Strempel A (2011) Women's farming groups in Aceh: reflections from a year as a volunteer, ACIAR Seminar Series presentation, 15 September 2011, Canberra, Australia.

1. Presenter Anna Strempel
Australian Youth Ambassador for Development
Topic “Women farmers in Aceh”
Date 3pm, Thursday 15 September 2011
Venue Conference Room, ACIAR House, Canberra
Acknowledgements Strempel A (2011) Women's farming groups in Aceh: reflections from a
year as a volunteer, ACIAR Seminar Series presentation,
15 September 2011, Canberra, Australia.

2. Women's farming groups in Aceh:
Reflections from a year as a
volunteer
Anna Strempel

3. My Assignment
• Australian Youth Ambassadors for
Development (AYAD) program
• 9 month position (extended to 12) focusing on
women’s farming groups
– Needs assessment research & report
– Women farmers’ forum #2
– Women in Agriculture Network workshop
– Strategic planning

4. A quick look at Aceh

6. The KWT project
• Began 2009 in West 3
Aceh 1
1 9
• Now 25 groups, >400
women 11

7. Introducing Some Very Effective
Women
Ibu

8. Why focus on women?
Failure to account for the Women perform 66 percent of the world’s
“roles, differences and inequities” work [and] produce 50 percent of the
between men and women poses “a food, but earn 10 percent of the income
serious threat to the effectiveness of the and own 1 percent of the property
agricultural development agenda”
– UNICEF 2007
- World Bank’s ‘Gender and agriculture Improvements in health care, nutrition and
sourcebook’ education can only be sustained with an
increase in household income and greater
Traditional gender divisions of labor
control by women over financial resources.
often consign women farmers to
subsistence production for [household] - UNFPA 2007
consumption. Policies and interventions
that accept this as a given and assume
that commercial production is the
province of men will miss many
opportunities to tap into the
tremendous productive potential of
women.”
- Ashby 2008

9. Needs Assessment
• Interviews
– KWT leaders and full
groups
– PPL
– Organisations
• Literature review

10. PROJECT IMPACTS

11. Social Impacts
• Improving quality of life “Our whole
village has been
• Empowering women
happier since
• Healthier, happier women; the KWT was
healthier, happier communities established”

12. Economic Impacts
• Supplements
primary income
• Buying less vegies =
financial savings
• Financial
empowerment

13. Food Security
• Improving local access
to fresh fruit & veg “Meeting world food needs
in future will depend… on
• Diversifying range of the capabilities and
crops resources of women”
• Improving productivity - International Food Policy Research
Institute
& resilience

14. Health Impacts
• Improved nutrition for
women & their families
38% of Acehnese children
suffer stunting from
malnutrition
- UNICEF 2005

15. Uptake of Organic Methods
• Biopesticides, organic
fertilisers in use already
• Chemical use seen as
unhealthy, expensive
• Women want to learn more
BUT
• Chemical companies have a
stronghold
• People have become
dependent

16. Building Capacity
Activities to date:
• Forums
• Peer-to-peer learning
• KWT visits
• Training programs
• Info dist & extension
(PPL, BPTP)

17. Building Capacity
Learning new skills in:
• Group management &
leadership
• Managing finances &
credit systems
• Cultivation techniques
incl. organic methods

18. Some things that work
• Demonstration
• Farming is hard work;
KWT make it more
enjoyable
• Extension officers – the
local link
• Having a long-term
presence
• Self-driven with support
where needed

19. SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT…

20. Gender
“In Africa, a donkey-drawn intercrop
cultivator could halve weeding time per
acre, but women lack the cash to purchase
new equipment and men will not invest cash
when women’s manual labor is available to
them at no cost.”
• Project appropriation Ashby et al 2008
• Is there a role for men?
• Institutional context

21. Land Tenure
“If women had secure title to land they
could invest in it rather than merely
working it, and this would encourage them
to adopt sustainable farming practices.”
FAO
1999

22. Extension Officers
• A resource with massive potential…
• Challenges:
– Under resourced
– Need for professional development

23. WHAT NEXT FOR KWT?

24. What is needed?
• Capacity building
– Leadership training for KWTs and PPL
– Organic/permaculture training
– Post-harvest processing training
– Further (more structured?) KWT visits
• Increased support & agency for Nazariah
• Strategic planning
• Achieving independence

25. Achieving Independence
• Women in Agriculture Network
• Financing through microcredit
• Building leadership skills
• Expanding activities
• Addressing gender and land tenure issues

26. BUILDING A WOMEN IN
AGRICULTURE NETWORK

27. Women Farmers Said…
Q: Do we need a network?
A: YES! We need a network because:
• Groups will be more visible and more easily supported, and it
will be easier to achieve our desired goals.
• When we’ve formed an organisation it will be easier for us to
achieve the things we want.
• It will provide a platform for women farmers to learn together.

28. Women farmers can:
• Share knowledge & experiences with each
other
Aceh Besar groups visit Mekar Jaya, Bireuen

29. Women farmers can:
• Learn more about managing groups
• Become stronger leaders

30. Women farmers can:
• Link with helpful organisations
and programs
• Develop a stronger political voice

31. Network Development Workshop
• 2 days
• 65 attendees
– KWT leaders
– PPL
– Academics
– NGOs
(ag, gender, livelihoods,
permaculture)
– Government
(ag, health, food
security)

32. Workshop Outcomes
• Vision
– Women Farmers of Aceh to be an
independent, prosperous network with a strong
bargaining position.
• Mission
– Establish and strengthen the capacity of each KWT
district/city in Aceh
– Build networks and cooperate with other parties
– Improve knowledge and skills of members in the
KWTs
– Build social and economic independence of KWT
• Links built with women leaders and supporters
• Chairperson elected
• Momentum

33. What next for the network?
• Establishing a
committee
• Developing a
communications
strategy
• Activating links
developed through
workshop

34. • http://www.youtube.com/user/australianetw
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