FAO: May women in agriculture continue to be empowered, recognized, and have more opportunities

Women play an essential role in Vietnam’s agricultural sector, making up nearly half of the workforce and taking on leadership positions in cooperatives and agribusinesses. Despite their growing influence, they continue to face significant challenges, including limited access to land, capital, technology, and training. However, their resilience and innovative spirit have contributed to the transformation of food systems, the promotion of sustainable farming practices, and the economic development of rural communities.

The insights shared by Mr. Rémi Nono Womdim is the FAO Representative to Vietnam strongly emphasize the significant and growing role of women in agriculture, both in Vietnam and globally. FAO acknowledges and appreciates the increasing presence of women in leadership positions within agricultural cooperatives and enterprises, recognizing this shift as a crucial step toward gender equality and sustainable agricultural development.

Women make up 47.4% of the workforce in Vietnam's agricultural sector, and in cooperatives, this number rises to 80%. It seems that Vietnamese women are increasingly taking on leadership roles in agriculture, such as managing cooperatives and running agricultural enterprises. How does FAO assess this change?

FAO highly appreciates the increasingly important role of women in the agricultural sector workforce in Viet Nam. The fact that women account for 47.4% of the workforce in this sector, especially the impressive 80% in cooperatives, shows that they are not only playing a key role in agricultural production and other parts of the agrifood system but are also increasingly involved in management and leadership.

The increase in the number of women in leadership positions in general, and in the role of cooperative management or agribusiness management in particular, is an important step forward in promoting gender equality and sustainable development, especially in the agricultural sector. In our opinion, economic empowerment for women not only helps to improve the productivity and quality of agricultural products but also contributes to the stability of agrifood supply chains and nutritional security. Ensuring women and men have equal voice and decision-making power in rural institutions and organizations is one of the four key objectives of the FAO’s corporate Policy on Gender Equality.  

However, women in agriculture are still facing many challenges, including limited access to, and control over, land, capital, technology, and training. FAO recommends that gender-responsive policies and programs should be further promoted to enable women to maximize their roles, contributing to building a more modern, sustainable, inclusive and equitable agriculture.

In your opinion, what barriers do women face when speaking up and acting in the agricultural sector? If these barriers can be overcome, what impact will that have?

When women speak up and act in the field of agriculture, they often encounter many barriers that have been pointed out by many studies. In general, there are a number of persistent barriers. The first is that they are still limited in terms of access to land and resources. In many places, women have difficulties in owning land or accessing capital and technology to expand production. Second, social gender stereotypes with traditional norms are still influential, making women less recognized in leadership or decision-making roles in agriculture and rural societies. Third, they still lack the training and capacity improvement opportunities. Women may have fewer opportunities to participate in technical, managerial, or market access training programs than men. And the fourth is the burden of family work, the caregiving responsibilities. In addition to farm work, many women have to take on the role of family caregivers, making them have less time and opportunities to participate in business development or cooperative activities.  

However, when women are given the opportunities and can overcome these barriers, the effect will be very positive. As the result, in long-term it helps create a more sustainable agriculture, as many studies show that women tend to invest in environmentally friendly production methods and use resources more efficiently. Thereby, thanks to the application of modern farming techniques and methods the productivity and quality of agricultural products could be improved. When women are economically empowered, they not only improve their own income but also contribute to the community overall development, promoting socio-economic development. In addition, with the successes that can be achieved, they can contribute to reducing gender inequality and strengthening women's leadership roles, setting the stage for more positive changes in the society. Therefore, to promote this potential, it is necessary to have appropriate support policies to create favorable environment for women to access resources, training and development opportunities in agriculture.

FAO is increasingly applying gender-transformative approaches to address root causes of gender inequalities, such as discriminatory social/gender norms and practices. Gender-transformative approaches have been proven to be cost-effective. FAO is committed to increase the number of gender-transformative actions through its projects and programs on the ground in order to achieve gender equality in agriculture and rural livelihoods.

Can you share some examples of how women have changed the community's perception of their role in agriculture, especially in transforming food systems? What factors have contributed to their success in this regard?

Women have been making an important contribution to changing the community's perception of their role in agriculture, especially in transforming the food system. I can give an example that illustrates this change:

The first is about women becoming pioneers in organic agriculture production and the green economy. Many women have come up with breakthrough ideas and applied sustainable production methods, contributing to optimizing the use of resources in a rational and environmentally friendly way.

Second, they participate in leadership positions in agricultural cooperatives. In rural areas of Vietnam, about 25% of women participate in the management of agricultural cooperatives, and 39% of OCOP (One Commune One Product Program) owners are women. This participation not only affirms the leadership role of women but also promotes local economic development and improves the quality of agricultural products.

Third, they contribute to the promotion of traditional craft villages. In many localities, women have taken the lead in building and promoting traditional craft villages, creating brands imbued with cultural values, which are popular in domestic and international markets, such as Bat Trang ceramics, Phu Vinh rattan and bamboo weaving, and Quat Dong lace embroidery.

With these great contributions, it is clear that the perception of the community will change when they clearly see the women’s role and position in agriculture.

So what factors brings women to these successes? In my opinion, it is the fact that women have constantly sought and applied new production methods, which are environmentally friendly and meet market demands. Women always show a resilient and creative spirit at work, contributing to changing the community's perception of their role in agriculture. Improving knowledge and skills through training programs has also helped women become more confident in leadership and management roles. And it is also indispensable to have the attention and support from the Women's Union at all levels, local authorities and domestic and international organizations that have created conditions for women to access resources, training and development opportunities. These factors have helped women affirm their important role in agriculture, contributing to the sustainable development of the agrifood systems.

What are FAO's recommendations and policies to help rural women in Viet Nam improve their management, leadership and decision-making skills in agricultural production?

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has made many recommendations and policies to support rural women in Viet Nam to improve their management, leadership and decision-making skills in agricultural production. One of the outstanding initiatives is the United Nations Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 (UNDFF), in which FAO in collaboration with the World Rural Forum (WRF) organizes regional conferences with the aim to strengthen the capacity and leadership of women in rural households, to enable them to participate actively in the implementation of UNDFF at the national and regional levels, thereby participating in the design of policies and programmes to support women in rural areas.

In addition, FAO also emphasizes the promotion of gender equality in family farming, considering this as one of the seven pillars of action of UNDFF. Strengthening the empowerment of women and improving their participation and leadership in political, social, cultural and economic equality processes are considered key to addressing gender inequality.

In addition, FAO recommends the creation of a more equitable environment in terms of productivity and wages in agriculture. Narrowing the gender gap will create opportunities for women to contribute to the development of the agricultural sector. Therefore, it is necessary to develop or adjust policies in the direction of ensuring women's rights and opportunities in access to land, capital, application of science and technology, market connection and response to climate change.

FAO also proposes the implementation and development of “women-led agribusiness incubator" to create future female leaders in line with the National Action Programme for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The nomination of women to participate in management and leadership positions in regional and international mechanisms/organizations, along with the development and connection of the network of female cadres, the organization of guidance and mentoring activities between experienced female cadres and young female cadres, are specific measures to promote women's leadership in agriculture.

Lastly, the Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in October 2023, provide a framework to help countries design gender-responsive policies, programmes, and investment strategies for food security and nutrition. FAO is committed to supporting governments in translating these guidelines into action.These recommendations aim to enable rural women in Viet Nam to improve their management, leadership and decision-making skills in agricultural production, contributing to promoting gender equality and sustainable development in the agricultural sector.

If you could send a message to Vietnamese women in agriculture who strive to improve their lives and contribute to the country's agriculture sector – what would it be?

Vietnamese women in agriculture do not only work in the farms, they also lead cooperatives, start-up agricultural products businesses, and promote clean, high-tech agriculture. There have been success stories of women-led cooperatives, as pioneers in organic agriculture, or women who dare to innovate production models. They will be great contributors to the future of Vietnam's agriculture.

If I could send one message to Vietnamese agricultural women, it would be: 

"Women are not only doing farming, but also changing the way they farm. Be bold to innovate, apply technology, and work in cooperative way for sustainable development. Let's continue to walk firmly on the path of development. Be confident, break through and become the inspiration for the next generation!" 

May women who are quietly dedicating themselves to this sector continue to be empowered, recognized, and have more opportunities to grow!