RAP PUBLICATION 2005/30 Rural women and food security in Asia and the Pacific: Prospects and paradoxes Revathi Balakrishnan Senior Officer, Gender and Diversity FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific With contributions on the Pacific Islands from Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop, Samoa Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Bangkok, Thailand The designation and presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for sale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to Revathi Balakrishnan, Senior Officer, Gender and Development, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand or by e-mail to [email protected]. FAO 2005 ISBN: 974-7946-80-7 Graphic support: Apinya Petcharat, Bangkok Research assistance: Panpat Plungricharoensuk, Bangkok Editorial support: Mary Rhodes, USA For copies write to: Revathi Balakrishnan Senior Officer, Gender and Diversity FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 THAILAND Tel: (+66) 2 697 4000 Fax: (+66) 2 697 4445 E-mail: [email protected] Printed in December 2005 Rural Women and Food Security in Asia and the Pacific: Prospects and Paradoxes Foreword Agriculture and food production offer stable livelihood options to rural communities throughout Asia and the Pacific region. Even as the effects of globalization spread in the region, farm production – most often at the smallholder level – continues to be a family enterprise. A fair share of farmers in the region engages in subsistence farming and poverty is a common occurrence among them. Farm enterprises are mostly managed by family members and family labour is a critical asset and often the only reliable investment. As rural women and men toil to preserve their heritage and broaden their economic choices, their endeavours are made more difficult by a lack of resources and market fluctuations. Asian and Pacific farmers, both men and women, are guardians of biodiversity, household food security and providers of food to urban communities. In these small farm enterprises distinct gender roles and gender differentiated access to technology and resources are evident. This disparity is compounded by the neglect of investment in rural social infrastructures such as education, health care and communications. In such resource poor rural environments, the struggle by rural women for access to resources and services is inevitable. In many Asian and Pacific countries, substantial gender equality gains have been made in urban areas in education, health and employment. Yet rural women lag behind. Moreover, rural women’s work is multifaceted and demanding both as family workers and agricultural labourers. Social and economic indicators often do not do justice to their contributions. Development innovations such as microcredit and self-help groups promote rural women’s economic development, but emerging evidence suggests that gender equality in rural communities is far from an everyday reality. Persisting social biases and traditional perceptions and assumptions regarding women’s responsibilities and their capacities continue to hamper women’s progress. This publication presents an overview of both the substantial contribution made by rural women to the economies in the region and the persisting barriers to their advancement. The framework of analysis, data and information reviewed together illustrate the complexity of rural women’s work in the region and offer a broad perspective on women’s economic and social contribution as well as on the barriers they encounter in accessing resources. The global development community is gathering momentum assessing progress made to date in achieving gender equality and the advancement of women as declared in the Millennium Development Goals and as reviewed in Beijing Plus 10. This publication aims to make rural women visible to policy-makers and to advocate their concerns to stakeholders. We hope that the analyses and approaches presented in the document will offer a persuasive argument for committing to strategies for the advancement of rural women, especially in Asia and the Pacific region. He Changchui Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific iii Rural Women and Food Security in Asia and the Pacific: Prospects and Paradoxes Table of contents Page Food security and rural women ........................................................... 1 Asia and the Pacific region: Dissimilarities and common dilemma ................................................................................................... 3 Asia and the Pacific region: Rural women’s equality challenges ... 4 Macro scenario of regional women’s economic activity and education ................................................................................................. 8 Regional rural women’s participation in the agriculture sector................. 9 Rural women’s educational status: Regional overview ............................ 12 Rural women in household production: Increasing contributions and persisting drudgery ........................................................................ 15 Rural women’s increasing economic contributions ................................... 17 South Asian rural women .................................................................. 19 Southeast Asian rural women ........................................................... 24 East Asian rural women ..................................................................... 29 Central Asian rural women ................................................................ 32 Pacific Islands’ rural women ............................................................. 34 Persisting household drudgery .................................................................. 37 Enduring indifference to rural women’s work and inequity in resource access ......................................................................................................... 40 Unpaid work: Persisting social ignorance and economic indifference.... 41 Facets of inequity in rural women’s access to resources ......................... 44 Land assets ........................................................................................ 44 Natural resource assets ..................................................................... 45 Local groups and social capital ........................................................ 47 Education: Formal and informal ....................................................... 48 Technology ......................................................................................... 49 Credit .................................................................................................. 50 Female-headed households .............................................................. 52 Rural women’s resource access inequity matrix ....................................... 53 Regional trends affecting the situation of rural women ................... 59 Economic transformation and agriculture’s contribution .......................... 59 Global economic integration ...................................................................... 61 v Rural Women and Food Security in Asia and the Pacific: Prospects and Paradoxes Table of contents (continued) Page Rural development service gap amidst regional prosperity...................... 63 Demographic shifts and population dynamics .......................................... 64 HIV/AIDS posed threats to rural communities ........................................... 65 Regional political realties and governance dynamics ............................... 66 Civil conflicts ...................................................................................... 66 Decentralized governance ................................................................. 67 Policy and institutional constraints impeding rural women’s advancement............................................................................................... 68 Social programmes for empowerment of rural women ............................. 70 Self-help groups and microcredit/finance programmes ........................... 70 Environmental destruction and natural disasters ...................................... 72 Environmental degradation and vulnerability ................................... 72 Disasters and vulnerability ................................................................ 73 Emerging technologies: Production and communication ........................ 75 Agriculture technologies .................................................................... 75 Integrated Pest Management ............................................................ 76 Biotechnology ...................................................................................