Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page


4. COUNTRY PAPERS

(in alphabetical order)

I. BANGLADESH1

Hon'ble Zinatun Nesa Talukdar
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs
People's Republic of Bangladesh

Abstract

Women constitute about half the population of Bangladesh, and 80% to 90% of them live in the rural areas. Agriculture is the mode of life for most of the population. Traditionally, women were involved in the post-harvest processes. However, in recent years they are also working in the fields in weeding and thinning, watering and irrigation, and in transplanting. Homestead gardening, and planting and maintaining trees are getting increasingly popular too.

Unfortunately, women's access to new information and technologies has been limited by their low literacy rate, social limitations, time-consuming household work, lack of skills training, and scarce employment opportunities. This has had an adverse impact on the quality of women's agriculture related decision-making powers.

Bangladesh has recognised that urgent and far-reaching steps have to be taken to redress this situation. The Constitution of the country emphasises the importance of agricultural and rural development and aims to provide equal access to resources and opportunities, especially to women. In this context, the Fifth Five Year Plan (1997–2002) has formulated objectives to promote women's economic self-reliance. They include implementing specific economic, social, agricultural and related policies and programmes in support of poor female-headed households; mainstreaming women's concerns in agriculture and rural development; reducing the gender gap in literacy rates and educational opportunities, including skills development and technical training; and, recognising women's role and concerns in environmental and natural resources conservation and management.

Discussion

The focus was on the role of NGOs in integrating women in field activities in the spheres of social and economic development. There are several NGOs in Bangladesh that work on children's and women's health and on micro-credit schemes that try to eradicate poverty. The areas of biodiversity and food security are not covered by the NGO sector.

Biotechnology-generated food products would perhaps better help to overcome malnutrition as against natural products. The education of the public to change food culture and habits is crucial.

1 Papers were presented by two Bangladesh participants.

AGRICULTURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN BANGLADESH

Dr. Nilufer Hye Karim
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gaziapur, Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh has a population of 121 million people and by 2020AD it is expected to reach 170 million people. The food requirement for the population can be met by production on 32 million ha. While Bangladesh has 11.57 million ha. of agriculture land. Thus food security for the next generations is a challenge that will be addressed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Agriculture production is the largest contributor (28%) to the GDP of the country. Of the total agriculture production by the country, crops contribute to 76%, fisheries and livestock 8% each.

Bangladesh has an inherent bio diverse environment and thus is able to grow diverse crops such as cereals, jute, beverages, pulses, oil seeds, fruits and vegetables.

Women constitute 48% of the total population. Above 80% of the population live in rural areas. The involvement of women in farming can be estimated by the contribution to on farm (68%) and non farm (32%) in rural households. The farming activities where women play an important role are fieldwork, homestead gardens, agri-wage labour, fisheries and livestock. In a study on seed preservation carried out in the BRRI, it was observed that 66% of the agriculture related decisions were made by men, 11% by women and 23% of the decisions were jointly taken.

In order to promote the development of women in all sectors the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare have developed a Nation Action Plan. Some of the highlights with regards to agriculture development of the plan are:

II. BHUTAN

Ms. Cheki Wangmo
National Biodiversity Programme, Ministry of Agriculture
Royal Government of Bhutan

Abstract

Bhutan of the Eastern Himalayas with an extensive forest cover, is considered one of the prominent global biodiversity hotspots. Climate and geography, as well as cultural factors, have contributed to an enormous biodiversity in the local fauna and flora, and high levels of biodiversity in agriculture. The largely rural population of Bhutan depends on a diverse range of plant genetic resources (PGR) from both the forests (wild) and farmlands (domesticated areas) for daily sustenance and survival. PGR in Bhutan includes non-timber forest products, wild food, medicinal plants, fodder species, field crops, and horticultural crops.

The Bhutanese people have been living in a sustainable mode in harmony with their surrounding environment. People have nurtured the biodiverse environment and benefited from such diversity. However, increase in population and the associated problems have led to a greater exploitation of these resources and an imbalance in maintaining sustainability. The government's current policy is now directed towards increasing the nation's food supplies through conservation, and sustainable use and management of the existing natural biological resources for self-sufficiency in food.

No gender specific case studies have been carried out relating to biodiversity management and food security in Bhutan. Some studies, however, indicate gender specific roles associated with biodiversity management and conservation in rural areas, which have implications for the future management of the country's natural resources, in particular PGR for food and agriculture.

Discussion

In Bhutan, 70% of land ownership is held by women. There is no discrimination in the country against women. Gender segregated data is not available. In the extension services, there is a predominance of men, but they are slowly becoming gender sensitive. Such a gender-sensitive transformation could help in reducing the internal biases among women that are barriers to interacting with men who are outsiders and represent various institutions.

III. INDIA1

FAO-MSSRF STUDY - 1997 ON GENDER DIMENSIONS AND BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

Dr. Hemal Kanvinde
M.S.Swaminthan Research Foundation, Chennai, India

Abstract

Women play a central role in the conservation, management, and use of biodiversity, yet their contribution is often overlooked. They are relatively ‘invisible’ partners from the grassroots to the policy making level. If biodiversity is to survive, both women and men must play an equal part in its management. There is therefore an urgent need to consider gender—who does or uses what, how and why—in development efforts, to promote true partnership and ensure the sustainable conservation and use of biodiversity now and in the future.

The gender analysis of the roles that women and men play in managing bio-resources is a comparatively unexplored but crucial subject, which allows us to re-think current practices and understand the gender dimension within them. Equipped with this gender-sensitive knowledge, it should be easier to prevent mistakes of the past and meet the specific needs, opportunities, and constraints of both women and men in the future.

Each of the seven case studies covered in this paper—from Wayanad, Kolli Hills, the Jeypore Tract, Bhitarkanika, the Lakshadweep Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram—represents a distinct ecosystem or region of significant biological diversity currently under threat. Moreover, the studies highlight dynamic communities in different stages of transition and development, where livelihood security may conflict with the requirements of biodiversity management.

The studies found that gender roles are socially constructed rather than biologically determined and there are great variations in the tasks assigned to men and women in different locations. In areas of traditional agriculture, among communities and classes that did not practise gender seclusion, women's participation in biomass-related activities was high, and women's knowledge and interest in conservation was apparent. In communities where women were the main food producers, women's involvement with conservation practices (such as the preservation and maintenance of quality seed) was high. However, the project also found that this traditional knowledge base of both women and men was being eroded, with changes relating primarily to age and secondarily, to gender. In agriculturally developed areas where market forces had penetrated deeply, women were less involved in conservation practices but continued to play a role in seed preservation.

1 Papers were presented by three Indian participants.

The research clearly pointed out that there is no simple or uniform division of labour, skills and knowledge along gender lines. Secondly, the research demonstrated that' age and education are increasingly important factors in determining gender roles and knowledge of natural and ecological resources.

While there are encouraging indications, it is too early to offer a precise assessment of the impact of these innovative studies. The exercise represents an initial attempt to understand the linkages between gender and biodiversity, and highlights a number of gender considerations in conservation and resource use. It therefore has undoubted potential to influence the programming of biodiversity management by local community groups and to motivate national and regional initiatives. India is in danger of losing its biodiversity wealth unless immediate and urgent steps are taken in the Western Ghats, the northeastern region, the Jeypore tract of Orissa, and coastal ecosystems. Simultaneously, the voice of nascent women's groups in these biodiversity-rich areas needs to be recognised and strengthened, and their organisational units need to be extended, so that action to manage biodiversity achieves short and long-term success.

There is a need to initiate action research programmes designed to integrate the gender dimension in the following three areas: (a) conservation—in situ, in situ on-farm and ex situ (b) sustainable utilisation and (c) ethics and equity in sharing benefits.

Discussion

The Indian government has taken up formal types of conservation practices such as the Reserved Forests and the National Parks and Sanctuaries, and the National Gene Banks. It has also tried to involve local stakeholders in the management of the forest resources in a limited way through the establishment of Joint Forest Management (JFM) Committees. The JFM experiment started as a trial in West Bengal and has been adopted by nearly all the state governments. Initially the programme did not envisage the participation of women, but after a decade the JFM rules say that both men and women from the same family have equal ownership of the resources from the intervention, or the non-timber forest produce.

India has diverse ecological regions each with a unique system of agriculture. Examples from different regions of India on the diverse cropping patterns and multiple and mixed cropping practices as means of ensuring food security highlighted the local agricultural diversity and the role of the community in in situ on-farm conservation. There are regions where traditional crops are disappearing due to the intrusion of commercial agriculture and due to changes in the food habits of the people. This loss of diversity has implications for gender roles and gender relations and subsequently it impacts on food security.

The concept of Community Biodiversity Registers is to inculcate a feeling of pride and build an institutional mechanism in providing for the conservation of the local biological diversity. Though Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are good tools in collecting information on biodiversity, it is practically difficult to provide GPS monitoring systems to all villages. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have, in fact, been used in developing a participatory management plan for India's Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve.

LINKAGES BETWEEN BIODIVERSITY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

Dr. Sudha Nair
M.S.Swaminthan Research Foundation, Chennai, India

Abstract

Major breakthroughs in gene technology have created a powerful tool for modifying living organisms to devise new products and services. The screening of plants, animals and microorganisms for properties of economic interest is one of the key activities in the life sciences industry. Biodiversity prospecting activities are more established in the pharmaceutical sector but are now being carried out for nutritional and ecological properties as well. Bio-prospecting activities provide a direct link between biotechnology and biodiversity. This has various implications, especially for biodiversity-rich countries like those in the tropics.

Farmers, especially women, need to be provided with ecofriendly technologies which promote natural resources and help in management of environmental degradation. These need to be disseminated through demonstration centres (rural biotechnology centres or biocentres) and through innovative linkages among government, NGOs and the private sector. The interactions and interventions have to be demand-driven.

The thrust areas where biotechnology has established proven technologies are in agricultural biotechnology (chiefly in tissue culture, floriculture, horticulture, hybrid seed production, biopesticides, biofertilisers, aquaculture), in animal husbandry, health sector (herbal products), pharmaceuticals (inclusive of diagnostic kits, vaccines, and the like), solid waste recycling, and bioremediation. Bio-entrepreneurship is gaining ground in all these areas, and women have successfully established enterprises and appropriate interventions at the rural level. Thus, it is possible to increase livelihood security at the household level.

The proposed activity of setting up a Biotech Park, near Chennai, is an example of innovative linkages and partnerships between the government, academia, NGOs, industries, and financial institutions. This would primarily act as an interface between educational/research institutions on the one hand and industrial units on the other. It would help in providing support for women towards equal access to and control over resources including land, water, fuel, common property resources, credit, and technology. It would help in identifying business opportunities for women in urban areas through feasibility studies using the criteria of value addition and market demand. These women, in turn, can provide income opportunities for rural women.

Discussion

Biotechnology parks should be systematically planned from inception through implementation. It is crucial that market linkages of the enterprise be identified before starting a business.

INTERNALISATION OF GENDER CONCEPTS.

Mrs. Mina Swaminathan
Uttara Devi Resource Centre for Gender and Development
M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, India

This presentation was on the activities of the Uttara Devi Centre for Gender and Development at the M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation. The issues emphasised included:

Discussion

Gender frameworks should be used in orienting project staff on gender concerns in their projects. It has to be understood, however, that field-level realities may limit their effectiveness. The role of extension officers in the success of the programmes underscores the importance of women in the transfer of technology.

IV. THE MALDIVES

Dr. Mohamed Naseem
Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, Government of Maldives

Abstract

The Maldives consists of 1,190 islands of which 203 are inhabited with a population of about 280,000. The agricultural sector is the third largest in the Maldives, after fishing and tourism. The female economic activity rate is about a third the male economic activity rate or lower. Equal opportunities exist in education. There is no gender discrimination in the Maldives. The adult literacy rate is at 93% with no gender disparity. The Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture, and Marine Resources, through the Agricultural Service, is responsible for regulatory, conservation, research, and extension activities. It has eight centres located throughout the country as extension centres through which these activities are monitored and implemented.

Full time farming is very rare in the Maldives. Home gardening is the most common feature in Maldivian agriculture and is managed by women. Home yards are planted with fruit trees such as mango, papaya, banana, lime, and betel leaf. Semi-commercial cropping is carried on in community lands. The most widely grown crop is coconut, both in the home gardens and community lands. Fruits such as breadfruit, mango, banana, taro, papaya, and watermelon and vegetables like betel leaf, pumpkin, chillies, capsicum are widely cultivated in community lands.

The men go out to other islands and even to nearby countries to trade, while the women have full authority over family matters. They look after the children and sometime even parents, and generate income by thatching, weaving, and rope making.

Home-saved seed is very common among the farmers. Sweet potato, cassava, taro and yams, banana, and even pumpkin are propagated vegetatively. There is very little chance of genetic improvement in these planting materials, though such materials are much better than the improved materials available on the market. Medicinal plants have a special place in the Maldives. Medicinal plants are not uprooted during land-clearing activities. The very rare plants used in traditional medicine are even carried from other islands for planting.

There are several constraints facing the development of genetic conservation in agriculture in the Maldives, the most important being the size of the country and the high cost of investments needed to develop agriculture.

Discussion

The country's unique features of coral-based low-lying islands with poor quality soil and insufficient irrigation capacities are not supportive to productive agriculture. The islands also face the threat of salinity intrusion in their freshwater wells. Tourism is the revenue earning industry and all food is imported for the tourists. Local chilli is an important commercial crop. In recent years the government has started to lease islands for commercial growing of horticultural crops. There has been loss of genetic material, though it is not documented, with the availability of imported hybrid seeds. Knowledge systems are also eroding, and food preferences are changing. The sandy soil allows easy leaching into the water lens and thus the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides is restricted.

There is no gender discrimination. Men and women have equal opportunities for education and work. In the rural islands there is division of labour in the fishing sector. A gender database is available for fisheries, and has been started for the agriculture sector. People depend more on marine life for food than on land-based produce. There are conservation rules and laws in the country, for example, when one coconut tree is cut, two trees have to be planted.

V. NEPAL

Mr. Prem Gurung
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Katmandu, Nepal

Abstract

In Nepal, mountain farmers are extremely vulnerable to household food insecurity. One of the major reasons behind food insecurity is low yield of maize (the staple as well as major crop of the mountains), largely resulting from scarcity of appropriate varieties. Both the national seed research and extension systems have been ignoring the plight of the predominantly ethnic mountain communities. The farmers' response to food scarcity has been individual, primarily opting towards seasonal or long-term migration in search of off-farm income.

In Tamku, the Rai community has recently started collective action for food security through participatory crop improvement (PCI), where the key to the PCI process is local ownership and control of the entire initiative. As opposed to centralised formal breeding systems, the farmer-led PCI approach is decentralised. It focuses on capacity building of farmers and local organisations to enable them to determine crop types according to their needs and priorities. It intends to fill the existing gaps through local level seed improvement and quality maintenance, thereby empowering peripheral communities that are perpetually short of maize varieties.

The framework emphasises the systematic identification and assessment of farmers' own systems to prepare relevant technical inputs. Information is gathered on:

Women's participation in the PCI process is instrumental, as they are the primary managers of seeds. Although the current research centres are situated in one village, the future application of gained insights to other regions would facilitate assimilation of a wide range of maize varietal diversity, thereby supporting agrobiodiversity and in situ conservation of landraces. The current PCI initiative aims at developing a general methodology within the decentralised context, specifying the collaboration between farmers and scientists, while enhancing the household level food security among the mountain farmers who are constantly facing severe resource constraints.

Discussion

There are differences in the perceptions of men and women on quality and yield as parameters of improvement. Women choose quality as more important since they are responsible for maintaining the seed and also provide nutritious food for the family. The choice of crop for improvement was selected in an exercise carried out by the villagers with the facilitation of the project staff and in the presence of the scientists involved in the project. Articulation by women in the participatory planning process is important, but they do not always come forward to share their perspectives.

A common problem in field projects is the lack of continuity of the women staff. This problem seems prevalent in all the countries. Often, men have to be hired to carry out work that necessitates interaction with local women. Thus, it is necessary to orient men in gender sensitive data gathering.

There was a suggestion that the PCI framework could be used in other geographical areas and for other crops.

VI. PAKISTAN

Mr. Zahoor Ahmad and Mr Abdul Ghafoor2
Plant Genetic Resources Institute
National Agriculture Research Centre
Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

According to the 1998 census, the total population of Pakistan is 130.58 million out of which 62.74 million are female. Approximately 70% of these are living in rural areas and farming is the main occupation of the majority of the people. In agriculture, women, on the whole, contribute significantly to crop production, livestock management, and poultry farming.

Surveys conducted have indicated that rural women play a major role in seed handling, weeding, harvesting, threshing, seed storage, sowing and picking of vegetable crops, management of livestock, and poultry farming. Rural women are involved in biodiversity conservation, made more relevant in exchange situations with their relatives. In rainfed areas it has been found that the degree of participation in farm operations is more where the farmers' income, education, and farm holdings are low. In crop production women share only those activities which are intended to help men but they are more extensively involved in the areas of their specialisation such as weeding, fodder cutting, and grain storage processes. However, these are characterised by simple and old technologies.

2 In absentia. Paper was received.

VII. THE PHILIPPINES

Dr. Beatriz P. del Rosario
Philippines Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and
Natural Resources Research and Development
The Philippines

Abstract

The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of the Philippines has as its goals the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits of biodiversity.

As the national planning and co-ordinating council for agriculture and forestry, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) is tasked to address gender issues and build institutional mechanisms. Along this line, PCARRD spearheads gender advocacy and training, creation of a gender-disaggregated database, creation of a gender core group, and design of programmes/projects integrating gender concerns.

A project which incorporates gender and biodiversity is the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Programme. It has three components—soil resource conservation, water resources conservation, and biodiversity conservation and management. One of the projects undertaken was on home gardening and how it enhanced biodiversity conservation and household nutrition. In an effort to augment household food supplies, 88% of the women involved cultivated a wide range of crop species and varieties. Medicinal plants were cultivated by 65% of the women. Most of the women maintain their own planting materials or obtain them from neighbours' collections.

Gender relations play an important role in the conservation of biodiversity, in part because men and women have different roles within the farming household. These roles carry with them different responsibilities in regards to variety selection and maintenance. This is also because men and women have different perceptions of what is happening on the farm. It is not possible to ascertain, at least at this point, who is better able to represent the farming system, even if a simple ranking of the information sources would be desirable. Research has demonstrated that differentiating men's and women's needs/knowledge is important.

Discussion

The Philippines is blessed with rich biodiversity resources. It is also advanced in promoting laws (such as the Material Transfer Act and the Germplasm Acquisition Act) and ensuring the conservation of its biodiversity.

There is a beginning in local community-led seed banks in a few areas of the country. The local gene banks are local farmers' co-operatives, with the method of storage not being technology driven but primitive in nature.

Cultural diversity and diversity in agriculture go hand in hand, in large countries even food habits change from one region to another.

VIII. SRI LANKA

Dr. Anoja Wickramasinghe
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Food security is a complex phenomenon which encompasses the interlinkages between sources of supply and the livelihood context of individuals, households, and communities. As perceived by the people, food security is the availability of food to satisfy multiple food needs to lead an active and healthy life. The linkage between biodiversity management and food security has been evolved as part of the social system; therefore gender provides an analytical framework. Examples drawn from field studies conducted in three areas in Sri Lanka—a traditional irrigation cascade of the dry zone, a mosaic of Kandyan homegardens in the central highlands, and a forest peripheral community living in the southern fringe of the Adam's Peak wilderness—demonstrate such linkages. These three cases reveal the gender specific features in the management of biological diversity for food security at various levels. The first demonstrates the importance of both species and ecosystem diversity or habitat diversity; the second represents community-based innovations in the conservation of biodiversity for household food security; and the third shows the importance of biological resources of forests in ensuring food security.

Analysis reveals that the conventional division of responsibilities between men and women in the food supply system is reinforced in the management of biodiversity. Food habits and practices are influenced by the biophysical and socio-economic context, while men's and women's engagement is determined by socially defined roles and gender relations. From the perspectives of customary practices; proprietary rights to supply sources and biological resources, and food security, the author argues that women should become key stakeholders in conservation and sustainable use of the forests and agro-biodiversity.

Discussion

Seeds are stored in bins made of pandanas fronds and placed above the hearth in the kitchen. There are no community seed storage systems. Each farmer stores his/her own seeds for the next year's crop.

For the 5% of the population who are below the poverty line, there is provision of 90% food subsidies. Most families in Sri Lanka have home gardens of great diversity in vegetables, fruits, flowers, and spices. The produce of home gardens is sufficient to ensure the food security of the family.

Most of the farmers had one or two hectares under tea cultivation and this did not compete with other food crops on the farm.

IX. VIETNAM

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hue
Viet Nam Agriculture Science Institute, Viet Nam

Abstract

Vietnam is a country well endowed with biodiversity, and agro-biodiversity in particular. Plant genetic resources (PGR) are considered the most important component of biodiversity. The Vietnamese have long exploited plant genetic resources in crop improvement (source of food security). Nowadays, these valuable resources are essential for the development of modern biotechnology in the country. The food security of the poor and marginal population is directly linked to the availability of food, not only by cultivation but also from sources in and around the immediate common property environment. Food security is the base for enhancing biodiversity conservation and genetic resources.

Agriculture, seedling care, and cattle raising are totally women's activities, other activities are shared between men and women. The role of farmers in maintaining crop diversity has been exemplified by the fifty landraces of rice cultivated in the highlands of Vietnam.

The Government of Vietnam has already paid some attention to biodiversity preservation in general and PGR conservation in particular. The role of women in agricultural production, ensuring food security, and the maintenance of agrobiodiversity has been discussed. Various studies on gender divisions in the livelihood strategies of farming households and the technology used by women have been conducted. Changes are in progress in rural areas that affect gender relations. With the strengthening of the national PGR programmes, the in situ conservation of agrobiodiversity projects should be increased to understand gender roles in biodiversity management. Agriculture and forestry extension is being considered as a good way to help solve gender challenges in agrobiodiversity management.

Discussion

Most often knowledge of medicinal plants resides with women. Community seed banks and community-led conservation efforts are absent in Vietnam. Women themselves maintained seed for the next crop. Research on the specific needs of highland farmers was underway. Gene banks are managed by the government and there is no role here for the community or NGOs.

The need to have a sociologist in the field team was suggested.


Previous Page Top of Page Next Page