Seeds of Empowerment

Abstract

Farming in China is experiencing a transformation in certain areas resulting in crises. Agricultural income is generally declining and represents a lower percentage of rural household income. Many farmers are losing interest in farming. Both the feminization and ageing of agricultural labor are evident and increasing; women and older people have become the key agricultural cultivators. Within this context, an action-oriented project funded partly by IDRC suggests that women can organize effective women farmer’s groups and organizations for technological development and market linkage if given appropriate support from public research and extension agencies. Such interventions can empower women and increase their access to technology, credit, and markets in a sustainable way. This strategy can, in turn, have a positive impact on the well-being of rural households, particularly female-headed and poorer households that rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. Action research, carried out over a prolonged time period, can effectively generate and support empowerment, although it requires patience, adaptability, and endurance.