BAGUIO CITY – Empowered women from all over the Philippines attended the 2024 Women’s Dialogue held in Baguio City on October 9, 2024 spearheaded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries with the theme “Empowering Food Systems: Nurturing Sustainability and Equality.”
Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Section Chief Aida Pagtan gave a message to the attendees on behalf of the Department of Agriculture (DA)–Cordillera Regional Executive Director Jennilyn Dawayan. Dr. Pagtan emphasized that women play a vital role in agriculture and that their contributions are essential for achieving food security and enhancing livelihoods.
“This merely serves the fact that, given the proper tools, women are capable of far more than what society expects of them,” Pagtan said.
Furthermore, Usec. Agnes Catherine Miranda of the DA’s Gender and Development Focal Point System discussed the difficulties faced by women in agriculture and the efforts of the department to address these challenges via voice message.
She explained that the lack of access to resources, difficulty in obtaining land ownership, access to credit and financial services, lack of education and training and barriers to decision making and leadership to be the challenges being faced by women in agriculture.
She mentioned AgriPinay and the Search for Outstanding Rural Women as key projects. The AgriPinay Program is a financial assistance initiative for women in agriculture that offers loans up to PhP100,000 without collateral, interest free and payable up to 5 years. As of August 2024, PhP34.5 million has been released through this program and has benefitted up to 620 rural women.
Additionally, the Outstanding Rural Women initiative by the DA recognizes and celebrates the remarkable achievement of women in agriculture. By honoring these women, the initiative not only provides them recognition and support but also serves to inspire others in their communities to strive for excellence and innovation for their agriculture practices.
Usec Miranda ended her talk by quoting United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, “Broken food systems are not inevitable. They are the result of choices we have made. There is more than enough food in the world to go around. More than enough money to fund efficient and sustainable food systems to feed the world, while supporting decent work for those who grow the food we eat.”
Philippine Rice Research Institute Scientist Riza Abilgos-Ramos, Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Bella Basalong, and Founder/Director of Lalang Hu Mga Laga Maria Carolina Dawonlay also spoke during the event and discussed the role and contribution of women in agriculture.
A spotlight talk was given by Bicol Region Chairperson Bernadette De Los Santos of the Council for Agriculture and Fisheries, and Cherish Fisherfolk and Fisherman Cooperative Chairperson Mardy Montaño wherein they shared their success stories and how they helped the women in their community by involving them in their livelihood activities.
As conclusion to the event, the participants were given the time to share their insights, ideas and lessons learned during the discussions. By Alyssa Dawn Alalag