Overview

Both PA results and those of a household survey conducted in San Jose and Bongabon, Nueva Ecija during 1997 suggest that women are involved in decision domains that directly affect pest management practices. Among the 58 rice-onion farm households surveyed in 1997, 32 female household heads were interviewed. One-third of these women reported participating in “farm-related decisions.” Most of these farm decision makers participated in decisions relating to amount of money to spend for pesticides, who should buy the pesticides, and selection of brands of pesticides to be used.

Among all female household heads, sixty percent reported being the primary purchaser of pesticides for their households. PA findings that women are likely to decide when and what to spray and to purchase pesticides, even though their husbands are more likely to do the spraying, are consistent with these results. Given these results, the small number of female households heads surveyed, and the format of questions relating to farm decision making (which may have resulted in many women not being questioned about participation in pest management decisions) it is posited that women’s participation in decisions relating to pest management may be even greater than survey results indicate.

Survey sampling techniques from several IPM CRSP sites are reviewed. It is recommended that, at all project sites, equal numbers of female and male household heads be interviewed in baseline surveys designed to elicit information on intrahousehold decision processes relating to pest management.