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Women leaders from Asia, representing AFA, La Via Campesina and other farmers’ organizations, participated in the Global Farmers’ Forum held in Rome on February 15-16, 2010.

The women leaders included Ms. Kong Sokchhoin (FNN, Cambodia), Ms. Flora Caya (PAKISAMA, Philippines), India Smitha (SEWA, India), Ms. Amalia Pulungan (API, Indonesia), Ms. Esther Penunia (AFA), Ms. Marlene Ramirez (AsiaDHRRA), among others.

Together with other women leaders from all over the world, they raised the issues and concerns of small scale women and men farmers. Ms. Caya also talked about the impact of mining corporations on women farmers.

The third global meeting of the Farmers’ Forum was held in conjunction with the Thirty-third session of IFAD’s Governing Council. The Forum brought together more than 70 farmers’ leaders from around the world, representing millions of smallholders and rural producers from all over the world who interacted with IFAD staff and selected partners. The Forum was opened by the President of IFAD, Kanayo Nwanze. Its closing session, in the afternoon of Tuesday, 16 February, was open to the members of IFAD’s governing bodies (Source: IFAD website).

Following a recommendation of the 2008 Forum meeting, a special effort has been made by participating farmers’ organizations to increase women’s presence and voice in the event. A preparatory meeting was held on 13 February to reflect on how to promote women’s leadership in farmers’ organizations. The commitment to have at least 30 per cent of women farm leaders participating in the Forum has been achieved (Source: IFAD website).

(Photos and information courtesy of Ms. Amalia Pulungan, API, Indonesia.)

Get more updates from the IFAD website and the IFAD social reporting blog

AFA Secretary General Estrella Penunia is in Rome to attend the Third Global Farmers’ Forum from 15 and 16 February 2010 in conjunction with the Thirty-third session of IFAD’s Governing Council. The Forum will bring together more 70 farmers’ leaders from around the world, representing millions of smallholders and rural producers from all over the world who will interact with IFAD staff and selected partners. The Forum will be opened by the President of IFAD, Kanayo Nwanze. Its closing session, in the afternoon of Tuesday, 16 February, will be open to the members of IFAD’s governing bodies.

The following is an excerpt from IFAD’s social reporting blog:

Estrella Penunia, gave a passionate keynote address, in which she said: “Women farmers will not remain victims, we’re key solution providers, nothing about us without us”. She made a plea to move away from gender stereotypes and reminded the participants and audience that women should be at the forefront of the agriculture. She said: “If we earn more, we can spend more on food, education, health.” Estrella then continued to say “Women perform magic to put food on the table”.

In her keynote address, Estrella shared with the gathering that “in many developing countries women cannot owe land, yet we are the one who cultivate the land and take care of land.”

She continuted to say that “50-90% of work in farms is done by women and women ensure food security when crops fail.”

Estrella Penunia and other women leaders such as Elisabeth Atangana, Kati Partanen and all the women farmer leaders showed passion in their interventions. Elisabeth remarked: “If women don’t have economic power, they can’t do very much. Women need access to financial resources, and access to land”.

As Estrella said: “Women work with personal touch, we need to help more women farmer leaders to further unleash their potential”.

Read more at at the IFAD Social Reporting Blog

The important role of women in ensuring food security and in coping with climate change cannot be denied. Thus, it is extremely important that the gender dimension not be left out in any analysis, discussion, and programs that seek to achieve food security and address climate change.

Last year, through its researcher, Ms. Riza Bernabe, AFA conducted a participatory gender study supported by IFAD in 5 countries – Philippines, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Cambodia, Thailand — in order to seek out this perspective. The research was informed by village, district and national consultations, as well as secondary data gathering.

The initial findings of the research show that: women indeed play very important roles in ensuring food security; climate change impacts women and men differently, with women bearing the brunt of the negative impacts. The research was also able to seek out the different food security initiatives and climate change coping strategies of small scale farmers, especially women farmers, in Asia.

(more…)

The Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), a regional alliance of nine national farmers’ organizations, in eight countries in Asia, representing ten million farmers, held a consultation-workshop, entitled “Farmers’ Voices, Farmers’ Choices: AFA Regional Consultations on Food Sovereignty, Climate Change and Marketing”, last October 6-10, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand.

This consultation was part of AFA’s continuing efforts to deepen the understanding of small scale men and women farmers on regional and global events, especially their implications on small scale men and women farmers. It was held parallel to the UN Intersessional Meeting on Climate Change, also held in Bangkok last September 27-October 9, 2009.

There were two main AFA events:

1) On October 6-8, AFA conducted a regional consultation on “Asian Women Farmers’ Reclaiming Space for Food Sovereignty Amidst Climate Change”. Women farmer leaders came together to understand the Asian and global dynamics of the climate change negotiations, to share their initiatives in ensuring food security and in responding to the effects of climate change.

2) On October 9-10, AFA conducted the “Regional Knowledge Sharing on AFA Members’ Marketing Initiatives: Basics in Engaging the Market”. This knowledge sharing gave the participants additional knowledge and insights on how to develop/improve their marketing strategies of identified focus crops. During the workshop, a framework for commodity based organizing was formulated to guide farmers’ groups in forming commodity-based groups.

The event was hosted by SorKorPor, with the support of Agriterra.

Click here for the overall program: http://asianfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ProgramDesignGenericV2.pdf

Click here for the women’s consultation workshop program: http://asianfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/WomenConsultationWorkshopV2.pdf

Click here for the marketing consultation workshop program: http://asianfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/MarketingConsultationWorkshopV2.pdf

Women leaders from farmer organizations belonging to AFA called on international leaders involved in climate change talks to craft policies with a gender and agriculture perspective and to support capacity building for women on climate change adaptation.

In a consultation entitled “Asian Women Farmers Reclaiming Space for Food Sovereignty amidst Climate Change” held last October 6-8, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand, the women leaders shared experiences and views on the effects of climate change and how they adapt to it.

Click here to read more: http://asianfarmers.org/?p=745

The attached research brief was distributed during the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, where AFA was represented by Ms. Riza Bernabe, who was part of the Philippine delegation and who worked closely with CSOs looking into agriculture in the UNFCC negotiations. Ms. Bernabe’s participation in the event was supported by WOCAN (Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture & NRM).

Click here to download the research brief in PDF

(First cut of AFA’s video shown during a side meeting of women’s groups who are in Copenhagen for the climate change negotiations.)