Across the world, women farmers make up a large part of agriculture labor but their farms are smaller, less profitable and they have more difficulties accessing credit and innovation.
Why that?
Before we explore this topic I’d love to know if you have ever visited a farm? If yes, when was the last time?
Photograph: Sinead Fenton in Hainault, England by © Alex Lake
My last time was in Hampshire where my partner and I picked delicious raspberries on a fruit farm. I was really nice to see where they came from, and we had great fun (it was really hard not to eat them right away).
Do you have any farmers in your family or friends?
The Crop Gap
Worldwide, women farmers work more hours per year than men but they are behind them in terms of productivity and earnings.
On average women-run farms produce 20 to 30 percent less than farms run by men.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) it has nothing to do with farming skills but it’s all about gender-specific obstacles.
What obstacles women farmers face? If you are a woman can you think about any obstacles you face in your daily life?
Here are a few exemples of challenges women farmers face:
- Land right: In developing countries only 10 to 20 percent of landlords are women and in some countries they are not allowed to own the land.
- In some country it’s harder for women to borrow money and invest in better tools and technology.
- Gender bias
“Even though I run the farm and make the decisions, they [male farmers] don’t want to talk to me about when to cut hay, or when to sell cattle, or how much rain we’ve gotten. They want to talk to a man.” Lorie Fleenor, USA
Empowering Female Farmers
‘If you teach a man to farm, his family will eat. If you teach a woman to farm, the community will eat.’
According to the FAO, giving women farmers access to the same resources and tools as men would raise agricultural productivity and eliminate hunger for approximately 150 million people.
In other words, if women farmers gain access to the same resources as their male counterparts, the entire world will eat, too.
Assignment: Where do you source your food?
This week take 2 photographs of where you source your food – whether it’s your favourite supermarket, a plant you grow at home, the local community centre… and a photograph of a meal.
Tip:
- Think about the positive and negative – for exemple the overuse of plastic, increasing prices… for the negative, and buying more seasonal products and local for the positive.
- Write a caption to give context to your photo.
- You don’t need to take a picture of the food itself – you can also photograph the shopkeeper, or the shop itself if you want.
Have fun!
Pierre
Inspirational Reference
SHAHEDA AZIZ, GARDEN OUTREACH LEAD
Shaheda is Garden Outreach Lead for Tower Hamlets Food Growing Network. Like the rest of the Wen team she is working from home as well as juggling family, household chores and pets. She has rediscovered her balcony space and will be giving updates and ideas and tips on how to grow flowers and edibles in small spaces.