Caribbean - MATCH International Programs

Barbados

Women and Development Unit (WAND)

A new partner of MATCH this year, WAND of the School of Continuing Studies at the University of the West Indies in Barbados is undertaking a social research project that is pan-regional and will analyse data involving social justice issues and women. Policy advocacy tools will be developed to raise awareness on issues such as women and HIV/AIDS, gender and education and violence against women. This project aims to improve awareness and knowledge within academia, among policy makers and the general public. The information coming out from this project will be useful for social activists in the region and for others to gain a better understanding of the issues facing women in the Caribbean.

Jamaica

St. Thomas Women's Agricultural Initiative (STWAI)

STWAI is a sustainable farming initiative run by women that addresses the issue of poverty and rural women. Located on 30 acres of rolling hills in the south-eastern part of Jamaica in the parish of St. Thomas, (pop. 56,000) the farm is run by a core group of 8-10 women. The women farmers maintain a steady crop of easy to manage cassava, plantains and sweet potatoes to sell to suppliers. The women receive technical training from the Rural Agricultural Development Agency as well as other support from the Women's Bureau of Jamaica to improve their baseline skills in farming and management. The farmers are keen on expanding their business and have explored hot pepper and honey production. The women also gain skills useful in personal development for life at home and in the community. The women are survivors and meet the challenges of hurricane season with formidable force as the winds and rain that bring devastation.

Pan regional - Trinidad and Tobago

Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA)

This initiative is conducted in several communities throughout the Caribbean region through local CAFRA groups to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS, particularly, among youth. The focus this year will be in the communications realm with the production of a radio program on the importance of good nutrition for those living with HIV/AIDS and the release of CAFRA newsletters highlighting the recent results of it work on youth awareness programs on HIV/AIDS in the region. Improvement on behaviour change among youth is expected from this project.

Belize

Women's Issues Network Belize (WIN-Belize)

Another new partner for MATCH, this group focuses on awareness raising and sensitization on HIV/AIDS and women in marginalized communities. Activities will include a mix of community outreach and dialogue, dissemination of printed materials, radio advertisements and a media documentary to be used in training. Importantly, WIN will address the linkages between violence against women and their increased susceptibility to HIV/AIDS at a national health conference to be organized.

Opinion Piece: Gender rights and food security

Here are the facts:

Haiti:

The cost of rice in Haiti has risen nearly over 150% in the past year.
Mothers forced to feed their children dirt patties mixed with salt and vegetable shortening.
Some of these mothers were once rice farmers.
Much of the problem stems from US subsidies flooding the Haitian market since the mid-1980s when Haiti was forced to liberalize its trade due to IMF loans.
The imported rice is sold for less than it cost to grow and local farmers cannot compete.

(Source: MADRE, July 17, 08)

Australia:

Drought in the Murray-Darling Basin is at record lows. This region produces 41 per cent of Australia's fruit, vegetables and grain. Agricultural products worth more than £10bn are exported from the region annually to Asia and the Middle East.

(source: The Independent, Australia faces food crisis as rivers reach new low, July 11, 2008)

Africa:

Food costs have soared in recent months, with the cost of imported rice in Somalia rising by 350% since the beginning of last year.
Areas of Ethiopia have seen the price of wheat more than double over a six-month period.
It is estimated that in those two east African nations alone there are an estimated 7.2 million people in need of emergency assistance.

(Source: Oxfam: Soaring food prices threaten millions, July 24, 2008)

Canada:

For Canadians, the rising cost of fuel will have particular impact on the cost of food, particularly when consumers have come to expect a year-round supply of fresh fruits and vegetables in their grocery stores. Anything that is trucked in, flown in, that comes from farther away than our normal hundred kilometres, is going to cost that much more.

(Source: Food crisis could hit Canada, expert warns. CTV.ca News. Apr. 24 2008)

G8's response to the international crisis:

Called for more open markets in food trade. What is the hitch? Poor countries can't use tariffs to protect farmers from unfair competition.
Will provide aid through the IMF to countries like Haiti. What is the issue? The aid will be tied to strict trade liberalization that hurts poor people and farmers while benefiting multinational food corporations.
The G8 pushed for stricter patent laws. What does this mean? The rules take ownership of seeds - the very basis of all agriculture - away from small farmers and enable giant biotech companies like Monsanto to control the food supply.

(Source: MADRE, July 17, 08))

Possible root causes:

Scarcity? Perhaps failed economic policies long championed by the G8 are more to blame such as trade liberalization and industrial agriculture. These policies, which treat food as a commodity rather than a human right, have induced chaotic climate change, oil dependency, and the depletion of the Earth's land and water resources as well as today's food crisis.
Since the mid-1990s, international trade rules had bankrupted millions of small farmers in the global south. Because of huge government subsidies to factory farms in the US and Europe, food imported from these countries became cheaper than food produced by local farmers. (Source: MADRE, July 17, 08)
Systematic reduction in funding to local agricultural research over the past 15 years has proved detrimental to local communities.
Surge in emphasis on bio-fuels is displacing agriculture for food across the Southern hemisphere.

(Source: Dr. Chandra Madramootoo, Dean of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Macdonald College, McGill University, Canada)

Women's rights, land and access to credit:

Women have no legal right to own land in many parts of the developing world.
Women are routinely shut out of government agriculture programs.
They lose out on access to credit, seeds, tools, and training that is more crucial than ever now that farmers must adapt to climate change.
Many women's groups see these impediments as human rights issues.
80% of the developing world's food is produced by women farmers.
Men are involved usually in cash crops and tend to spend disposable income on luxury items.
Most women in the developing south do not have land rights and this affects their ability to get credit.
Families' nutritional needs are better met by women who grow crops and fish.
Women spend extra income on health and educational needs of children.

Our partner in Jamaica, the St. Thomas Women's Agricultural Initiative, is a successful initiative because of many factors that include:

More than 4 years of support by the Women's Bureau of Jamaica.
Technical training provided by the Rural Agricultural Development Agency.
Dedicated women farmers and a community that supports them.
Eagerness of women to move farm into areas of greater income earning potential such as honey and hot pepper sauce production – training provided.
Integrated training in agri-business, community development and gender rights.
Women starting to become advocates of rural development and demanding improvements to the local socio-economic infrastructure.

Indeed, unpopular changes need to be made in the area of trade protectionism, the surge towards bio-fuels, patents, profits for big food companies and more towards support for small scale farming in the South and in the North- bringing local solutions to local problems. These solutions will need a serious philosphical shift in balance of power in the area of farming, trade and development. As recognized by governments and institutions, civil society and the private sector- everyone- is aware of the destruction of the environment by large scale agriculture, so, it many not be that impossible to return to a more healthier approach to farming and meeting local needs in the near future. Initiatives such as STWAI can be applauded throughout the developing world, and it has shown that a commitment by governments to support women's human rights, define and adopt pro-gender initiatives in small scale sustainable farming for women in rural communities interested in farming can be successful for local farmers and buyers.

by Indira Bondy
Program Officer
Caribbean Region