Empoderamiento de Mujeres Proveedoras de Alimentos en Bioferias del Territorio Kayambi

Women's poverty is a global problem, showing that by 2022 there are 938 million women and girls living on less than USD 3.20/day, this is perpetuated by the lack of access to work. In 2021 in Ecuador, the unemployment rate for women was 2.5% higher than that for men, linked to access and control of productive assets. 29% of women are dedicated to peasant family farming, which guarantees more than 60% of national food production. The objective was to analyze the socio-organizational processes that have allowed the empowerment of women through the provision of food in agroecological biofairs. 120 producers from 10 women's groups were socioeconomically characterized, determining the level of economic autonomy and access to the credit system of the Casa Campesina Cayambe Foundation. Their access and control of productive assets was analyzed through focus groups. The results show that women have: 55% ownership of land, 82% of irrigation infrastructure, 48% of equipment and tools, 60% of small animals and 40% of large animals. They generate income between 250 and 300 USD/month. Despite this, women's savings accounts in the formal financial system are minimal, compared to those of men, of whom around 90% do have access. They access credits that range around 2,400 USD, being a mechanism to maintain constant production. It is concluded that women have a varying level of economic autonomy, conditioned by the ownership of productive assets for the provision of food; however, in the control of these, the need to make individual decisions is not evident since they are considered property. family, even if they have been obtained by women. Furthermore, the financial assets obtained collectively have generated economic, social and political autonomy, which has allowed them to build collective empowerment.