31 March 2023
In celebration of women’s month, Bayer CropScience, Inc. launched the newest GROW in Agri (Greater Role Of Women in Agriculture) video series, featuring women farmers in different regions in the country. “Proud Mother, Proud Farmer” highlights the role that women play both in the field and in their respective households.
GROW in Agri is a program by Bayer CropScience that recognizes and celebrates the huge contribution of Filipinas in the agriculture industry. It aims to blur the gender divide in the field of agriculture, empowering them by granting women access to information regarding health, financial management, and rights, among others. GROW in Agri cultivates a community that allows creation of different initiatives that enable sustainable and progressive projects.
“The role women play in Philippine agriculture is huge; they mostly form part of the decision-making process for the family farm. The contribution they give in securing our food is tremendous,” shares Iiinas Ivan Lao, Country Commercial Lead of BCS Philippines.
It is estimated that women contribute up to 50% of farm work, especially on financial management.
Lao further stresses that apart from the usual knowledge transfer in terms of products, production process, and farm finance, Bayer CropScience is in a unique position where it partners with Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals division to educate the women farmers on their health as well. “This gives Bayer enormous pride that we not only contribute to their productivity, but also their health,” he adds.
Moving forward, Bayer will continue to support its farmers in general, but with good understanding that women farmers might have a different perspective.
“As a company, Bayer CropScience values working with women farmer to gain more insights, and to ensure that holistic and good solutions will be provided to each and every stakeholder,” says Lao.
5 mother farmers were selected from different parts of the country, from the valleys of Cagayan in the north, up to the mango farms of Davao in the south. Watch their farm stories here:
Annie Junio
A corn farmer from Isabela, she is the first woman farmer featured for the series. Mrs. Junio’s biggest challenge was tending to their farm after her husband’s passing.
Imelda Gonzales
A rice farmer from Nueva Ecija who calls out to young women farmers to carry on with the legacy that their parents have given them—farming, and never giving up despite the hardships of life.
Elisa Galon
A corn farmer from Agusan who is a living testament that women are just as worthy as men to be in the farm. According to her, agriculture has catapulted her into becoming a successful mother-farmer.
Sorita Cadingla
A vegetable farmer from Benguet, she shares that through agriculture, she was able to provide her family a comfortable life and gave her the resources to travel with them wherever they wish.
Tessie Asgar
To cap off the series, a mango contractor from Davao testifies that she is her husband’s partner in managing the finances of their farm and offers whatever support their business needs to increase productivity.
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Read more stories here:
Women’s month is celebrated every March to recognize women’s achievements and spotlight their valuable contributions across industries. Over the years, more and more women are starting to speak up for their advocacies and have prospered in fields that, for a long time, were dominated by men.
The pandemic lockdowns have disrupted farming communities and stretched out rural healthcare networks with farmers still struggling to recover and boost productivity. To support the agricultural community, global life sciences firm Bayer Philippines Inc. is launching a pilot Bayer Kubo in Manaoag, Pangasinan with the Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) to run capability and capacity building programs combining health and agriculture by tackling family planning, self-care and nutrition, as well as agri-oriented financial management and best practices.
Bayer CropScience, Inc. is one with the whole Bayer Philippines organization in celebrating its 60th year in the country. As a way of giving back to farmers and dealers, the company will host the Bayer @ 60 Anniversary Raffle Promo, giving out a whopping Php 6 Million worth of prizes— one the biggest raffle promo in BCS’ history.
Connect with us! Follow the Bayer CropScience Philippines and DEKALB Philippines Facebook pages. Subscribe to our official Youtube channel, Bayer AgricademyTV.
