IN 12th century England, it was a man’s guild which facilitated his role in the market place as either a supplier or producer. These clique-like, medieval unions lent their members the protection and clout necessary to trade.
Membership of course, was exclusively restricted to men. For a woman to trade the wool off her flock’s back for example, could be difficult, fraught with legislative limitations and no doubt a fair share of prejudice would restrict her from getting a fair price.
This long-ago status quo might leave the modern female farmer in the Western world thinking, “phew, thank goodness times have changed.”
But for millions of women in the developing world, farming is a sector in which their role is restricted to the menial task, the least well-paid roles and there are plentiful barriers-to-entry for those seeking to own or manage a property.
Earlier this month, on International Women’s Day, an FAO report on The State of Food and Agriculture reminded us of this fact.
For the Australian female farmer, life is comparatively blessed. She can own her property, bargain with the blokes, trade with the best of them and better her farming practices through access to a range of educational tools and support networks. Farming is never easy of course, but the vistas of opportunity are much wider for some than others.
Women, the FAO’s report revealed, make up on average 43 per cent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries.
Women in these contexts typically achieve lower yields than men.
It is not however, because they are any less handy with a tractor or a chainsaw – but rather because they are unlikely ever to have access to these things.
These women are not less skilled, but tend to operate smaller farms and use fewer inputs like fertilizers, improved seeds and tools.
This, according to the author of the FAO’s report, is because in many countries women do not have the same rights as men do to buy, sell or inherit land, to open a savings account or borrow money, to sign a contract or sell their produce. And – where a woman does have some of these rights on paper, it is often the case that they are not honoured in practice.
Not only is it right and ethical that all efforts are made to change this situation, but to solve this problem would be a globally pragmatic move.
The FAO estimates that if women had the same access to agricultural assets, inputs and services as men do, they could increase yields on their farms and consequently raise total agricultural outputs in developing countries to the tune of 2.5% to 4.0% a year. This growth could bring 100-150 million people out of hunger each year – which makes a not insignificant inroad of 12% to 17% into the 925 million undernourished people who exist in the world.
It is antiquated power structures however, which are holding back many women in farming.
For this problem, there appears to be no quick fix. It will take work, education, and the progressive passage of time.
When I spoke to dairy nutritionist Denise Burrell, she said that her work in dairy education and training in Pakistan brought home the point that to make any inroads into the problem, you have to start small.
Ms Burrell’s role involved working with dairying women in Pakistan to improve their efficiency and productivity.
The average herd ranged from 4 to 10 head, and their milk production was an absolutely essential part of these women’s incomes. At every turn however, these farmers felt the impact of social inequality.
The structure of life in the largely Islamic Pakistan means that it can be difficult for women to go out and about to trade, to buy produce or to further their knowledge of farming practices.
Ms Burrell said that ongoing informal lessons on farming, and tricks to make trading easier, were invaluable for the confidence and on-farm productivity of these females in agriculture.
“There are many high-flying women in Pakistan,” Ms Burrell is quick to point out.
“But strong cultural barriers do exist at a village level. In the medium term I think it will always be so.”
These Pakistani farming women proved to be fast learners, and once equipped, were able to increase the regularity of calving through improved nutrition – increasing green feed and water access – and productivity soared in accordance.
The process of selling their increased yields however, revealed that illiteracy was also a major problem, and middle-men purchasing their milk would often try to cheat them.
A simple lesson in counting and measurement, and they at last secured a fair and exact price per litre.
“It was easy to teach these women,” says Ms Burrell.
“However restrictions on traveling, interacting, learning and education are a huge thing.”
Ms Burrell wrought change on a micro-level, but perhaps this will be the most effective way forward.
And it is worth noting that the work isn’t quite done, even on the home front. In a recent article in Australian Farm Journal, Claire Braund revealed that women are “losing the board game.” Of 252 directors on the Australian Agri-Business Group of listed companies, only 12 are female.
Talented, educated and professional women in rural Australia are being overlooked, and “the reason is not because there aren’t enough in the feeder pool,” according to Braund.
In fact, she says that the ‘boys’ club’ in agribusiness should be named for what it is.
“Rural Australia has a long and inglorious history of favouring men in leadership roles”.
It’s another problem for the to-do list, but really, it’s one that rural women in Pakistan would be more than happy to have.
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