Women and agrocommodities

The report argues that the agrocommodities model is a patriarchal system of production that drives deforestation, water pollution, and land grabbing, disproportionately harming women by increasing their care workloads and exposing them to violence. It documents specific abuses in sectors like oil palm and pineapple plantations across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and advocates for a transition toward food sovereignty, agroecology, and a feminist care economy.

• The agribusiness model is characterized by a reliance on monocultures, polluting chemicals, and specialized machinery, which leads to land grabbing and the exclusion of small-scale farmers. This system is described as part of a "capitalist patriarchal economic model" that prioritizes corporate profit through the commodification and financialization of nature.
• Agrocommodities production significantly contributes to environmental degradation, including biodiversity loss and the disruption of the hydrological cycle. Between 2013 and 2019, nearly two-thirds of tropical deforestation was linked to commercial agriculture, with cattle, palm oil, and soybeans identified as primary drivers.
• Women face systemic barriers to land ownership and decision-making; only 30% of rural women own agricultural land. The shift from food crops to cash crops increases the risk of men seizing women's land and water resources.
• The industrial model increases the burden of care work for women. Environmental degradation, such as water pollution from agrochemicals, forces women to travel longer distances for clean water and increases their responsibility for caring for the sick and malnourished.
• The expansion of agribusiness is linked to increased violence against women, including sexual harassment, rape, and physical abuse. This is exacerbated by the presence of migrant male labor forces and armed guards in communities.
• The use of toxic agrochemicals, specifically glyphosate, is linked to severe health issues including tumors, birth defects, and miscarriages. In Argentina, soybean plantations have been associated with hormone-related illnesses in women.
• Women are resisting the agribusiness model by organizing to defend water and forests and by implementing alternatives such as agroecology, community forest management, and a feminist care economy based on interdependence and equity.

APA

Guillén, C. R. (2023). Women and agrocommodities. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FoEI-Women-and-Agrocommodities.pdf

Chicago

Guillén, Claudia Ramos. Women and agrocommodities. Friends of the Earth International, 2023. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FoEI-Women-and-Agrocommodities.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Guillén |first1=Claudia Ramos |title=Women and agrocommodities |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=2023 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FoEI-Women-and-Agrocommodities.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{guilln2023women, author = {Guillén, Claudia Ramos}, title = {{Women and agrocommodities}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2023}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FoEI-Women-and-Agrocommodities.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }