Who says farm activities are only for men?

A new study by the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) disclosed that a growing number of women are now playing increasing roles in rice farming.

The study, “Enhancing Gender Outcomes of Different Rice-Related Agencies through Gender Analysis of Rice Supply Chain and Advocacies”, also revealed that women are now more engaged than men in capital and seed sourcing during pre-production.

Although more men are sourcing labor, half of the women respondents also do this work. In addition, in the production segment where most activities are assigned to men, the study showed that more women participate in transplanting, while weeding is equally done by men and women.

The result prompted PCAF to further push for enhanced Gender and Development (GAD) plans, budgeting, and utilization of rice-related agencies.

Meanwhile, intercropping with rice and other non-farm incomes are overwhelmingly female roles. Postproduction activities like palay drying, milling, and marketing, are also dominated by women.

With this, PCAF, the policy-making arm of the Department of Agriculture (DA), commits to involving more women in all aspects of agri-fishery decision-making processes and finding innovative solutions to empower them as they overcome gender-based limitations in the agri-fishery sector.

“In PCAF, women can take on leadership roles through our Agricultural and Fishery Councils, challenge the system, and call for better policies that would benefit the rice sector and the entire industry,” said PCAF OIC-Executive Director Julieta Opulencia.

“Our recently created Other Priority Program Committee on Gender Equality and Social Inclusivity (OPPC on GESI) can be considered a milestone for women’s participation in a male-dominated sector,” she added.

For the new head, the inclusion of more women in policy-making could help determine and address the much-needed interventions in areas where women are more involved, such as post-harvest and marketing activities, leading to fewer food losses and fair rice prices for farmers.