Thesis (BS Agribusiness Economics) -- University of the Philippines Mindanao, May 2018

Women facing constraints in accessing productive resources despite their crucial role in the agriculture and rural economy is one of the reasons why the agricultural sector of developing countries is underperforming. Empowering these women plays a vital role in breaking the poverty cycle through increasing productivity, food security, and hunger reduction. Contemporary literature in the Philippines suggests that empowered women increase household income and employment. Hence, the study aims to assess the level of empowerment of small-scale women farmers from tropical fruit agribusiness communities in Northern and Southern Mindanao. The research measured the levels of empowerment using the domains of Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and the factors affecting empowerment. This study was conducted in key agricultural communities in Mindanao: Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte and Lantapan, Bukidnon for banana farmers; Digos City, Davao del Sur and Samal Island, Davao del Norte for mango farmers. A total of seventy-two (72) respondents were interviewed. The levels of empowerment in Samal small-scale women farmers in Sto. Tomas, Lantapan, and Digos are low at 5.72% of the total respondents. The adequacy of the disempowered women farmers is at 40.93%. it was later found out that the disempowerment was cause by the lack of opportunity for women farmers to control over assets. Most of the women farmers have control over their income but not their resources and are considered leaders of their community but share the household leadership with their husband. It is recommended to look into the socio-economic and cultural context of why women respondents are deprived of any control in the management of household economy and individual assets. These are crucial points to consider in planning gender empowerment seminars with the local government units.