Celebrating International Day of Rural Women

This Sunday, the 15th of October marks International Day of Rural Women. The day is dedicated to the millions of women living in rural and remote places across the globe. Acknowledging and celebrating the contributions women make to agriculture, food production and food security is an important aspect of achieving gender equity. Empowering women is a critical component of fighting against poverty, hunger and malnutrition.   

According to research conducted by the United Nations in 2021, agriculture continues to be the most important employment sector for women in developing countries -- with 64 per cent in low-income demographics working in agriculture globally.  

As women account for such a substantial proportion of the agriculture labour force, including informal work, and perform the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work within families and households in rural areas. They make significant contributions to agriculture production, food security and nutrition as well as land and natural resource management.  

The International Day of Rural Women came to be as a resolution from the 2003 World Summit to show a commitment to building capacity in all women and indigenous people in rural and remote communities – something the International Capacity Building team are proud to contribute to through our work and the programs we deliver.  

In celebration of this day, we are showcasing three incredible women that we have had the pleasure of working with, all of which are creating a lasting impact on agriculture, food security and the lives of other rural women through their scientific research.

Dr Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni 

Samoa 

Biologist, Meryl Williams Fellow and Senior Researcher at the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (SROS)  

Seeseei has a passion for human nutrition and food security, particularly in the context of traditional foods and medicines. Traditional foods and medicines from Samoa are relatively understudies and Seeseei’s work is making great strides in this field with her research. In particular, her research into the corm rot in Taro production. Gaining a deeper understanding of this process will contribute to a greater understanding of how to address the causes of rot and how to improve production methods to reduce postharvest wastage.   

“This research has allowed myself and my team to address knowledge gaps in the Taro postharvest space that we identified from previous research. I am extremely excited about the prospective impact this project can have on the Samoan Taro industry, specifically how the outcomes of this research can potentially impact the livelihoods of Taro farmers and Taro exporters here in Samoa.” Says Seeseei. 

Quynh Dang 

Vietnam 

Plant Pathologist Researcher at the Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences and John Dillion Fellow 

Throughout her career, Quynh has dedicated her work to supporting grassroots agricultural initiatives. Growing up in the mountainous area of the central-Northern province of Yen Bai, where forestry and farming are the primary industries, Quynh was drawn to science from a young age as a vehicle to change her life and make a difference. Her recent project, ‘Sustainable Management of Cinnamon Production’, focused on cinnamon farmers in remote areas of Vietnam. Where Quynh assists farmers in identifying pests and diseases to help them improve yields and produce high-quality organic cinnamon production.  

Explaining the immediate need for this project Quynh says, “while working in cinnamon plantations and nurseries, I noticed many farmers had problems identifying diseases present, and using the correct pesticides or fungicide in an appropriate manner. The excessive use of pesticides in the nursery stage, or the wrong identification of pests and diseases, leads to failure to control the disease, and improper use of these chemicals affects people’s health, pollutes the environment, and wastes money.” 

Hadasha N. Bongat 

Philippines 

Faculty Member at the Department of Business and Management at the Visayas State University, Scientific Research Assistant at the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Member of the Philippine Agriculture and Economic Development Association and John Dillion Fellow 

Hadasha’s work is focused on economic development across the Philippines, with her most recent project highlighting the production of the Calamansi Lime on Homonhon Island. Homonhon Island is one of 43 individual islands throughout the Philippines that experience higher incidences of poverty than the national average. Hadasha and a team of fellow scientists from the University of the Philippines and Visayas State University to collaborate on research aiming to understand how improvements to the Agricultual value chain could significantly improve the livelihoods of small island farmers. 

“Connecting farmers with the larger markets gives them access to higher value opportunities that exist. We hope to promote more support from the Department of Agriculture to further training and facilities that will lead to farmers being able to develop higher quality products to make the most of market fluctuations and safeguard against unmanageable weather events such as cyclones and typhoons.”