The need for urgent relief for women smallholder farmers

Published on October 16, 2020

The Philippine economy has fallen into its first recession in two decades due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While some countries have seen more positive results in containing the virus, other countries were unable to adopt the necessary strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of Covid-19 on its citizens. In the Philippines, strict quarantine measures since March 2020 hampered economic movement and caused massive layoffs since the start of the quarantine period, with the most recent report at 10% unemployment and 17.3% underemployment.

Despite the lockdown, essential operations remained open, including those in the agriculture sector. Rising unemployment meant limited purchasing power, which affected local demand. For example, although agricultural production is essential, demand went down, with decreasing Cavendish banana exports during peak season.

The Department of Agriculture launched the ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ Program this year, including the Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat (ALPAS) Kontra sa COVID-19, a P31-billion stimulus package for agri-fishery industries that aims to address food security concerns during the pandemic. Some of the program’s targets are increased rice production, expanded agricultural insurance, technical assistance provision, and social amelioration for farmers and agricultural workers.

Food insecurity in the sector that provides food to the public

Philippine workers in the agricultural sector have a long-standing history of food insecurity, alongside other poverty-related concerns. In 2017, IDEALS and Oxfam highlighted the plight of farmers and agricultural workers who hardly earn enough to support their households while carrying the rising costs of farm operations and assuming most business risks. This pandemic has exacerbated those vulnerabilities by adding a health- and wellbeing-related factor to how farmers and farm workers operate. Instead of only worrying about rising costs and other risks, they now have to contend with social and health protection concerns, or the lack thereof. It took a pandemic for the national government and the public to realize the benefits of buying directly from small farmers and fisherfolk, rather from big traders or corporate intermediaries.

Oxfam released a Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) survey in 2017, which indicated that the majority of high-value crops (HVC) farming households are moderately or severely food insecure. This reinforces the claim of workers in the agricultural sector that support for farmers and fisherfolk is insufficient.

Gender-differentiated impacts

Food insecurity, while affecting all household members, largely remains the burden of women. This is especially true in rural communities where gender roles and stereotypes are firmly entrenched in everyday lives. Women are responsible for food security as part of their reproductive work more so than men, and they constantly search for opportunities to reduce the chances of experiencing hunger.

However, limited economic movement and lower purchasing power across the country have affected these small income-generating opportunities for women belonging to smallholder farming and fisherfolk households. For example, according to a farming household in Davao de Oro, where Cavendish banana is their main export crop, micro- and small-sized enterprises, which is often managed by women, shut down due to pandemic-related lockdowns. Social amelioration packages meant for low-income households remain scant.

Additionally, according to reports from the Philippine National Police, while income opportunities declined during the pandemic, sexual and intimate partner violence rose. Due to the nature of the COVID-19 virus, people are encouraged to remain at home, which poses problems for individuals residing in the same house with their abusers.

Official police data report an average of eight women raped daily during the first two months of the quarantine from March 17 to May 23. This number is expected to be on the low side, as the culture of shame prevalent in the country hinders many individuals from reporting. Further, this data does not include physical and psychological abuses against men, who are stigmatized due to expectations of being ‘strong’ and ‘macho.’

Philippine culture has not been favorable towards victims of abuse, with rampant victim-blaming continuing to this day. Victims are further hindered by limited outside movement and government resources allocated towards addressing the pandemic. Resources are most often provided by non-profit support groups that stepped up during these times.

What now? An urgent push for food security

Government and non-government organizations earmarked funds to support the agricultural sector during the pandemic, mainly to stimulate economic production and address rising unemployment. The government tries to handle medium- to long-term concerns of food security while allocating a small portion for the social amelioration of agricultural workers, which has, however, not been enough to allay their fears from the threat of hunger.

Non-government institutions try to fill in the gaps of the government’s limitations. Projects are designed and implemented with the pandemic response in mind. However, efforts to help address the most immediate concerns of women and men small farmers and fisherfolk, such as ensuring nutritious, filling food is available at their table three times a day, and that day-to-day expenses are covered, are to massive for these non-government agencies with limited resources.

On the other hand, projects with medium- and long-term goals, while altruistic in theory, ignore the pressing issues of income and food security on a day-to-day basis. While there is value in designing projects this way, it is disrespectful to assume that people’s immediate survival needs fall second to these medium- and long-term priorities.

The government has always been asked to heed people's needs, especially the marginalized who are most vulnerable in times of disasters such as this pandemic. Non-government institutions should do the same and ensure that their interventions address both the survival and empowerment of the people, especially women who are often forgotten in these programs.

October 16 is World Food Day and shoul serve as an urgent reminder to push for food security, especially the women and men farmers and workers who grow and produce the food that is placed on our tables.

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Patricia Selda is the Gender Officer of Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS), a local non-profit, non-stock legal-focused advocacy and service. IDEALS is the implementing partner of Oxfam’s GRAISEA Project, funded by SIDA, which supports the development of agricultural value chains that provide opportunities for women's economic empowerment, integrate human rights, and promote improved resilience to climate change.