Celebrating the achievements of women and creating opportunities for them to be part of the discussion and promote inclusivity, especially in the agricultural sector, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Center and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) together with the Philippines Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture (PPSA), held the "WE Can Do It: Empowering Women in Agriculture" Forum on 13 March 2024 at the BGC Community Farm by Urban Farmers PH, Taguig City, Philippines.
The forum participants do the 'inspire inclusion' pose, which is the theme of this year's International Women's Day campaign.
Ms. Angel Bautista, Country Director of PPSA, encouraged everyone to step up and become champions for women, especially women in agriculture who are sustaining food systems globally. Ms. Bautista also underlined the value of establishing multistakeholder partnerships with like-minded institutions. "With all of you, we believe that we can contribute to elevating women in agriculture so they can be on equal footing with their male counterparts. Because when women thrive, our agri-food systems also thrive," she said.
Her Excellency Marielle Geraedts, Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Philippines and the European Union (EU) Gender Ambassador, gave the keynote message on gender equality and responsible business conduct in the agricultural sector. "Despite the important contribution of women in the Philippine agriculture workforce, they still suffer from inequalities in this male-dominated field," she mentioned. "Given this, we recognize that knowledge exchange is key to promoting best practices of responsible business conduct and women empowerment in the agriculture sector," she added.
(from left) SEARCA's Research and Thought Leadership Department Head, Dr. Gerlie Tatlonghari; GrowAsia Head of Partnerships, Ms. Amy Chua; Her Excellency Marielle Geraedts; and PPSA Country Director, Ms. Angel Bautista.
Women champions who are taking the lead in the agricultural sector also shared their experiences and initiatives in uplifting the lives of women farmers. Ms. Cherrie Atilano, President and CEO of AGREA Foundation, discussed Project FORWARD, or Finding Opportunities and Roles for Women in Agriculture and Development, which now has 200 members in five provinces across the Philippines. Ms. Rose Dalina, President of the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Natural Organic Garden in Payatas, Quezon City, spoke about how she and her fellow former OFWs in Payatas turned to urban farming during the pandemic. They now make a living as full-time farmers. Meanwhile, Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) Deputy Director Ma. Kristine Josefina Balmes shared PCW's initiatives to enable women in domestic work, financial inclusion, and climate change adaptation and resiliency.
(from left) Ms. Cherry Atillano, Ms. Rosa Dalina, and Ms. Ma. Kristine Josefina Balmes share their experiences and initiatives in empowering women in the agri sector.
A workshop session on developing the PPSA Women's Cohort roadmap was also conducted during the event, while another session featured talks from science communication experts, Dr. Elaine Llarena, Professor from the University of the Philippines Los Baños-College of Development Communication and Dr. Inez Ponce de Leon, Associate Professor from the Ateneo de Manila University-Department of Communication.
Dr. Llarena and Dr. de Leon pointed out that science communication is more than just popularizing technical information; it should involve social conversation around science. They also shared different ways in which science communication is practiced aside from traditional media. Finally, they emphasized the importance of improving science literacy and building a science habit, especially among the youth. The session on Celebrating Women in Agriscience and Science Communication 101 for Researchers was jointly led by SEARCA as the Lead of the Learning Alliance Working Group.
(from left) Dr. Elaine Llarena and Dr. Inez Ponce de Leon lead the discussions on science communication for researchers.
The event was co-organized with the PPSA Women's Cohort Leads, Agriterra Philippines and Morination Agriculture Products, along with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands. Around 40 stakeholders from the government, academe and research institutions, civil society organizations, donor and development aid agencies, agribusinesses, and other private sector organizations attended the event.
