Does Land Project Really Influence Gender Gaps?
Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security project helps 3,000 poorest households, including
34% female-led households in Cambodia who have been provided with land for residential
purposes and family farming in Kratie, Tbong Khmum and Kampong Thom Provinces through a
government initiative to build a livelihood and food security. The former land-less and land poor
households have not yet been able to use all the allocated land since some of it is not yet ready for
agricultural use. These peoples’ food security and livelihoods is precarious and they may run the
risk of losing their property rights by failing to satisfy the criteria to apply for the title of the land
they live on or the agricultural land allocated to them.
It is clear, that gender approach is integrated in the project daily activities and technical measures.
Women and especially female-led households are always involved and highly taken into account of
the project regarding all kind of planning, implementation phases and being the members of
community decision-making groups. Female-led households account for up to 35% of the target
group of the project intervention area to reduce the social and economic imbalances between
men and women.
Additionally, the project strongly takes care of time the women available for the meetings and
trainings fitting into the rhythm of women’s activities like cooking time for their families. The
project has provided the land recipients with trainings in agricultural techniques, land preparation
and the respective manuals, seeds and seedlings, other machineries like hand tractors, rice
threshing machines for sustainable agriculture production.
Sok Yean land recipients in Thmei commune, Kratie province who received 2 hectare of farm land
was so happy to harvest her 0.5 hectare cultivated land giving her $ 500 income by mid of August
2015. She does practice Intercropping farming system 2 times per year since this year 2015.
Equally important, due to the women play so important role for family economy growth, the
project has provided the chance women to earn extra income to the family. Mr. An Chun and his
wife are farmer experts in Dar commune, Kratie province who are qualified to be trainers to the
community on upgrading home-garden with diversification techniques for improving food security
with practical experience and skills. At the present, many women are at home to be available and
involved in home-gardening activities. Hence, these farmer experts are absolutely qualified to
improve gender roles and responsibilities of improving food security and livelihood.
Likewise, in Kampong Thom province, seven land recipients (4 females, 3 males) were elected as
community committee representatives in May 2015. Mrs. Peng Srey Hort was elected as chief of
land recipient committee for the community of Othom village. The criteria for representatives to
be elected including the readiness to work on volunteer basis, interest to help the community,
self-motivation, a good communicator, willing to share knowledge, trustworthy, and taking
initiative.
Last but not least, based on the baseline study conducted in March 2015, it was established that
around 90% of the household’s labor force is working between 4 to 6.6 month outside the own
farm. The majority of them are men and left women staying at home working on homework and
farm work. Therefore, the main household expenses, farm and children are on the shoulder of the
women. So, the project together with the commune members develops ways and means to
reduce the workload specifically of women.
To help the women farmers to improve vegetable production and water management, the project
successfully piloted 2 RUDI Khmer pumps in November 2015 for less labor intensive farming. It
also provides the women in vital access to water for households use such as maintaining and using
toilets and washing clothes, animal husbandry and increasing the yield through watering the
vegetable garden. This is quite an important impact to the project on labor availability for farming
activities during the season.
Moreover, the project has educated land recipients in targeted communes like Tipo, Kampong
Thom province in October 2015 on nutrition and cultivation technique of Moringa for healthy diet
and income generation through the videos and questions and answers session together with 1,000
Maringa seedlings to 53 households, including 5 female-led households. Also, the project is in the
process of coordination with World Food Program for a school feeding initiative of school children
of which 56% are female out of 222 school children. Since this children come from the very poor
land recipients families it is a measure the children do have a balanced diet.
Hence, the conditional food distribution 39.75 tons of milled rice to needy target groups as food
for work to improve the settling in and for cultivation (vegetable, animal raising…) have been
distributed since January till September 2015 to 457 households who had satisfied the conditions
set to receive food assistance (including 41 widows, 1 widower, 4 handicaps and 2 orphans). Each
household has received milled rice from 50-100 Kg according to the criteria.
Furthermore, the project has promoted gender by having 47% females out of total 15 staffs. Also,
the project coordinated with 3 focal persons from 3 provincial women affair departments and 13
female representatives from other stakeholders of 3 target provinces regarding sustainable
agriculture production and healthy nutrition and food storage. Exactly, the number of women and
female-led households must be required to be recorded and monitored in every minute report,
database and publication like quarterly newsletter.
On 07 September 2015 in Sraeleu Senchey village, Choam Kravien commune, Memot district,
Tboung Khmum province MLMUP has successfully conducted a land titling event to distribute land
titles to all 250 households of land recipients, including 15 most vulnerable households who have
received and used both agriculture and settlement plots for over 5 years since 5 February 2009.
Written By: ILF Project Team