Forum debates women’s participation in family farming

Dialogues on diversity and the role of women in rural areas were on the agenda of the ordinary meeting of the Southern Region Family Farming Forum (FAF). On the occasion, reports were heard from women, from different communities, about their experiences. The meeting took place on Tuesday (10), at the Family Farmers Training Center (CECAF), located at the Cascata Experimental Station of Embrapa Clima Temperado (Pelotas, RS) and was attended by 34 participants.

Women were the protagonists. Participating in the debate were the settler of the Herdeiros Da Resistência de Pelotas/RS Settlement, Roseli Motta dos Santos; the farmer from Canguçu/RS, Talice Ferreira; the agroecology student at Escola Família Agrícola da Região Sul (Efasul), Yasmin Rutz; the indigenous Guarani from Tenente Portela/RS, Talcira Gomes; and the quilombola from the Coxilha Negra Community, from São Lourenco do Sul/RS, Adriana da Silva.

The speeches highlighted the trajectory of women in family farming and their role in diversification, as well as the importance of rescuing and preserving traditional knowledge. At the time, two words were considered fundamental by participants and listeners: trust and harvest. According to them, sisterhood – support between women – is a foundation for improvements in society. “Much of what I learned comes from my grandmother’s knowledge and we are keeping this traditional knowledge alive in the communities,” said Talcira.

Farmer Yasmin Rutz spoke about the importance of female entrepreneurs for the diversification of family farming and the permanence of young people in the countryside. “With family farming, people are starting to see different opportunities to broaden their horizons. This encourages young people to stay in the field. And a lot of this goes through women’s work in agriculture,” she said.

 Sisterhood and the 21 days of activism to end violence against women were also on the agenda of the meeting, through the speech of sociologist and extensionist from Emater/RS-Ascar, Márcia de Lima Cabral. This movement is an annual campaign promoted by the United Nations (UN), which proposes 21 days of mobilization of individuals and organizations in the fight to eradicate violence and guarantee women's Human Rights.

In Brazil, the mobilization covers the period from November 20th, Black Awareness Day, to December 10th, International Human Rights Day. As a result of this campaign, some reports of domestic violence against women were also heard.

Family Farming Forum

FAF was created in 1996 to discuss the difficulties of family farming and propose solutions to the demands brought by participants. The Forum is also a space for deliberating public policies aimed at the sustainable development of agriculture. Its coordination is shared by sectoral representations of governmental and non-governmental organizations, quilombola, women, fishermen, family farmers and agrarian reform settlers, who meet every second Tuesday of each month to debate issues pertinent to agriculture. familiar.