Family Farming Knowledge Platform

Interview: The land is our life

In this interview, and four short videos, we asked four rural women leaders and activists from Asia and Africa about the role of women in agroecology. What we found were stories of race, caste, patriarchal systems, land grabbing, statelessness and, as an overriding theme, the lack of land ownership for women. These women are part of a larger coalition working to build rural women’s leadership. They believe that women organising amongst themselves to gain leadership skills and confidence is the first step to improving their livelihoods and fighting for their rights to land- so fundamental to agroecology.

 Women in Asia are, in most cases, the farmers. But more than that, they are concerned about the nutrition of their families. There are actually more women interested in the models of agriculture that support diversity and nutrition. There are many cases of women who are fighting for land, particularly farmers. Once they get the land, they move to agroecology. So that’s why land struggles are central in our agroecology movements in for example the Philippines and India.

Title of publication: Farming Matters: The land is our life
Volume: 31
Issue: 4
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Page range: 22-24
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Author: Jessica Milgroom
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Organization: ILEIA, Center for Learning on Sustainable Agriculture
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Year: 2015
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Country/ies: India, Philippines, Senegal, Sri Lanka
Geographical coverage: Africa, Asia and the Pacific
Type: Magazine article
Content language: English
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