The experiences of women farmers and indigenous women illustrate the intersection of economic exploitation and gender inequality in rural areas.
By Dulce Amor Rodriguez
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — Landlessness, development projects, and militarization continue to threaten the livelihoods of women farmers and Indigenous women in rural communities, according to the latest Ulat Lila report by the Center for Women’s Resources.
The report, presented during a forum at the University of the Philippines Diliman, examined how neoliberal policies in agriculture and natural resource management affect women in rural areas.
The report noted that a significant portion of the rural population consists of women farmers, indigenous peoples, and members of national minorities who depend on land and natural resources for survival.
It found that women farmers and Indigenous women remain among the most marginalized sectors in the country’s economic system.
Landlessness, liberalization and development aggression
Landlessness remains one of the most pressing issues confronting rural women.
Many women farmers cultivate land they do not own, leaving them vulnerable to displacement when corporations or government projects convert agricultural areas for commercial development.
The report also flagged widespread land use conversion. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that over 620,000 hectares of irrigated farmland were converted to other uses between 2012 and 2022, with Central Luzon—the country’s rice granary—recording the largest share of converted land.
Read: Indigenous peoples raise alarm over rising rights violations
These policies often push rural families into deeper poverty as they lose access to land that sustains their livelihoods.
Agricultural liberalization has also worsened the economic conditions of rural women.
The report linked these pressures to agricultural liberalization policies that open domestic markets to imports while limiting government support for small farmers.
It said that farmers face rising production costs while agricultural prices remain low, leaving many families trapped in debt.
Filipina Durias, 48, a leader of the Samahan ng Malayang Kababaihan in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, described how seasonal farm work provides only limited and unstable income. She works in “pagruruging,” a process in hybrid rice seed production where workers manually remove mixed or unwanted plants from seed fields.
“For every hectare, the total payment is only about 1,000 pesos, which is divided among six to twelve workers,” she said, explaining that workers themselves shoulder food and transportation costs.
Durias added that the hybrid rice they help process is later bought by traders for P60 ($1.02) to P65 ($1.10) per kilo and sold as hybrid seed at much higher prices—up to P1,500 ($25.43) per kilo.
She said that earning P600 ($10.17) for a full day’s work is already considered fortunate. Their group often leaves home at 5 a.m. to travel to distant farms, renting vehicles for P500 ($8.48) because of rough roads, and working close to 12 hours for the modest daily pay.
Women perform key agricultural tasks—from planting and harvesting to processing and marketing—but their labor often remains unrecognized and unpaid.
This lack of recognition reinforces gender inequality in rural economies and limits women’s access to credit, land titles, and agricultural support programs.
Militarization in rural communities
Beyond economic hardship, the report documented continuing militarization and human rights violations in rural areas.
Women leaders involved in land rights advocacy reported cases of harassment, intimidation, and red-tagging. The struggle has also included what advocates describe as intimidation and the January 23 arrest of seven protesters—including local leaders and Indigenous women—during the dismantling of an anti-mining barricade in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya. The detainees were later released after the charges against them were dropped.
The report said such actions place women activists at risk while they organize communities around land and livelihood issues.
Indigenous women leaders also reported pressure from military forces to sign documents or withdraw from community campaigns defending ancestral lands.
Some activists have faced legal harassment through accusations such as cyberlibel and terrorism financing, which advocacy groups consider attempts to silence dissent.
One example highlighted in the report is the mining conflict in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya.
Residents, indigenous communities, and environmental groups protested the 3,102-hectare exploration permit granted to Woggle Corporation, an affiliate of FCF Minerals and Metals Exploration PLC.
The proposed project involves exploration for gold and copper.
Community members organized protests for more than a year, arguing that mining operations threaten their ancestral land, water sources, and agricultural livelihoods.
Residents also built a people’s barricade to prevent mining equipment from entering the area. Their actions prompted the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to declare a force majeure suspension of the exploration activities in February.
Community members described the suspension as a temporary victory but continue to demand the permanent cancellation of the mining permit.
Collective farming and grassroots organizing
Despite these challenges, the report also highlighted examples of community organizing and collective farming initiatives.
Groups, such as Samahan sa Lupang Ramos, have organized farmers to cultivate land collectively and defend their rights to agricultural resources.
These initiatives aim to strengthen food production and build solidarity among rural communities.
The report also cited bungkalan campaigns in large haciendas, where farmers cultivate idle land to support local food supply and assert land rights.
The CWR said the experiences of women farmers and indigenous women illustrate the intersection of economic exploitation and gender inequality in rural areas.
While neoliberal policies reshape agriculture and resource extraction, rural women continue to resist displacement, defend their communities, and organize for land and livelihood rights.
For many rural women, the struggle for land is inseparable from the fight against policies that continue to displace communities in the name of development. (RVO)
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