity
to attend workshops and training programmes. Often, the
assumption is that the head of the household is male, and he
is then automatically invited to participate. This idea is flawed,
Women are responsible for between
60 to 80 percent of agricultural
production across Asiabelow A woman carries a
basket of firewood in rural
Nepal. A large proportion
of work on farms is done
by women, including post-
harvest activitiesleft Cambodian farmer
Men Leng, 40, reaps her
harvest with her husband,
Rethy Chey, 54, in Prey
Thom villageespecially when we start to examine the rural-urban migration
trends; men increasingly leave farms for cities in search of
jobs, leaving women in the rural areas to tend to the land to
produce food.
Unfortunately, agricultural research and development
programmes that aim to address issues of climate change in
food production do not often take into consideration the
perceptions and concerns of both men and women. There is,
however, some hope in the form of institutions, such as theIMAGE © SHUTTERSTOCK