The Impacts of Farmer Organisations for Women in Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia

Isabelle Oude-Egberink

doi:10.25907/00363

A feminisation of agriculture in Cambodia means that women are taking more responsibility for smallholder farming. Women's increased workload and their lack of access to key resources such as extension services, formal credit and new agricultural equipment impairs their ability to participate fully in the agricultural sector. One way to support women's engagement is to cooperate as a group in order to access these resources. Collective approaches to agricultural production have benefited women in developing countries by improving their access to resources, increasing productivity and increasing their decision-making power. In Cambodia, farmer organisations (including co-operatives) have become popular ways through which smallholders, in particular women, are being supported to cooperate. Despite this enthusiasm within the development community, there is an overall lack of research on women's agricultural livelihoods in Southeast Asia and limited academic critique that evaluates women's experiences of farmer organisations in this region. This thesis aimed to explore the impacts of farmer organisations on women in Cambodia through a qualitative case study of Preah Vihear Province. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were conducted with agricultural cooperatives, farmer groups and project officers across four case studies. Qualitative analysis using NVivo software was used to compare participant experiences and practices across different farmer organisations operating in Preah Vihear. This study found that women who benefit most from farmer organisations are likely to be those who occupy leadership positions, have less childcare responsibilities and sufficient financial capital to invest in commercial production. Factors that enable women to engage include husband support and leaders. Farmer organisations helped women access resources, markets and knowledge. Constraints to women's involvement included women's reproductive roles, unequal distribution of resources by development projects, earlier stages of group establishment, and ineffective leadership. These findings are important because they highlight (1) the influence of development projects in shaping collective action, (2) the need to respect different farmer organisation trajectories and stages of group development when encouraging collective action and (3) the importance of recognising women's heterogeneity in shaping how women relate to farmer organisations. They also confirm others' findings that show the potential for farmer organisations to improve women's access to information, commercial markets and resources. In conclusion, farmer organisations showed potential to support women through alleviating women's productive constraints, encouraging women's economic independence and supporting their family's well-being. The impacts of farmer organisations for women depended on (1) women's different identities and positions and (2) the extent to which collective action and new roles encouraged by farmer organisations were being embraced.

The Impacts of Farmer Organisations for Women in Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia

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