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“Vision 50/50: Rural Women and Resilience to Poverty” Tackling Climate Change and Rural Poverty for Sustainable Development

Thursday October 20, 2011 @ 10:30am – 3:00pm St James Gibraltar Anglican Church

Endeavour District, St. Ann

Overview of National Public Forum for Rural Women 2011

The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES, UWI), the Bureau of

Women’s Affairs (BWA) in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, the UWI’s Institute for

Gender and Development Studies (IGDS, Mona Unit), and the Jamaica Network of Rural

Women Producers (JNRWP) collaborated to commemorate International Day for Rural Women

2011 under the theme: Vision 50/50: Rural Women and Resilience to Poverty - Tackling

Climate Change and Rural Poverty for Sustainable Development.

This was the first national public forum held to commemorate and celebrate the contribution of

rural women to national development. The national public forum was held on Thursday, October

20, 2011 from 10:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. in Endeavour District, Gibraltar, St. Ann.

Jamaica joined other countries around the world and observed October 15 as International Day

for Rural Women which has been celebrated since 2008. The commemoration recognizes the

BRIEF REPORT ON

RURAL WOMEN’S PUBLIC FORUM 2011

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critical role and contribution of rural women and girls in enhancing agricultural and rural

development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.

The objectives of the commemoration were to highlight the multiple challenges faced by the

poor in rural spaces, to recognize the pivotal role that rural women play in shaping the resilience

of these spaces and to share ideas for an action research project that seeks to improve the

livelihoods of poor rural women and families and enhance their ability to adapt to climate change

over the next 50 years. This project partnership, between the two main entities – the University

of the West Indies and the Bureau of Women’s Affairs in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and

Culture – is a component of the Sustainable Rural and Agricultural Development (S/RAD)

Cluster within SALISES’ “50/50” project.

Background

The focus on rural women is in accordance with the Gender Sector Plan of Vision 2030 Jamaica

National Development Plan, the National Policy for Gender Equality as well as the United

Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) multi-year programme of work for 2010-

2014. This special attention to rural women is also timely as the theme for the 56th session of the

CSW (27 February – 9 March, 2012) is: "The empowerment of rural women and their role in

poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges."

Jamaica’s support to the sustainable future of rural women is consistent with its commitment to

the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against

Women (CEDAW) as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

As Jamaica reflects on 50 years of development and plans for the future, it is recognized that

climate change increases risks and vulnerabilities faced by rural women, especially those who

are poor and are single female heads of households. In keeping with the mandate of the

organizing entities – SALISES, BWA, IGDS and JNRWP, continuous assistance is provided to

rural women to help reduce poverty, develop resilience to climate change and improve their

quality of life. However, much more work needs to be done to raise the living standard of poor

rural women and their families over the next 50 years. This commemoration held on October 20,

2011 is phase one of a three-part project aimed at contributing to the achievement of this goal.

The other two phases include: a) a pilot study in St Ann, examining the state of rural

vulnerability and resilience and the nature of rural women’s strategies for resilience and b) using

the results to design an empowerment programme for a selected group of rural women in this

area as a pilot for possible replication. This resilience approach to poverty reduction

complements existing work examining risk and vulnerability, promoted by the United Nations

Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Union (EU) under the auspices of the

Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). This project initiative, the first of its kind in Jamaica, will

promote a gendered analysis of patterns of risk and resilience to help break the cycle of poverty

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in the lives of rural women and their families in Jamaica. This initiative will seek to promote

sustainability by monitoring project impacts and sharing the findings and lessons learnt.

Purpose of Public Forum

The overall project, which includes this forum celebrating rural women, will thus promote public

awareness and sensitivity to the gendered nature of both development and resilience strategies. It

will also stimulate networking with public and private sector stakeholders to invest in the future

of rural women, and more broadly support rural communities in promoting sustainable

livelihoods in Jamaica.

Target group & Desired Output

The desired beneficiary of this public forum was a group of fifty (50) rural women from within

Endeavour District and surrounding communities. The desired outputs included:

- Better understanding of challenges confronting rural women and their families

- Celebration of rural women’s contribution to farming, agro-processing, entrepreneurship

and other forms of economic and social development

- Enhancement of rural women’s awareness of climate change challenges and mitigation

strategies

Actual outputs of the Forum

Participants: The forum was broadly publicized and attracted participants from several other

parishes. As a result there were 112 (105 women and 7 men) registered participants from the

following parishes:

1. St. Ann

2. St. Mary

3. St. Andrew

4. St. Thomas

5. Trelawny

Below: see snap shots of participants

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Remarks/Greetings: Hon. Minister Olivia Grange, Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture, with

responsibility for Women/Gender Affairs was unavoidable absent but sent her remarks, which

was aptly delivered by Mrs. Faith Webster, Executive Director at the Bureau of Women’s

Affairs. The challenges faced by rural women were noted as well as efforts by the Government

of Jamaica in addressing them. This important point was highlighted in Minister Grange’s

remarks:

“The reality is, women in general, and in particular rural women, have suffered from structural and

institutional problems, and are marginalized on two counts: they face higher levels of poverty and they are

discriminated against legally, socially, economically and culturally. For example women own only two per

cent of the land, and receive only one per cent of all agricultural credit. Only five per cent of all

agricultural extension resources are directed to women… The National Gender Policy formulated by the

Bureau of Women’ Affairs and approved by Cabinet in March speaks specifically to developing and

implementing strategies to alleviate poverty and addressing other vulnerabilities among rural women”

Some of the partners travelled to the forum to greet the participants. The following partners

delivered greetings:

- Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), UWI – delivered

by Dr. Patricia Northover, Senior Fellow

- Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS), UWI – delivered by Ms. Suzanne

Charles, Research Fellow

- Rural Agricultural Development Authorities (RADA), Ministry of Agriculture and

Fisheries – delivered by Mr. Leroy Kennedy, Deputy Parish Manager for St. Ann.

Presentations: The presentations were well received by the participants.

1. “Development for All: The Rights of Rural Women” was presented by Mrs. Webster,

highlighting the rights of rural women according to the National Policy for Gender

Equality and CEDAW among other human rights agreements.

2. “Climate Change – “Managing risks and enhancing resilience for sustainable

development” was presented by Mr. Hopeton Peterson, Manager for the Sustainable

Development and Regional Planning Unit at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). He

highlighted some of the challenges of past hurricanes and storms; their impact on

citizens, including rural women; the role of citizens in mitigating some of the challenges

and how citizens contribute to the challenges as well.

3. Ms. Paulette Thomas, Senior Officer in the Home Economics and Social Services at

RADA, outlined some of the social and economic services and opportunities provided by

RADA to rural women and their families under the topic “Rural Women and RADA”.

4. “The Vision of Rural Women” was delivered by Ms. Mildred Crawford, President of

Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers. Ms. Crawford shared, from the perspective

of the organization and its members, of the desire for greater inclusion and priority to be

placed on the needs of rural women, especially the more vulnerable women and their

families. This desire was echoed by several participants.

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5. “Reframing resilience in Rural Jamaica: Empowering Women as a Route to Poverty

Reduction” was delivered by Dr. Northover. She also gave and overview of the

Sustainable Rural Agricultural Development Group and its research projects.

6. Mrs. Siddier Chambers, Project Officer at the Bureau of Women’s Affairs and Research

Associate for S/RAD gave the final presentation on “The Way Forward for Rural Women

in Jamaica”. She highlighted the forum as an initiative which coincides with the desired

output of the National Policy for Gender Equality, Vision 2030 Jamaica National

Development Plan and CEDAW. She then outlined the three (3) phases of the

participatory action research project entitled “Vision 50/50: Rural Women and Resilience

to Poverty”:

Phase I – Launch of research project

Phase II – enhance research project and source additional funding

Phase III – begin implementation of empowerment programme for rural women and

source additional funding

Ms. Lola Granville, a participant from Trelawny making a comment on rabbit-rearing during the main question and answer session. In the background are some of the presenters - (l-r) Dr. Patricia Northover, Ms. Paulette Thomas, Mrs. Faith Webster, Mr. Hopeton Peterson and Ms. Mildred Crawford.

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Question & Answer Session: This was conducted throughout the presentations. Some of the

issues discussed during this session relate to the following:

1. Garbage collection and disposal

2. Suitable access to credit and small loans for rural citizens

3. Land acquisition – rental and purchase

4. Suitable market for products, especially agro-processing

5. Cost-effective rental or purchase of farming equipment

6. Skills training

7. Praedial larceny

8. The importance of registering with a group/group networking

Media coverage: A press release was disseminated on October 15, 2011 which is officially

observed globally as International Day for Rural Women. Discussions in the media of the forum

heightened on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 beginning with a radio interview on Power 106 FM

with Mrs. Siddier Chambers interviewed by Mr. Ralston Hyman and Mr. Ronald Thwaites. See

table below with list of media coverage and interviews.

DATE MEDIA

HOUSE

PROGRAMME/HOST INTERVIEWEE/ARTICLE

15-10-2011 The Gleaner Rural Express Press release and advertisement for the

forum

19-10-2011 Power 106

FM

Real Business with Mr.

Ralston Hyman and Mr.

Ronald Thwaites

Mrs. Siddier Chambers

20-10-2011 Newstalk 93

FM

8:45 – 9:00 a.m. Mrs. Shirley Duncan, Director, Community

Liaison Unit, BWA

And

Ms. Leonie Sawyers, Member of Airy

Castle PDC, St. Thomas

20-10-2011 Power 106

FM

Independent Talk with

Mr. Ronald Thwaites –

6:45 to 9:45a.m.

1. Mr. Omar Sweeney, General Manager,

Technical Services, Jamaica Social

Investment Fund (JSIF)

2. Mrs. Faith Webster, BWA

3. Mrs. Stephannie Hutchinson-Ffrench,

JSIF

4. Dr. Leith Dunn, IGDS

5. Ms. Mildred Crawford, JNRWP

20-10-2011 Power 106

FM/Music

99FM

Live outside broadcast Mrs. Faith Webster

Mrs. Shirley Duncan

Ms. Christine Taylor

Ms. Mildred Crawford

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Mr. Hopeton Peterson

Ms. Lillieth James

Mrs. Siddier Chambers

20-10-2011 Jamaica

Information

Services

(JIS)

Audio interviews Mrs. Faith Webster

Dr. Patricia Northover

Mrs. Siddier Chambers

26-10-2011 The Gleaner Article entitled “Rural women honoured at St. Ann seminar” see full

article at http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20111026/news/news4.html

Achievements

Three (3) of the main achievements of the forum are: the large number of participants; great

support from the main partners; and numerous media coverage (including pre and post event).

Mrs. Faith Webster, Executive Director, Bureau of Women’s Affairs (right) being interviewed during the live outside

broadcast on Power 106 FM at the forum on October 20, 2011.

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Challenges

Three (3) of the main challenges of the forum are: late request for sponsorship; inclement

weather (rain); and limited time for discussion with the participants.

Lessons learned

The forum was a success based on the projected targets. However, the forum could have received

greater support if sponsorship requests were made earlier. Also, the forum provided a good

opportunity for rural women to market their products; however, adequate provision was not

made to facilitate effective advertisement and sale of the products. S/RAD will make greater

effort to incorporate these lessons as well as mitigate the challenges, to ensure rural women

enjoy maximum benefit from upcoming activities.

Ms. Lateshia Lattibeaudiere of Mount Friendship Women of Purpose League, St. Andrew, displays agro-process

products - baked breadfruit, cheese & rasin bammies.

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Next step for the project

Going forward on the success of this forum, S/RAD will proceed into Phase II of the project,

which is to enhance the research project and source additional funding. This phase of the project

has an expected time-frame of eight (8) months, during the period January – August 2012.

Partners

This public forum for rural women was made possible by the kind support of the following

partners:

1. Bureau of Women’s Affairs (BWA) – an agency in the Ministry of Youth, Sports &

Culture

2. Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), UWI

3. Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS), UWI

4. Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP) – a NGO for women

5. Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ)

6. Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Project (GOJ/EU/UNEP)

7. The Way Out Project – Jamaican Women’s Economic and Political Empowerment

(BWA/DRF/UN Women)

8. Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) – an agency in the Ministry of

Agriculture and Fisheries

9. Social Development Commission (SDC)

10. Joan Duncan Foundation – Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB)

11. Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)

12. Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF)

Thank you!

The Sustainable Rural and Agricultural Development (S/RAD) cluster within SALISES’

“50/50” project and the main organizing entities – SALISES, BWA, IGDS and JNRWP express

sincere gratitude to all the partners who supported this critical initiative, which signaled a

milestone in the development of rural women in Jamaica. This initiative would not have been

possible without your kind contributions and support. We are delighted that you saw the forum

as a suitable avenue to contribute to national development and we look forward to your

continuous partnership in future initiatives.

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The planning committee for the forum consisted of Dr. Patricia Northover (chairperson); Dr.

Leith Dunn; Mrs. Siddier Chambers; Ms. Christine Taylor and Ms. Mildred Crawford.

The forum was an output of the Sustainable Rural and Agricultural Development (S/RAD)

cluster within SALISES’ “50/50” project. Fifty-Fifty is a research project designed and

organized by the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) at UWI

Mona. It will include a series of seminars based on sectoral and thematic studies around the

central theme of reviewing the past fifty years of independence and looking forward to the next

fifty. The mission of SALISES is to undertake high-quality research and graduate teaching in the

areas of social and economic development policy, governance and public policy with special

reference to small developing countries. For further information on SALISES’ “50/50” project

and S/RAD Cluster visit http://thesalises5050project.blogspot.com/p/what-is-5050.html

Budget (expenditures)

PARTICULARS

AMOUNT

VENUE

5,500.00

MEDIA - print 55,448.00

MEDIA – outside broadcast 80,000.00

CATERING

130,000.00 RENTAL OF TENTS, TABLES & CHAIRS 20,900.00 TRANSPORTATION FOR RURAL WOMEN 107,000.00

MISCELANEOUS

12,000.00

410,848.00