In our work in Papua New Guinea (PNG), funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), we find a whole family approach essential for releasing women and girls to participate fully in the horticultural supply chain. As endorsed by our PNG research partners, if men appreciate the value to the household economy of releasing women from domestic tasks to undertake smallholder farming, then men are cooperative with the empowerment of women. Our methodology, because of low literacy rates in many villages, reflects visual ethnography techniques, such as colourful posters depicting the local supply or value chain, photovoice or drawing. Taking an assets based approach to begin with assists out-of-country researchers to appreciate the knowledge, skills and technologies already present that may be built upon. Only then do we canvas training needs in horticulture, marketing and business practices. It is of course critical to follow-up, on-site, all training to see what has been adopted or adapted and what impact this has had on production, marketing and sales of vegetables. However, ensuring the human resources from in-country researchers and trainers to do this is the biggest challenge, in terms of cost and people power.
Policy change is elusive, sometimes seen to be interfering, but increasingly essential to improving women's and girl's access to education, agricultural training programs and land. Collaborative enterprises are starting to work in the Central Province of PNG where young women in Kerekadi - as one outcome of training - are sharing land and human resources to improve production (e.g. letting 'gardens' lie fallow) and marketing. Older women act as cooks and child minders, while the younger stronger women tend the gardens for soil preparation, irrigation, pest and disease managment, harvesting and marketing.
Prof. Barbara Chambers