Good day Bangladesh
Bangladeshi women take the lead in agriculture
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s global report shows that the rate of participation by Bangladesh’s women in agriculture is five per cent higher than the global average. But, women are still lagging behind in the use of mobile phones and internet.
Participation of women in agriculture is rising most rapidly in Bangladesh among all the agriculture-based countries of the world. More women than the global average rate are now involved in country’s agriculture sector.
But they are still facing disparity, starting from mobile phone services, internet technology to land ownership. Yet they are making a huge contribution in agriculture by utilising the limited opportunities despite this.
This was revealed in a report of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) titled ‘Status of Women in Agriculture System-2023’ on the role of women in international agricultural system. The report was published last month.
It has been stated in the report that the role of women in Bangladesh’s agriculture was 36.2 per cent back in 2005. After experiencing an increase of 9.1 per cent it rose to 45.3 per cent in 2019. This is highest growth rate of women’s participation in agriculture around the world.
Next in line is Nepal. During the same period, participation of women saw an increase of 8.4 per cent in that country. And there has been an increase of 8.1 per cent in El Salvador, the country from central America that occupies the third position on the list.
The FAO report has been published for the second time this year while, the first report had been published back in 2011. Both reports have taken the role of women in the agricultural sector of different countries as well as the overall agricultural sector worldwide, into consideration.
The report states that globally women’s contribution in agriculture is around 40 per cent. In Bangladesh, this rate is five per cent higher than the global average.
Evidence of Bangladeshi women's huge contribution to agriculture can be found just by looking at the cattle rearing sector. As per data of the department of livestock services and Bangladesh dairy farmers association, the majority of the cattle sacrificed during this Eid-ul-Azha came from marginal farmers.
There are about a million (10 lakh) such farms in the country, almost 60 per cent of which are run by rural women. As much as 90 per cent of the black Bengal goats are reared by women throughout the world, let alone Bangladesh.
The FAO report has been published for the second time this year while, the first report had been published back in 2011. Both reports have taken the role of women in the agricultural sector of different countries as well as the overall agricultural sector worldwide, into consideration. The role of women in this sector along with how much that has gone through a change has been highlighted there.
Women in Bangladesh are historically involved in agriculture. Usually they are the ones who do most of the post-harvest tasks like threshing and preserving. But they rarely have a role in the leadership or decision-making in the family. The role of women in the family has gone through a noticeable increase in the past few decades.
Reason for growth in women participation
The FAO report doesn’t provide any answers to questions such as why there is an increase in women’s participation in agriculture in Bangladesh or what the reasons are behind this growth. So, Prothom Alo talked to some of the country’s top agriculturists and researchers to investigate the reasons.
Chairman of Bangladesh Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), economist Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad told Prothom Alo that Women in Bangladesh are historically involved in agriculture.
Women in Bangladesh are historically involved in agriculture. Usually they are the ones who do most of the post-harvest tasks like threshing and preserving. But they rarely have a role in the leadership or decision-making in the family. The role of women in the family has gone through a noticeable increase in the past few decades, he added.
The startup of Chuadanga youth Merina Zaman and her friends proves the fact that women’s role in Bangladesh has gone through a transformation. Merina along with nine of her friends set up a commercial agro farm named Friends Agro Planet.
They farm dragon fruit, agar, oranges, guava, watermelon, chillis, summer and winter vegetables, aubergine (brinjal), papaya, snake gourd and potatoes. Marina's name tops the young agricultural entrepreneurs’ list prepared by Chuadanga district office of the department of agricultural extension.
Merina said, “Farming as a profession is quite challenging. Alongside producing, collecting, packaging, and selling online as well transporting the produce to markets, we also provide home delivery services ourselves.”
“At our farm, we grow fruits and vegetables organically. We use organic fertiliers and organic pesticides there,” she added.
Farming as a profession is quite challenging. Alongside producing, collecting, packaging, and selling online as well transporting the produce to markets, we also provide home delivery services ourselves.
Discrimination
The issue of disparity towards rural women in Bangladesh in terms of mobile phone and internet usages has come up in the FAO report. It showed that worldwide, women in rural Bangladesh use internet service the least. And in terms of mobile phone use, Bangladesh ranks second from bottom up. As much as 64 per cent rural women in the country use mobile phones while the rate among men is 81 per cent.
It has been stated in the report that 14 per cent women and 30 per cent men use internet in Bangladesh. In this case the disparity between women and men in using internet is 55 per cent. Meanwhile, 15 per cent women in Pakistan and 24 per cent women in India use internet. These two South Asian countries rank slightly higher than Bangladesh.
Mexico in the world is on top of internet usage. As much as 63 per cent women in that country use internet. In that country, the gender disparity in this case is only 12 per cent. Basically the data of internet usage from different countries around the world in 2021 has been used in the FAO report.
Alongside internet and mobile phone usage, Bangladeshi women are also facing discrimination when it comes to using large agricultural machinery. However they are making rapid progress in any sector they are given opportunities.
Women participation has to be increased not only in production but also in other sectors including transportation and sales of agro produces in the market. Alongside the government, non-government organisations have to increase training and support to create women entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector for that.
The report features two examples of research conducted on agriculture-based families in Bangladesh. One of those studies found that there have been different types of positive changes in the agricultural families where women have become the leaders. Female children in those families are provided with more nutrition.
When women are given responsibility of the household, they increase the quantity of nutritious food for the whole family with a portion of the income. Meanwhile, another study showed that in male-centric families male children receive nutritious food the most.
Executive director of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Fahmida Khatun told Prothom Alo that women's contribution in the agricultural sector is not evaluated financially. In other words, despite performing many vital tasks of family farming they do not get paid in return. But in recent years, women have increased their decision-making power in agriculture.
That’s why they are being given importance for their roles in other sectors as well. Their participation has to be increased not only in production but also in other sectors including transportation and sales of agro produces in the market. Alongside the government, non-government organisations have to increase training and support to create women entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector for that.