EDITORIAL: If there was any doubt about the lack of recognition and reward for women’s labour in the country’s agriculture sector, it has conclusively been laid to rest by the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO’s) latest report titled “Protection issues faced by women farmers in Pakistan”.
Given that a significant 74 percent of the country’s female labour force works in agriculture, the lack of attention women in the sector receive is highly troublesome, as this has led to poor knowledge about their plight and a consequent absence of policymaking that addresses their issues in a substantial manner.
The FAO study, focusing on women farmers engaged in the production of four major crops — cotton, maize, wheat and vegetables/fruit — as well as in the fisheries and livestock sectors, shines the spotlight on their crucial contributions to the country’s food security, climate change resilience and the economy at large.
It also highlights how the lack of recognition of their contributions manifests itself in various ways, including in the unequal access to resources such as land, credit, water, technology and other agricultural inputs, as well as limited decision-making power within communities.
In fact, the lack of acknowledgement of their hard work has essentially led to a situation where women working in the sector are rarely referred to as ‘farmers’ unlike their male counterparts.
This in turn links to the current understanding regarding who to consider a farmer, with this description often reserved for individuals who own the land they work on. As the FAO points out, this ends up excluding a huge number of farmers in Pakistan, especially women, who do not have the luxury to till their own land.
Given the pernicious influence of the antiquated feudal system that dominates agriculture in many parts of the country, concentrating land ownership in the hands of a few, this only ends up exacerbating existing gender inequalities in the sector, preventing too many hard-working women farmers from accessing much-needed benefits and services.
A quick overview of the protection issues faced by women farmers tells us that they receive unequal wages for work of equal value, are subjected to heavy workloads ranging from 12- to 18-hour work days, as well as face challenges related to unsafe working conditions, with problems of harassment, and physical and psychological abuse at the hands of male farmers, landlords and shopkeepers who buy their produce, being rampant.
The FAO also cites an Aurat Foundation report that identifies a variety of other risks that women working in farms in Punjab are exposed to, such as a lack of protective gear, exposure to chemicals, which may imperil their reproductive health, and poor access to medical facilities.
Compounding their difficulties is the fact that women are also expected to primarily bear the responsibility of household work, doubling their work burden.
Given the plethora of challenges they face, there is an urgent need to officially recognise all women who perform work related to harvesting, post-harvest operations, as well as work related to livestock and fisheries, as ‘farmers’.
In addition, setting of minimum wages and ensuring women’s compensation is not less than that of their male counterparts, improving their access to agricultural inputs, and putting in place mechanisms to address the violence and economic exploitation they may face are the needs of the hour.
The importance of land ownership here cannot be downplayed and the government would do well to allot unused state-owned land to women farmers and then provide them with the resources, education and training to support their success.
Given that agriculture employs a majority of the country’s female labour force, reforms of the sector that make it a more equitable and safer area for women are essential and something that must not be delayed any longer.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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