Women’s Participation in Agricultural Development Interventions in Timor-Leste:
A Case Study in Ermera Municipality
Abstract
Women have become a key target of the global development agenda, particularly in developing countries. In Timor-Leste, several development partner agencies have helped initiate support for the government in agricultural development to ensure that women benefit from this intervention. This article focuses on women's participation in agricultural development interventions in Ermera municipality in Timor-Leste. This qualitative research uses a case study approach to have a better understanding of women farmers' everyday lives in rural areas. It uses a transformative worldview because the findings of this research will contribute to transforming the agricultural development of rural women in Timor-Leste in the future. The discrimination against women in agricultural development interventions continues to occur, which has contributed to the lower success outcomes of the interventions. The lack of women's participation in decision-making processes, limited access to agricultural resources and information, and gender-discriminatory cultural practices are acknowledged as the main contributing factors to the failures of current agricultural interventions for rural women in Timor-Leste.
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