Principal investigator: Viviane Pires Ribeiro
Article title: CONNECTING PUBLIC POLICIES FOR FAMILY FARMERS AND WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT: THE CASE OF THE BRAZILIAN SEMI-ARID
Article authors: Emily Aparecida Ferreira Brandão, Thiago da Rocha Santos and Stephan Rist
Location of the intervention: Brazilian semi-arid
Sample size: 59 farmers
Sector: Genre
Type of InterventionThe effects of public policies on women's empowerment.
Primary variable of interest: female empowerment
Evaluation method: Others Case study
Evaluation Context
The role played by women in global food production and food security has encouraged debates about the recognition of women's rights in the rural sector: better working conditions and a reduction in gender inequalities. Despite women making up half of the world's agricultural workforce, gender gaps regarding access to income and ownership of productive resources in this sector remain enormous.
In the 1980s, the Brazilian social movement restructured agricultural policy by integrating the rights of farmers and the demands of agricultural women workers. The main demands of agricultural women workers were the recognition of the agricultural profession and the rights stemming from this recognition, such as social rights and the right to organize into unions, regardless of the participation of their fathers, brothers, or husbands. Thus, the 1988 Federal Constitution was the initial landmark for the recognition of family farming as a professional category, since it included family farmers in the Social Security retirement program and guaranteed women the same rights enjoyed by men, such as the right to rural social security and participation as beneficiaries of public policies.
Intervention Details
Despite the large number of studies examining women's empowerment and access to public policies, few empirical analyses have considered how public policies aimed at rural development can change social structures. Given this gap, Brandão et al. (2020) analyze how the combination of public policies for family farming affects the socioeconomic and political empowerment of women.
The analysis focuses on the case of the food system of family farmers who use rainwater as a means of survival and who are located in the Brazilian semi-arid region. Three traditional communities of family farmers, named pastureland communities, participated in the study (Melancia, Riacho Grande and Ladeira Grande). The main characteristic of these communities is the use of common land for the production of food for consumption and commercialization.
The data were collected through focus groups, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and participant observation. The main questions that guided the research were (i) do public policies affect the socioeconomic and political conditions of women, and if so, how? and (ii) to what extent do public policies empower women and change their status within the food system?
Methodology Details
The study is based on a qualitative inductive approach; and the research process was divided into 4 phases: bibliographic research, data collection, analysis of the effect of public policies, and evaluation of women's empowerment.
The bibliographic research included academic texts, books, and reports that provided relevant information about the semi-arid region and its issues, as well as theories and concepts that led to the conceptual framework. Data were gathered through fieldwork, covering the municipalities of Petrolina (state of Pernambuco), Juazeiro, and Casa Nova (state of Bahia), from October 2018 to January 2019. Data collection involved participatory observations from six focus groups with farmers from the communities of Melancia, Riacho Grande, and Ladeira Grande (each involving four to twelve farmers), totaling 59 farmers.
Brandão et al. (2020) use indicators of income status, domestic work, work and political commitment, food and water security to understand how transformations in these sectors unfold into female empowerment at the personal and relational levels (domestic and community).
Results
Analyses indicate that local farmers have realized that the integrated set of policies helps reduce food insecurity, promotes farmers' integration into the labor market, and allows for the dissemination of technology, knowledge, and financial support.
The results also show that women achieved economic stability by participating in Food Acquisition Programs. Furthermore, women's access to cisterns helped with the daily task of collecting water. This combination of factors encouraged women to become more involved in political issues, increasing their participation in institutions such as NGOs, associations, and cooperatives. Among the negative aspects, the study found that the gender division of labor increased within the family context, and, despite being fundamental to ensuring domestic food security, women still struggle to access the means of production.
Lessons in Public Policy
Women's awareness of their importance to food security is a positive demonstration of their empowerment. However, policies are still unable to break down the sexual division of labor at the domestic level. Observations and interviews with participants show that differences within the household go beyond the division of labor. It takes the form of a hierarchy that devalues the work done by women (domestic work and food production for consumption) and values the work done by men (animal production for trade).
Brandão et al. (2020) highlight that public policies have inclusive and contradictory effects, since they simultaneously empower women and reinforce the sexual division of labor. One of the main problems identified in all the policies selected by the authors is their broad approach, failing to meet the specific needs of diverse socially heterogeneous categories of family farmers.
The effectiveness of public policy depends on a combination of factors, such as the political context, social conventions, intra-family relationships, institutions, and interactions between affected actors. The incorporation of women into the socio-economic dynamic depends on public policies that encourage women's empowerment through access to resources (credit, land, training, information, technology, etc.), education, and participation in decision-making spaces.
Specifically, the Bolsa Família program could offer additional financial support to encourage women to continue their studies. The Program for the Productive Organization of Rural Women (technical assistance) could create ways to include men in food production activities for family consumption, decentralizing domestic tasks. Finally, regional categories of Rural Credit should be created to include marginalized women.
References
Brandão, EAF, Santos TDR, & Rist, S. (2020). Connecting Public Policies for Family Farmers and Women's Empowerment: The Case of the Brazilian Semi-Arid. Sustainability 12(15), 5961.
