Survey: Armenian female farmers able to make their decisions independently
08.05.2013,
19:55
The results of the study conducted by Armenian Young Women’s Association show that Armenian female farmers are able to make their decisions independently.
YEREVAN, May 8. /ARKA/. The results of the study conducted by Armenian Young Women’s Association show that Armenian female farmers are able to make their decisions independently.
The study that is now being implemented under Oxfam, British organization, shows that in many rural families, women make decisions alone. First of all, this applies to those families whose men are labor migrants abroad.
The results of the study were presented today in Yerevan a two-day conference focused on agriculture problems. Some 94 women and 86 men in six rural communities in Tavush province have been surveyed.
Many women who shoulder the whole agricultural work reach success, especially those women having higher education diplomas or a soviet-era experience.
Some 21% of the surveyed women said they decide independently how to run farming, 33% of male respondents said men make decisions.
Some 46% of female respondents said they take part in decision-making process along with their husbands. As a rule, transport and technical equipment problems are solved by men, while women take care of crop and seeding.
Women at age above 35, as a rule, consider themselves successful, since their children are already grown up, and they have more time for developing their agricultural businesses.
Women farmers are mostly teachers, accountants, hairdressers and medical nurses.
The survey showed that 29% of women and 27% of men are absolutely not satisfied with their monthly salaries, since poverty rate is high in rural areas.
In 82% of rural families, the budget is distributed on the joint decision of the man and the woman, while in 20% budget decisions are made by men.
The majority of respondents pointed out the lack of professional consultations and the lack of Internet usage skills for getting necessary information as the key problem.
In this connection, Lilit Asatryan, chairwoman of Armenian Young Women’s Association, told ARKA News Agency that insurance and related risks as well as sales of finished products in markets and water shortage have become female farmers’ major problems.
“We are trying to identify major problems of this area and present their solutions to concerned agencies,” she said while summarizing the results of the conference.
The conference is organized by Armenian Young Women’s Association as part of the Active Women in the Rural Communities of Armenia program being implemented in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank.
The aim of the program is to assist female farmers in Armenia’s rural communities and to strengthen their capability to develop agriculture by creating and strengthening business ties among producing, processing and financing companies.
The Active Women in the Rural Communities of Armenia program includes trainings, seminars and professional consulting for women farmers from Ashtarak, Ararat, Yerevan and adjacent villages. -0-
