Imagine yourself carrying a 30-kilo sack of copra on your back for two-kilometers and then going back for more. This is but one of the tasks carried out by women in Barangays Buenavista and Mabini in Mulanay, Quezon. They have no choice but to carry the sacks of copra to the the nearest buying station,^[1] because most of them are tenants who have no farm animals to haul produce. These women perform other tasks in and out of the farm to augment their families' meager income from coconut production.  Yet, according to government data, they constitute only three percent of labor utilized in coconut farms.^[2]

The extent and quality of services received by and opportunities available to women in the coconut sector largely depend on the recognition given to women's contribution to the coconut industry. Sadly, because little value is given to women's productive and reproductive work, they are systematically neglected and get little from the services extended by the government to the coconut sector.

Poor regard for women in the coconut sector

Data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) show the disparities between male and female workers in the coconut sector.

According to the 2003-2005 Wage Statistics, the highest paid activity in coconut farm production was "hauling of coconut by man and machine" where the average daily wage rate was PhP240.86. Land preparation, meantime, had the lowest daily wage rate of PhP140.12. Hired labor constituted about 50 percent of the total labor utilized while the rest of the labor needs were provided by the operator and family members.

Male farm workers formed 93 percent of the total labor utilized; consequently constituting the most paid workers in the sector as well. Female farm workers were only 1.79 percent of the hired workers in coconut farms who were paid in cash.

Compared with other crop sectors, the coconut sector recorded the highest wage gap between men and women in 2002 and 2003. In 2002, the wage difference was PhP20.24; it rose to PhP21.91 the year after. The gap, however, decreased in 2004 and 2005. (See Graph 1. Trend in Daily Real Wage Gaps between men and women across crops, 2003-2005)

Graph 1. Trend in Daily Real Wage Gaps between men and women workers across crops, 2003-2005. Source: Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, DA

While a quick look at the data might illustrate how men dominate the sector, these, however, do not show the direct and indirect roles women perform in the farm. The direct role covers various actual farm production activities like land preparation, fertilizer application, husk removal, and picking of nuts.  In fact, women take part in almost every phase of the production process except in nut harvesting (or "pagkakawit" in the vernacular). The indirect role often involves securing farm capital, usually through loans, primarily for the hiring of workers and other production and transportation needs; marketing of produce; and other income-generating activities like charcoal making, coconut by-product processing, and vegetable and livestock raising. Evidently, indirect farm activities are as important as direct farm activities in ensuring the economic survival of their families.

What can the national government do to ease burden of women in the coconut sector?

This was one of the questions raised by rural women leaders during the 2^nd National Rural Women Congress in San Mateo, Rizal in October 2005. (The congress was convened by the Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan or PKKK.)^[3]

Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Executive Assistant Ms. Alma Ruiz believes "there is so much wealth in coconut. [There is so much to gain] if only we can get our acts together." She said the priority of the PCA was to plant coconut trees especially in idle lands and that women could take part in the government's development plan for the sector.  Women, she explained, could be a potential force in revitalizing the industry because they could extract various products from coconut.  These products have big markets overseas. China, for instance, has high demand for coconut husks.  Coconut charcoal, animal feeds, virgin coconut oil, and coconut husks used for heating homes during winter are much sought-after in Japan. To help women take part and benefit from the possible windfall, the PCA has made various village-level technologies in its regional offices available to interested women coco farmers.  Ms. Ruiz even encouraged the members of the PKKK to submit project proposals for future partnerships with the PCA. 

The PKKK is optimistic that if such collaborations are forged, women will reap significant economic benefits and gain better recognition as stakeholders of the coconut industry. Still, there are roadblocks. The PCA, to begin with, has no comprehensive data on the country's rural women, especially those belonging to the coconut sector. "Walang datos ang PCA sa probinsya kung ilan ba talaga ang babaeng magniniyog," Cita Esmao, a PKKK leader from Quezon province, observed. ("The PCA provincial office has no data on the number of women coconut farmers.")  This lack of vital information already puts in question whether or not the government's development program for the coconut sector will benefit rural women.

Ironically, the dearth of information is also prevalent even among the ranks of rural women themselves. Because they are not fully equipped with important and crucial data about their plight, they cannot make informed choices and articulate, much less assert, their rights. Let's take as examples the right to own the land and the right to use the proceeds of the coco levy.  In an early survey conducted by the Philippine Peasant Institute (PPI) in 2002, not even half (46 percent) of the 81 women coconut farmers interviewed were aware of the coco levy. Majority (56 percent) of them were not even familiar with agrarian reform and only less than a third of the respondents believe they have the right to the land they till. These figures clearly show that majority of the women in the coconut sector are far from being effective advocates of their own causes. (Another round of baseline survey is being conducted by the Centro Saka Inc.)

A review of the PCA's microfinance and credit program for women is also needed. This program aims to provide working capital for the livelihood projects of small coconut farmers, tenants and farm workers; and enhance their entrepreneurial skills.^[4] The target beneficiaries are women coconut farmers and wives who may also be qualified dependents of coconut farmer who own not more than five hectares of land, leaseholders, tenants and farm workers. The loans will amount to a minimum of PhP1,000 per farmer and may be used for intercropping of cash crops, high value crops cultivation (HVCC), livestock raising and fattening, establishment of consumer stores, direct copra marketing, and other livelihood activities.

It is difficult to gauge if the PCA microfinance program goes beyond credit: that is, whether or not it includes capability building, up-scaling of projects, linking to sustainable markets, social security, and gender sensitivity training, among others.  Several studies have shown that micro lending projects often only become an added burden to the women especially when the project implementers are concerned only about repayment schedules and do not have a wholistic approach to addressing the poverty problem among women through credit assistance.

In conclusion, the issues raised here are also challenges to the women in the coconut sector. They must push the government to integrate women concerns in its coconut farm development program. They must also prod coconut farmers' groups to ensure that women are given the chance to participate in efforts to improve the viability of the sector. Lastly, they must also gain the needed skills for effective advocacy work so they could engage policy makers and tell them that women are not just bit players in the coconut sector's saga, they are also key actors whose needs, aspirations, and voices should be heard.