Issue - 52
2016 September
YEMAYA RECOMMENDS DOCUMENT
El Rol De La Mujer En La Pesca Y La Acuicultura En Chile, Colombia, Paraguay Y PerúIntegración, Sistematización Y Análisis De EstudiosNacionalesInforme Final
Cecilia Godoy A. (Chile), Hermes Orlando MojicaBenítez (Colombia), VivianaMaría Ríos Morinigo (Paraguay), and David H. Mendoza Ramírez (Perú). Oficina Regional paraAmérica Latina y el Caribe Organización de lasNacionesUnidaspara la Alimentación y la Agricultura Santiago de Chile. 2016. Pg 38. Language: Spanish
This review is by Vivienne Solis (vsolis@coopesolidar.org), Member, ICSF
This year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a study conducted across four Latin American countriesChile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peruon the role of women in fisheries and aquaculture. The study titled El Rol De La Mujer En La Pesca Y La Acuicultura En Chile, Colombia, Paraguay Y PerúIntegración, Sistematización Y Análisis De EstudiosNacionalesInforme Final’ reveals that women in these countries account for about 50 per cent of all those employed in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, and engage in diverse activities throughout the value chain, assuming key roles in work related to harvesting, primary or secondary processing, and marketing.
FAO, as one of the primary organizations behind the drafting of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (the SSF Guidelines) has fully supported the inclusion of equity and gender equality as guiding principles in the document. It has also promoted specific measures aimed at accelerating the de facto equality between men and women through preferential treatment aimed at equitable outcomes.
In this context, through the period 2014 to early 2015, FAO supported the organization, systematization and analysis of four studies in Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru. These studies shed light on the status and conditions of women in fisheries and aquaculture in Latin America, and propose policy recommendations aimed at improving the quality of life of women, while increasing their contribution to food security and the growth of the sector.
The case studies support a large number of important findings that would help determine the focus areas for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. Chiefly, the studies found that women in fisheries and aquaculture are a workforce whose numerical and qualitative importance is not adequately reflected in the available statistical information. They found that the data on the participation of women would be made richer if further analysed on the basis of sub-sector (fisheries and aquaculture), place (marine or continental), type of enterprise (craft or business), providing thus, a more precise and refined picture of women’s participation.
The studies found that most of the women worked outside the parameters of decent work developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The lack of information on sectoral policies, on implementation mechanisms, and on financial and non-financial services available to enhance the conditions of women’s work, emerged as real obstacles to the economic empowerment of women.
The studies also determined that the low degree of organized representation among women primarily in the fisheries sector is a significant constraint that requires immediate attention.
