Women have limited access to land
SANTO DOMINGO. Although the participation of women in the peasant economy and their contribution to the reproduction of the labor force is important, it continues to face serious limitations to fulfill their roles as agricultural producers and in the materialization of their efforts to improve their living conditions and that of their families.
These are some of the approaches included in the book "Gender Equity in Land Tenure and Agrarian Reform Programs in the Dominican Republic", put into circulation by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). ) in the Dominican Republic, the Confederation of Women of the Countryside (CONAMUCA) and Veterinarios sin Fronteras.
The publication, presented on the occasion of the International Day of Rural Women, is the result of a joint effort between the three organizations with the aim of raising awareness among the population about the conditions and position of women in the claim for land and in the different agrarian reform programs executed in the last 50 years in the country.
This research shows that access to land is one of the main constraints faced by rural women, who have been subjected to a series of social, cultural and economic conditions that have prevented them from exercising their rights as producers. and as a citizen to access, use and control productive resources.
The research highlights the disadvantaged position suffered by women in the various programs of agrarian reform and land distribution in the country, despite having actively participated in movements to fight for this resource and in the development of agricultural production. .
The publication states that although recent laws have incorporated modifications to improve the recognition of women's equal rights to land, cultural practices and institutional schemes that continue to limit women's access to land and its rights underlie Dominican society. contribution to food production.
In this sense, the book raises as necessary policy measures that substantially improve the exercise of women's rights on the land, either through tenure reform programs or the improvement of the availability of financial resources. Allow them access to this resource that is fundamental for their economic performance and for the improvement of their living conditions.
As FAO points out, incorporating gender equality in the agricultural sector would guarantee an increase in the production of women farmers by 20 to 30 percent, and would generate an increase in world agricultural production of 2.5 to 4 percent. All of this, as a consequence, would contribute to lifting 100 to 150 million people out of hunger and malnutrition.
The research on the study on which this publication is based was conducted by Fátima Portorreal, and received contributions from Blanca Amado, Juana Ferrer and Fernando Fernández, while Zoraida García de Frías was in charge of the review and final technical edition.
The book was circulated in the Julio Ravelo de la Fuente room Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC).
On the International Day of Rural Women
The International Day of Rural Women was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations at 18 in December of 2007, in recognition of "the decisive role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in the promotion of agricultural development and rural areas, the improvement of food security and the eradication of rural poverty ".
The 15 October 2008 was celebrated for the first time.