Roundtable Discussion for Women in Coffee Industry staged

Citing the low participation rate of women in the economic aspect of development, the Philippine Commission on Women partnered with the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10) to host a Roundtable Discussion which looked into the state of women in the coffee industry.

The event was held on March 23, 2017 with other concerned agencies namely: Department of Trade and Industry Region 10 (DTI10), Department of Science and Technology Region 10 (DOST-10), Philippine Coffee Alliance, Philippine Coffee Board, Rural Improvement Club (RIC)Kape Maramag, Coffee for Peace, Marayag Coffee/Rubber Farmers Association (MACORFA), Central Mindanao University (CMU), DA-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI), and DA-PhilMech.

PCW under its GREAT Women Project 2 (GWP-2) spearheaded the event which aimed to enable and promote gender equality and gender equity in the case of Women Micro-entrepreneurs (WMEs).

“This project aims to upscale opportunities for women in medium and small businesses,” Patrick Asiñero, GWP2 assistant project manager said.

Asiñero said that in spite of the praises for ranking highest in gender equality and women empowerment in the Asia-Pacific region, Filipinas still continue to experience gender biases and issues.

The activity revolved around the objectives of identifying constraints and opportunities for WMEs in the coffee industry. Issues on whether there are gender discrimination on government assistances was also a topic of the discussion.

DA-RFO 10 Assistant Regional Director Roxana H. Hojas clarified that the DA interventions are geared towards mainstreaming Gender and Development (GAD) thus termination of programs and projects are directed to both men and women in the agriculture sector.

GAD is an approach which promotes gender-responsiveness governance and enhances the ability for all, regardless of gender, to contribute to and benefit from development.