2023-07-09 06:41:05
Women’s right to own land is restricted in the laws of more than 100 countries. Although they represent more than 50% of rural agriculture and produce up to 80% of the food in some regions, only 15% managed to own the land they work.
In Argentina the figure is 16%, very close to the world average. In turn, and according to the latest data from INDEC, barely 20% of Argentine farms are run by a woman.
On many occasions, access to land occurs through inheritance. This is the case of Diana Chediack, who is from Tucumán and runs a business run by three women. Together with her sister and her daughter, she is engaged in the production of lemons, pecan nuts and raising laying hens. This latest project, which was started by her daughter Carla, applies a technique called “free chickens” because they are not kept in a pen. With this method, the family seeks to improve the quality of life of the animals and production.
“I started working in the family farm at the age of 24 growing lemons and I was learning the trade,” the producer told PERFIL. Chediack, who began that path 36 years ago, said that at that time “women in the countryside were much less common than they are now,” so it was difficult to break through at that time.
Mónica Elizabeth Olave has been an agricultural and livestock producer for 23 years, and also inherited the activity from her family. Today she works on more than 700 hectares to which two vineyards have been added in the Gardey area, Buenos Aires province. Although women were gaining space, two decades ago things were different. “It was not easy to integrate a sector run mostly by men, but when they got to know me and see that we can carry out the same tasks, they accepted me,” she assured PERFIL.
The issue of the role of women in production and the importance of equalizing access to land arose again in the framework of the Day of Desertification and Drought, in which United Nations authorities highlighted the role of women not only in production, but also in environmental protection.
Within this framework, the UN launched a campaign called “Your land, your rights”, which tries to put this debate on the table. “Women and girls are important guardians of the environment, but too often they are excluded from participation and leadership in the management and restoration of land resources,” says a document released by the international organization.
The campaign also highlighted that if women had the same right to access land, agricultural production would grow by up to 4% and the impact of malnutrition would be considerably less.
The project run by the women of the Chediack family has a clear environmental policy. “My sister is in charge of the environmental part, she does monitoring, studies, and applies biology to production,” she commented. “Phytosanitary products are always used with a green band, and the times of application and environmental conditions are taken into account.”
The inheritance of family land is projected into the future. “We do it also thinking that future generations can continue working in the same place,” added the producer.
According to the United Nations, the more equal rights are guaranteed regarding access to land, the more benefits society as a whole. And, since ownership comes hand in hand with decision-making, giving women ownership could contribute to “improving soil health and yields”.
For Chediack, working in the field requires constant training. She affirms that, although it is a task that has historically been carried out by men, this has nothing to do with a natural capacity of this kind. “I think it’s a matter of ability, not gender,” she concluded.
Training is also key for Olave, who decided to study Business Administration to enhance her role as a producer. “My time in that career has helped me a lot in decision-making,” she added.
The right to land, whether acquired or inherited, “represents power and identity,” stressed the executive director of UN Women, Sima Sami Bahous. “Therefore, women’s control of land is critical to achieving gender equality and also economic independence,” she summarized.
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