A representatividade de mulheres na agricultura familiar: uma análise a partir do contexto da Cooperabs, em Bela Vista de Goiás

Abstract

The discussion about the importance of family farming has been gaining more and more space, based on rural development, job and income generation, and food and nutritional security. In this context, the narrative about the trajectory of women in family farming emerges, sometimes considering the increase in their participation in income generation, sometimes pointing out the invisibility and overload of their work. The feminization of agriculture has the potential to double the workloads of rural women, due to the varied and overlapping natures of the amount of activities they perform in their traditional and gender roles. There is also growing evidence that, despite the need to perform these activities, women have little decision-making power, whether at home or in matters related to agricultural production. In light of this context, the present study poses the following research question: what is the representativeness of the participation of rural women who are members of Cooperabs? The objective of this study is to analyze the participation of rural women in the Cooperativa Mista de Pequenos Produtores de Polvilho e Derivados de Mandioca da Região do Cará (Cooperabs), seeking to identify the level of their involvement in their productive and family dynamics. This research adopts a single case study design with a qualitative approach, and data were generated through the application of semistructured interviews, whose questions were developed based on the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI). The results showed an increase in financial autonomy, recognition, and female leadership as a result of women's inclusion in the cooperative. On the other hand, the burden on women persists, as does the invisibility of their productive and domestic work time, highlighting the challenges inherent in gender inequality.