Guidebook on Developing Women s Entrepreneurship among Agricultural Cooperatives in the ESCAP Region

1. Guidebook on Developing Women�s Entrepreneurship among Agricultural Cooperatives in the ESCAP Region Marie Sicat Emerging Social Issues Division UN Economic & Social Commission for Asia & the Pacific International Workshop on Entrepreneurship and e-Business Development for Women: APEC Women�s e-Biz Training 2006 Seoul, Korea (3-8 July 2006)

2. Visiting Pulmu Coop in Hongsong

3. Overview Description of project Background on regional situation of women in rural areas and key issues faced Cooperative entrepreneurship Women in green cooperatives Opportunities for entrepreneurship in green market Brief overview of publication structure and process finalizing publication.

4. ESCAP Green Coop Project Studies conducted as part of ESCAP project �Establishment of Sustainable E-Business and Network for Green Coop Enterprises for Women in Rural Communities� Two year project: - First phase � conduct two research studies to be made into publications: (1) on women�s entrepreneurship and agricultural cooperatives (2) green coops and e-business. Organization of workshop seminar where findings presented. - Second phase � establish knowledge network of women green coops and pilot a women�s green coop e-centre. Wanphen Tell about purpose of meeting as well: Introduce the concept of KM and the motivation for it at divisional levelWanphen Tell about purpose of meeting as well: Introduce the concept of KM and the motivation for it at divisional level

5. Objective of project The empowerment of women through building women�s capacity in entrepreneurship and in the use of ICT as a tool for socio-economic development in agricultural cooperatives specialized in green or organic products in rural areas.

6. Regional situation with regard to rural women and key gender issues

7. Situation of rural women in region Asia Pacific region is home to over 60% of the world�s population with approximately 3.8 billion people in the region. Majority live in rural areas. In most developing countries, rural population exceeds 50% of total population. Approximately 2/3 of all women work in some area of economic activity. Agricultural employment comprises primary source of income for women.

8. Share of rural and urban populations living below the national poverty line (%)Selected ESCAP countries

9. Feminization of poverty Has become largely accepted that there is a type of feminization of poverty, in particular in rural areas. No consensus has been reach on definitions, and this needs to be clarified to be useful. Can mean one or a combination of the following: - women compared to men have a higher incidence of poverty - women�s poverty is more severe than men�s - over time, the incidence of poverty among women is increasing compared to men. In order to apply this for useful policy formulation toward poverty-reduction strategies, the root causes and dynamics involved in this phenomenon must be determined.

10. Qualitative dimensions of living conditions of rural women & women�s work Informalization of women�s work Work opportunities may appear created, but in the informal sector. Insecure jobs. Wages are lower. Work conditions are bad. Women work time exceeds that of men, experience constant fatigue. Often subject to social subordination.

11. Empowerment of women �Earning our own money allows us to do what we want with it. It also brings us �izzat� (honour or respect) because the money �proves� our contribution. Otherwise, we work like animals, we are never given credit for our contribution and even our own men say that we do not work. When we have our own money we are no longer mohtaj (dependent to the point of being at the other person�s mercy. The word is often used for the physically disabled). Quote from a Pakistani entrepreneur in Nighat Said Khan, 1984

12. Cooperative Entrepreneurship

13. Cooperative Entrepreneurship What is a cooperative? � An autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled enterprise.� International Cooperative Alliance

14. Benefits Coops Offer to Small-Scale Entrepreneur Enables small-scale entrepreneurs with limited individual resources to pool their resources and make equipment purchases and investments normally impossible on their own. Can acquire economies of scale usually only attainable by more financed entrepreneurs. Enable small farmers to become competitive players in the market and to enter higher-return areas of business such as the organic/green products market.

15. Cooperative�s contribution to economic and social development Economic model: based on collaboration rather than on competition Stresses self-help and mutual aid. Collaborative nature: fosters trust and helps develop social capital within communities. Driven by balance between profit motive and interest of membership and community Concern for community � work for sustainable development of their communities

16. Some Characteristics of Cooperative Governing Structures Member owned Democratic member control � members have equal voting rights Member economic participation � members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative Co-operation among cooperatives � working together through local, national, regional and international structures

17. Types of coops and activities Farmer�s and agricultural producers� coops Agro and food processing coops Marketing coops Agricultural cooperative banks, credit union and microfinance coops Consumer coops

18. Dynamics of Cooperative Collaboration: Key strength Tend to operate through mutually supporting networks in local, national, regional and international structures among different cooperative types and functional areas. Example of strong effectiveness of cooperative system for empowering small-scale entrepreneurs: dynamic between producer cooperatives and consumer cooperatives. Formation of comprehensive consumer cooperatives has provided the vital marketing channel for the small-scale farmers in the producer cooperatives to sell their products and enter higher-return areas of business. Without these consumer cooperatives, many of the small-scale farmers would not be able to find a market for their goods and survive or make a profit.

19. Republic of Korea: Hongdong Village in Hongsong Typical rice farming village where there are not many opportunities to increase farm income. Organic agriculture provided the opportunity for a new income source. 1995: 19 farms of the total 81 farms organize a duck-rice organic farming group and start to produce organic rice. They utilize use of ducks for weed and insect control. Successful sales of organic rice through one consumer cooperative in Seoul area. Initial success of first group spurs many more farmers in neighbouring villages to enter organic rice farming.

20. Women in Green Cooperatives

21. Promotion of Women�s Entrepreneurship in Green Cooperatives: Policy rationales Eco-friendly agricultural development and green business provides an enabling environment for women�s entrepreneurship. It is a strong, growing �niche� market for women entrepreneurs which appears will accelerate with growing urgency for sustainable development. Can help counter extreme poverty particularly prevalent among rural women.

22. Percentage of women membership in cooperative

23. Women�s participation in cooperative decisionmaking Cooperatives in the region still characterized by strong gender inequality with regard to women�s participation. Women in cooperative decision-making positions: National Apex Primary cooperatives Leader 11.19% 14.16% Manager 2.3% 7.0% Source: International Cooperative Alliance 2006

24. Potential women�s cooperative model Agricultural consumer cooperative � cooperatives comprised of members who are regular consumers of agricultural products. While producers cooperatives tend to be male dominated, consumer cooperatives tend to have a predominantly women membership and are run by women. May be useful to examine more in-depthly the governing process in consumer cooperatives and how it has been conducive to women�s participation in the decisionmaking process, and if any of these lessons learned can be transferred to the agricultural producers cooperatives sector.

25. Increasing women�s participation in cooperative decisionmaking Male dominated cooperative governing structures. Women�s not included in decisionmaking process. Male dominated cooperative governing structure, but increasing gender sensitization and consideration of women�s needs and concerns in decisionmaking process. Equitable participation of women in decisionmaking process of cooperative governing structure.

26. Trends in green cooperatives Green coops, in particular, consumer cooperatives tend to be dominated and run by women. Reflects women�s interest and priority on healthy, quality foods and products for family. These women networks are well familiarized with needs of consumer market. Opportunity exists for stronger liaison between women entrepreneurs in producer green cooperatives and women-run consumer cooperatives in green products.

27. Factors conducive to women�s entrepreneurship in green cooperatives Women have a vested interest in the healthiness and quality of foods which the family and children eat ie. Organic products Proliferation of women in poverty and role of women as caretakers of the family and children can often propel women towards a particular urgency to find new and more innovative ways of supplementing livelihood and providing better life for the family such as green entrepreneurship. Self-help and community support nature of cooperative forms of enterprise conducive to women�s entrepreneurship. Many women-run coops tend to put more emphasis on social caring.

28. Example of women�s traditional role in agriculture: Marketing of products

29. Entrepreneurship Opportunities in Green Business

30. Total area under organic management � share for each continent

31. Organic farming in Asian countries

32. Organic Product Market in Asia While Asia�s holding of the world�s organic agricultural area is still small relative to other regions of the world, there has been growing receptivity and acceptance of organic agriculture. Environmentally friendly agricultural practices gaining more urgency in region with environmental deterioration in many countries of region. Green coops conducive to sustainable development. Expanding local markets for organic products and government involvement in organic agriculture. Japan and Republic of Korea are currently main markets in region. China shows highest growth potential in the region in near future. Experiencing large rise in sales or organic foods.

33. Agricultural Products of Selected Asian Countries

34. Some of the policy recommendationsto promote women�s entrepreneurship in green coops Gender mainstreaming of rural policy on entrepreneurship Start-up with women ngo-initiated consumer cooperatives Public campaigns for the life of health and sustainability (LOHAS) Establishment of intra-regional e-business women�s green cooperative networks.

35. Structure of Guidebook Report

36. Structure of report Ch.1: Introduction Ch.2: Green Cooperatives in Development Context Ch.3: Women and Green Cooperatives Ch.4: Gender Dynamics in Rural Labour and Women�s Traditional Roles in Agriculture and Rural Entrepreneurship Ch.5: Guidelines on Women�s Entrepreneurship in Green Cooperatives Ch.6: Good Practices of Women�s Green Cooperative Enterprises Ch.7: Policy Recommendations Ch.8: Conclusions Annex: Country-specific overviews on status of women�s green cooperative entrepreneurship.

37. Other publication contents Publication will be policy oriented as well as practical application oriented. Includes a set of policy recommendations for promoting women�s entrepreneurship in green cooperatives. Applications guidelines: How to initiate creation of a cooperative Strategies for marketing rural products Women�s network building for entrepreneurship.

38. Publication details Publication scheduled to be finalized by end of July. Policy recommendations and country-specific overviews: Feedback and info from country delegations. Feedback and comments very welcomed from participants.

39. Thank you

40.  *The Guidebook is being developed by the UN Economic & Social Commission for Asia & the Pacific with researchers Dr. Soon-Young Jung & Ms. Hae-Young Pang of the Asia Pacific Women�s Information Network Center, Sookmyung University For further information, www.unescap.org/icstdor contact:UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the PacificEmerging Social Issues DivisionMarie Sicat sicat@un.orgAPWINCMs. Hae-Young Pang or Dr. Soon-Young Jung apwinc@sookmyung.ac.kr Wanphen � Describe the contents of the slide �key purpose of KM� with this slide as well: Categorize, store and spread all knowledge that is needed to make the organization grow AND prosper. Wanphen � Describe the contents of the slide �key purpose of KM� with this slide as well: Categorize, store and spread all knowledge that is needed to make the organization grow AND prosper.