Insights of women’s empowerment and decision-making in rice production in Malaysia

• Main Authors: Abdul Fatah, F. (Author), Amran, F.N.F (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rynnye Lyan Resources, 2020
• Subjects: adult; agricultural worker; Agriculture; article; decision making; Decision-making; empowerment; female; food security; Food security; human; leadership; nonhuman; plant yield; rice; Rice; Selangor; Women’s empowerment
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher; View in Scopus

 Women’s empowerment is essential in achieving global food security while being prioritised as one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. Even though a women’s empowerment role in agriculture received wide attention in works of literature, there is still a research gap about women’s empowerment in Malaysia’s agriculture. This study contributes to the status of women’s empowerment and its determinants, as well as challenges to enhance women’s empowerment among rice smallholders in Selangor, Malaysia. By using a framework adapted from the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), 200 smallholder paddy farmers were selected using stratified random sampling. The results revealed vital domains that contributed to women’s empowerment, which provided access to extension services and led to effective decision-making, whereas leadership displayed a negative association. The lack of participation in the planning process and community groups were significant obstacles in enhancing the women’s empowerment among rice farmers. These results suggested the scope of possible interventions and policy recommendations to enhance women’s empowerment in agriculture. © The Authors. Published by Rynnye Lyan Resources.