Scaling Impact on Gender Equality through Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives in Asia: Lessons Learned for Mobilizing Policy and Practice
On 27th July 2021, WOMAG hosted an Affiliated Session of the 2021 United Nations Food Systems (UNFSS) Pre-Summit. The session was aimed at discussing multi-stakeholder approaches to achieving gender equality.
Senior leaders from Corteva Agriscience, Grow Asia, FMC, and the Philippines Department of Agriculture (DA) showcased how governments, companies and NGOs are piloting solutions that empower women within their organizations, and among their suppliers, distributors, and communities in Asia.
Why host an Affiliated Session of the UNFSS Pre-Summit?
Gender discrimination means women-run farms can be up to 30% less productive than those owned and run by men. Providing women farmers with the same access to resources as men would increase agricultural output by 2.5-4%, reducing poverty and lifting 100-150 million people out of hunger. In essence, agriculture is underperforming partly because women do not have equal access to the right resources and opportunities to succeed. At the same time, supporting women farmers can be a catalyst for improving livelihoods in the region.
The Pre-Summit in July sets the stage for the UNFSS in September, which gives policy makers, companies, and NGOs the opportunity to identify ways to build more equitable, sustainable, and nutritious food systems.
The WOMAG-run Affiliated Session of the UNFSS provided our community with the opportunity to highlight why women must be at the centre of our discussions about sustainable food systems. It provided tangible examples on the type of collaborations needed to fulfil the potential that gender equality holds to accelerate the development of future women leaders in the food and agriculture sector.
Creating the right policy environment to improve gender equality
We were privileged to hear from undersecretary Evelyn Laviña, Chairperson of the Gender and Development Focal Point System of the DA, who was speaking on behalf of Secretary Dar to discuss their efforts promoting gender equality in the Philippines.
Working in partnership with local governments, NGOs, and the private sector, the DA is helping women and micro-entrepreneurs improve their competitiveness, engage in sustainability-led initiatives and enabling women's economic empowerment.
Underpinned by the Magna Carta of Women, the DA aims to eliminate discrimination against Filipino women through several policy initiatives:
1. Commit 5% of their development budget to gender equality
2. Implement gender mainstreaming in all offices of the DA
3. Enable access to agricultural credit at 0% interest
4. Put gender equality as a key pillar in their annual budget and program planning
Integrating gender specific strategies into multi-stakeholder partnerships can support more women in agriculture
While 85% of land holders are men, urban migration has led to an increase in women-led rural households and has escalated the feminization of farming. Developing partnerships that support women farmers are becoming more essential.
Elizabeth Hernandez, Head of External Affairs & Sustainability APAC for Corteva Agriscience, shared the story of Ibu Masiroh, a corn farmer from East Java, Indonesia, who took part in a hybrid corn partnership between Corteva and PRISMA, a market system development organization. The partnership has helped almost 20,000 farmers increase their corn yields by 130% and incomes by 247%. More than 7,000 of these farmers are women.
By applying the agronomic practices taught through the program, Ibu Masiroh was able to increase profits and pay for her daughter’s education, supporting her dream of becoming an engineer. She participated in Corteva’s Ibu Hebat (or Great Women) program, supported by PRISMA, which brings women farmers together to discuss corn farming techniques and ways they can support one another.
Multi-stakeholder initiatives allow for the cross-pollination of ideas
Building partnerships are crucial to empowering women in agriculture. Elizabeth also shared how partnerships with Grow Asia, AGREA and WOMAG helped to create GrowHer, a digital platform meant to enable the success of women farmers.
GrowHer shares stories about successful women in agriculture to inspire women and connect them to organizations that provide inclusive communities for women in agriculture. It also offers agricultural training and business resources to help women improve yield and adopt more sustainable practices.
Reginald Lee, Director of Programs at Grow Asia, discussed how these trainings must be adapted specifically for women, taking into consideration their specific learning needs, cultural norms, and time constraints.
The role of multi-stakeholder platforms like Grow Asia is to demonstrate the business case for women’s empowerment, which incentivizes companies to invest their own resources into gender mainstreaming actions, practices, and policies. The multi-stakeholder approach is also critical in helping key players across the value chain seek out allies, partnering with organizations that share similar goals and are open to cross-pollinating learnings.
However, as Reggie rightly pointed out, training programs, guidelines and materials are of little use without commitment and accountability from leaders.
We need more women leaders in agriculture to drive gender equality
WOMAG itself is a platform designed to accelerate the development of women leaders by providing opportunities for networking, knowledge-building and professional development.
Jade Dyson, President of WOMAG and Director of Grain and Feed Trade Association, discussed how WOMAG provides transformative learning experiences and partnership opportunities that support individuals and organizations to achieve targets related to gender equality. Crucially, WOMAG identifies partner initiatives that reach different parts of the value chain, or those that specialize in different areas where they can collaborate.
Accelerating diversity and inclusion is a path to greater innovation in agriculture, as discussed by Kristina Hermanson, Managing Director ANZ and Gender Equity Lead APAC, FMC Corporation.
Kristina shared how their partnership with the National Farmers Federation for a Diversity in Agriculture program provides one-on-one mentoring to help women determine their leadership goals and the role they want to play in the future of Australian agriculture. FMC’s own scholarship program also equips emerging women leaders with the skills to lead with confidence and impact.
What’s next ahead of the UNFSS in September?
Food security, nutrition and sustainability will be at the top of the agenda ahead of the UNFSS. Millions have been forced into poverty due to the pandemic. Hunger and malnutrition levels have increased, which has disproportionately affected women. Moderate or severe food insecurity was 10% more prevalent among women than men in 2020, compared to 6% in 2019.
Our Affiliated Session provides a snapshot of the practices and policies that government, corporates, and NGOs can employ to address the challenges women face. If we want to see change at scale, organizations need to collaborate with others to actively target women in their value chains as producers, partners, colleagues, and customers. Ensuring a commitment to supporting gender equality is vital and needs to be embedded into business operations.
When women are empowered, production and incomes increase, more children go to school and community livelihoods improve. When women succeed, we all win.
