QUEZON CITY -- Aiming to continuously enhance the Gender and Development (GAD) plans, budgeting, and utilization of rice-related agencies, the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) has looked deeper into the role of women in the rice supply chain.
A PCAF-commissioned study, “Enhancing Gender Outcomes of Different Rice-Related Agencies through Gender Analysis of Rice Supply Chain and Advocacies,” revealed that women play increasing roles in rice farming activities.
Results showed that women are 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 the production segment where most activities are assigned to men, more women participate in transplanting, while weeding is equally done by men and women. However, intercropping with rice and other non-farm incomes are overwhelmingly female roles. Postproduction activities, i.e., palay drying, milling, and marketing, are also dominated by women. But despite the significant role women play in the development of the agriculture sector, they have long been disadvantaged in terms of ownership and control of productive assets. Thus, a gender gap continues to plague the sector, even extending to access to agricultural training and
education.
The study noted two barriers to women’s full participation in agriculture – limited registration on the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and unpaid domestic work.
Limited registration on RSBSA
The PCAF study was a joint undertaking with the Rice Watch Action Network (RWAN), a social enterprise network and CSO-accredited implementing partner of the Department of Agriculture for its programs and projects.
RWAN Executive Director Tanchuling, who also serves as chairperson of PCAF’s National Banner Program Committee on Rice, lamented the policy that limits the registration of farmers per household based on the number of land parcels tilled.
In the study, RWAN examined the data from the RSBSA as of October 2021, revealing that a total of 41.7% of women are registered out of 4.9 million farmers, farmworkers, agri-youth, and fisherfolk. The fisherfolk sector has the fewest female RSBSA registrations, with only 32%.
However, it is worth noting that the enrollment in RSBSA for agri-youth is split equally between males and females.
Upon breaking down into rice farming households, the study showed that only 35% of women registered out of 2,137,360 individuals. In the rice sector, 65% of the workers are men.
“If a family tills only one land parcel, only one member of the household can be registered as a farmer, and the rest are tagged as farm workers. Often, only the male is registered as a farmer, being almost always considered the head of the household, even if by definition, there is nothing that precludes the rest of the household members from being registered as farmers,” said Tanchuling.
The study also highlights women’s primary concern on securing land title and ownership. The husband, as the traditional head of the family, is given priority when applying for land titles.
Unpaid domestic work
The study also noted that official data might not accurately capture women’s work in agriculture as it is typically considered an extension of their household tasks; these tasks are not reported as “work.”
The comparison of females and males in terms of domestic or reproductive activities revealed that females have more responsibilities, including preparing food, washing dishes, washing clothes, cleaning the house, and gardening.
For these reasons, despite recognition in policies, women’s participation in productive agricultural labor remains unaccounted for and they participate in unpaid family work in agriculture in more significant numbers than men.
The unequal distribution of unpaid household work leads to income security concerns for women, especially in their role in family finances. The study concludes that women tend to seek additional income considering the lower palay prices and rising costs of production inputs.
It also added that on food security, women tend to feel most pressured to address family’s safety and health concerns, and provide sufficient food especially when food is scarce, making food security a gender issue.
Recommendations to address the gender gap in agriculture
After summarizing the key gender issues women facing in the rice sector, the study came up with recommendations to address these concerns.
The study recommended that the government continue creating programs that empower women. The government also needs to increase women's recognition in RSBSA registration and address the industry’s lack of gender disaggregated information. The government should increase the number of women beneficiaries in agriculture programs and boost women’s participation in the consultation process of the agencies.
“The guidelines and procedures for the registration of farmers should be revised to ensure that more women farmers are recognized. It is recommended to redesign agriculture training and policy discussions to be more community-based and rotated in the different communities to increase the participation of more home-bound women,” said Tanchuling.
