Agriculture, Food, and Food Security - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 132

T Today, , numerous countries are making efforts to har-
ness the knowledge and energy of women. For example,
in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, govern-
ment agencies have purchased land and transferred it,
free of charge, to the landless Chenchu tribe. T Transfers
are made only to women. After much deliberation,
Chenchu men conceded that this would be better for
their households as there is little chance that women, un-
like men, would lose the land because of drinking or
gambling debts.
Social inequities are deep-seated in society . Cultur-
ally imposed household division of labor, gender norms
on speaking out in public, and spatial constraints on mo-
bility combine to prevent women from having an effec-
tive voice in decision making at home or in the larger
community . Already debased and perceived by their hus-
bands as not contributing enough, women often become
victims of gender-based violence. As an Indian woman
states: “If our husbands want us to eat, then we eat. It to-
tally depends on them. If the land were in my name, he
would no longer beat me, and he would take care of the
children as well.”
Violence, especially against rural women, is wide-
spread in many Asian countries such as India and
ThailandIf women are badly beaten or crippled, they
are unable to work. This can push economically strained
households into economic crisis. Moreover, beaten
women are seen to deserve their punishment by their
family members and others in the community . Men gain
status by “controlling” their wives, who are “obviously”
disobedient or lazy . Women' is already poor self-esteem is
thereby reduced even further. T Tellingly, , very few Asian
countries have effective laws against violence including
rape perpetrated on women. If laws do exist, arrests are
seldom made and prosecutions are rare. In addition,
women are usually considered to be at fault in the first
place. Further, women are reluctant to report abuse be-
cause it is common for them to be abused again by the
authorities.
Representation of women in traditional labor insti-
tutions is weak. Globalization, deregulation, and compe-
tition have contributed to the erosion of trade unionism
and traditional modes of collective action. For instance,
the Indian government did not formally recognize the
abysmal working conditions of unorganized wage labor-
ers, particularly women, until 2007. However, new forms
of national and transnational movements have emerged.
Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Or-
ganizing (WIEGO) was established in 1997 with India' s
Self-Employed Woman' s Association (SEWA) as a

founding member. WIEGO now has at least 35 member
countries.
The fact that increasing feminization of agriculture
has a deep and wide-ranging impact on agricultural pro-
ductivity is now recognized by many governments and
organizations. Women' s roles in food and other crop pro-
duction are becoming a leading focus in agricultural
policies. Empowerment of women in rural communities
must be supported by asset ownership, enhancement of
agricultural management skills and knowledge, and
widespread gender sensitization. A new discourse re-
garding the essentiality of women as producers, farmers,
and economic contributors must be embedded within
society in order to construct an enabling environment for
strengthening the capabilities of rural women.

Jish Farming

The practice of raising fish, shellfish, and other marine
products in various water bodies is generally called aqua-
culture although mariculture is a more recent term that
refers to raising seafood in the sea or ocean. People have
been practicing aquaculture for thousands of years. Chi-
nese scholar Fan Li wrote a treatise on raising fish in rice
paddies or ponds 2,500 years ago. By 600 AD, several
species of carp were being raised in enclosures in rivers
and lakes. Then, large fish ponds were constructed and
subdivided by earthen dykes. Mulberry bushes (to feed
silkworms) were planted on the dykes so that their roots
were fed by the pond water. Leaves that fell off the mul-
berry were eaten by the fish.
Farmed seafood now provides 42 percent of the
world' is seafood supply . This number is expected to in-
crease to 50 percent in the next decade. Seafood provides
30 percent of annual protein in the typical Asian diet. In
Indonesia, it comprises 58 percent and in Cambodia, it
makes up 75 percent. As dams and other human-made
projects are decimating river fisheries and as marine fish
stocks are being depleted by overfishing, fish farming is
growing in importance in Asia and the world.
Originally , aquaculture was a relatively small-scale
enterprise. However, small-scale endeavors have morphed
into large-scale, scientific mariculture operations with in-
novations in feed technology , breeding strategies, and cage
design. Properly done, aquaculture/mariculture is remark-
ably efficient in its use of feed and water. Farming smaller
seafood products such as tilapia, shrimp, or seaweed is less
resource-intensive than employing sophisticated boats to
trawl the seas for large, predatory fish. According to a spate