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Protecting the rights of women farmers
Added: (Thu Mar 09 2006)
Protecting the rights of women farmers (Int'l Women's Day special)
By Kamala Sarup
International Women's Day (March 8) is an occasion for women from all
ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political arena to forget
their differences and join hands for common cause.
Nepali women are confronting poverty, violence, racism and sexism
since long. Due to various constraints women in general and rural
women in particular have not been able to build their capacities. The
lives of women farmers in remote villages typify the extent of poverty
that Nepalis are bound to face. They are struggling for survival.
Their voice is not recognized. They are still inadequately represented
in political, economic, and social structures of the nation. This is
because income distribution is very unequal as a result of weak
policy. Economic empowerment of women farmers is critical if Nepal is
to meet increasing demand for food grains.
Prosperous women farmers mean more employment. So women farmers must
have a right to be involved in all economic processes at all levels of
decision-making. When women lack title to land or housing they have to
face problems like homelessness, poverty and violence. Throughout the
world women farmers play a vital role in supporting their families.
According to FAO estimates, women produce more than 50 percent of the
food grown worldwide. This includes up to 80 percent of food produced
by women in African countries, 60 percent in Asia and between 30 and
40 percent in South America. But still women are getting poorer. The
percentage of women below the poverty line has increased by 50 percent
since the 1970s, while the comparable figure for men increased only 30
percent.
A recent World Bank study found that if women received the same
education as men, farm yields could rise by as much as 22 percent. But
women farmers have access to only five percent of all agricultural
extension services worldwide. "Because of this gender bias,
policy-makers have very little data or analytical tools to measure the
true social and economic value of women's farm labour," said Marie
Randriamamonjy, Chief of FAO's Women in Development Service. "As a
result, rural women are ignored when national agricultural policies
are designed. One of the reasons for the decline in women's access to
resources is that both land redistribution and subsidized agricultural
inputs are in the hands of men who see women as dependents rather than
individuals," she added.
As land is the primary source of income and employment in Nepal, Women
farmers need to have access to and control over land. The other
problem that has been existing for decades is the irrigation canal
systems. There is practically zero maintenance of such canals. On the
other hand a few hand pumps are the only source of water for majority
of women in the southern plains.
Poverty is closely associated with the lack of opportunities or access
to facilities that improves knowledge and skills. It is very difficult
for women farmers to have access resources such as land, credit,
agricultural inputs, technology and other services. Lack of easy
access to rural financing, poor delivery system of modern agricultural
technologies, poor quality of agriculture inputs mainly fertilizer and
lack of effective institution to facilitate agricultural marketing are
some of the major causes for the low competitiveness of women farmers.
On the other hand inadequate rural roads and insufficient
electrification are other bottlenecks that have resulted in the
increase in the cost of production of the Asian agro-products.
If Nepal increases women farmers' participation in market management
genuinely poor women farmers would be able to sell their goods more
effectively. Policy makers need new tools to help diagnose gender
issues in irrigation schemes and design appropriate interventions.
Trying to ensure all women participating in farming get equal access
to irrigation water, without regard to the type or level of
participation, is unrealistic and in the end fails to reach even those
women whose livelihoods depend on having equal access.
Better regulatory systems, underpinned by effective information and
education on crop protection methods, are essential. Women farmers
need more aid. Women's involvement in growing cash crops may be one of
the effective ways to increase their income. The payment for cash
crops is immediate as vegetables sell at a premium.
However, not all women farmers have the land or the capacity to shift
to cash crops as it requires solid investment initially. Women's
access to cash crops also help relieve women's cash constraints.
The on-going internal war in Nepal has caused major economic
disruption. Women farmers have suffered a lot in terms of loss of
means of production, household assets and other investments. Peace is
the first requisite to
improve the livelihood of women and their families in rural Nepal. A
healthy and enterprising women is not only an asset for her family,
she is also a leading light for her society and the entire country.
(A Research Scholar Ms. Kamala Sarup Currently in Kathmandu, Sarup
writes on contemporary issues).