Mujeres berracas (hardworking and tough women): Gender expectations, resource access, and rice farming livelihoods in Tolima, Colombia

Keywords: feminist political ecology, feminist geographies, gender, agriculture, Colombia
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 09:40 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 11:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 11

Abstract

The Colombian rice farming sector has undergone vast changes over the past 20 years, including: climatic changes, market liberalization, and the reconfiguration of land tenure relations following decades of armed conflict. Rice farmers are advised by Colombian state agricultural agencies to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices and intensify production—strategies that are most suitable for large, industrial farmers. Despite facing barriers to accessing key agricultural resources within this rapidly changing context, some women rice farmers are successful in ensuring access to resources. Other women, however, face greater difficulties and are unable to secure their livelihoods through rice farming and must turn to other livelihoods, such as performing farm work and selling food products. Drawing from a feminist political ecology framework, this paper analyzes how local gender and class politics shape women farmers’ and farmworkers’ access to key rice farming resources. The analysis for this paper is based on ethnographic work with rice farmers and farmworkers in three rice farming communities in Tolima, Colombia. I argue how local gender and class politics shape perceptions of women rice farmers and farmworkers, with some being perceived as mujeres berracas who engage in a respectable livelihood, while others are perceived as irresponsible women. These gendered expectations guide who is able to secure access to resources to sustain their livelihoods through rice farming by shaping access to decision making spaces and processes, extension services, loans, and environmental resources, ultimately affecting quality of life.