Promoting gender equity through integrated rice-fish farming system in

Myanmar: Insights from Maubin & Letpadan Township

Lemlem Aregu, L. Su Su San, Nilar Shein & et al.

Lemlem Aregu Behailu, WorldFish-Myanmar

Nay Pi Taw, 12-13 June 2018

Background

¾Rice-fish project: ACIAR funded o 1 year pilot project July

2016-Oct 2017 o A follow up 3 years project

since Oct 2017 • to assess the potential of

integrated rice-fish business models

• to increase income of farmers in the disadvantaged flood-prone areas of the Ayeyarwaddy Delta

Introduction

• Rice & fish are key components of agricultural & diets (Asia & Africa)

• The practice of catching fish from rice field has long history (Asia & Myanmar)

• Integrated rice-fish system evolving from traditional rice-fish system • Economic benefits

• Nutritional benefits

• Ecological benefits

• Livelihoods: 70% of Myanmar’s 51 million people rely on • agriculture for income and well-being

• with rice and fish the key foci of the agricultural sector

• The assumption of the project is introduction of high-yielding rice varieties along with fish may increase rice field productivity

• may also add to total farm production and household livelihood

Research questions

1. How can integrated rice-fish production system contribute to gender equity & women’s empowerment?

2. What are the potential of integrating fish in rice production system in enhancing equitable benefits to women and men farmers

3. What are the barriers to gender-equitable outcomes from improved/integrated rice-fish production system

• gendered inequities in assets, resource and labour allocation

• Including financial benefits

Research methods

¾ Qualitative research methods • A sex-disaggregated data collected

• FGDs: with 11 groups (3 Maubin & 8 Letpadan • Only women’s focus groups • Only men’s focus groups • Community leaders (both men and women)

• Key Informant Interviews (9 in Maubin) • 3 with DoF and DoA staff members • 6 with community members (3 women & 3

men) • From 3 production systems (1 each gender )

• Rice-rice, Fish farming, Rice-fish

Data collection tools

• Various participatory tools used

• to facilitate the discussion & interviews • resource mapping

• wealth ranking

• seasonal calendar

• gender activity calendar

26

70

4

Now

Poor

Middle

Rich

10

86

4

10 years ago

Poor

Middle

Rich

Study sites

Township Village Date of data collection

Letpadan

V1:Kanyin Tan

31 Jan- 2 Feb 2018 V2: Chan Thar Goni V3: Kan Gyan V4: Gway Tauk Kwin

Maubin

V5: Lat Khoat Pin

7-10 Nov 2016

# farmers

Findings: Gender roles: Fisheries sector

• In all locations fish farming is not common (except 1 male farmer farm fish in a pond)

• Catch wild fish from cannel, stream, and rice field

• They have low fish production

• Men’s role: Fishing or catching fish assumed to be a sole responsibility of men • Except in village 4 in Letpadan where women reported to have 20-30 % of share for fishing

• Women’s role: Selling fish and fish processing is women’s responsibilities. • Except in village 1 where men have also 20% of share in selling fish.

Findings: Gender roles: Rice production

• Women and men have distinct and shared roles for different production activities in rice system

• Men’s role: in general rice assumed to be men’s domain and they have a great role in rice production

• They almost participate in all production activities either as sole or shared contributors

• land cultivation, direct seeding, spraying herbicide & pesticide, and harvesting using machine.

• Women’s role: Women also have a distinct role in rice farming. • Particularly transplanting, and weeding, and manual harvesting.

Findings: Implication to Rice-fish system

• It is evident that the rice & fish production & marketing activities are highly gender-differentiated.

• In integrated rice-fish production system change is expected on • Gender relations dynamics

• have implication in gender inequalities

• Hence a deeper gender analysis on • the role of women and men,

• their workload, and

• benefit sharing from the integrated rice-fish production system is essential

• Helps to design and come up with gender inclusive and responsive strategies and interventions to ensure gender equity

Opportunities: Women’s empowerment

• A great potential to promote integrated rice-fish production system in Maubin & Letpada • Plenty of water during monsoon period, access to good quality of land & water, • 60% of the farmers already catching wild fish naturally from rice field (Maubin) • Availability of wild fish are potential sources of fingerlings for stocking • Fertilizer not used for monsoon rice

• The experiment results from the rice-fish pilot project site revealed • 97% of net income increase in integrated rice-fish plot Vs monoculture rice plot

• Women potentially benefit from integrated rice-fish system through increased fish production • Traditionally women have a great role in fish selling in Myanmar • Women have either full or shared control over the income from fish

• However, how can we keep the traditional role of women in selling fish in integrated rice fish farming system??

Challenges: Gender inequities

¾ Fishing and rice production is quite often classified as men’s occupation

¾ Women are believed to have little role to play, while in reality ¾ Fish sector • Women play large role in post harvesting of fish

• in fish trade and fish processing

• However these roles have been relatively invisible & little attention is given to the fishing industry’s

¾ Rice production system • Similarly in rice production system men are the focus of the interventions

• women have limited access and control over the farm land

• their contributions in transplanting and weeding undervalued & underestimated

• Do not have key decision to share the benefit they deserve

• This might perpetuate in the integrated rice-fish production system

The way forward: Integrated rice-fish

¾Opportunity to women share the benefit from rice production system

• As women have a greater role in fish trading

• As fish production increases there will be a surplus fish for women to sell • women’s economic empowerment

• improving the nutrition of the family.

• However, this will not happen automatically

The way forward

¾ To ensure that both women & men would equally benefit from the new production system

• while demonstrating the system, mindful provision of equal opportunities for both women and men farmers is needed

• This suggests the need to understand • the dynamics of the gender relationship and • identify the needs & preferences of women and men farmers • Understand the opportunities and challenges to address gender inequalities

• Ultimately helps to identify appropriate gender-inclusive strategies and interventions

• Ensure equal benefit sharing between women & men farmers from the integrated rice-fish farming systems

Thank You