Farming for Equality
09 November 2023
For Jenete (21), farming is not just a job but also a tangible embodiment of gender equality in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
Despite known for its drought, Jenete (21) has never been deterred from opening horticultural farming land in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). She successfully opened an 80-acre horticultural farming land in her village in Soe, South Central Timor Regency, NTT. Through farming, she has managed to generate around three million Indonesian Rupiah per month for her educational expenses.
Her love for farming was instilled in her at a young age when her parents taught her horticultural farming. Jenete then became deeply involved in the world of agriculture in 2020 when she joined the Green Skill 2.0 program. This program, initiated by the Yayasan Plan International Indonesia (Plan Indonesia), provides environmentally friendly farming-based employment.
“The children in Soe don’t need to leave their home to find a job because they can use the available land for farming. I see this as an employment opportunity because job opportunities are becoming scarcer by the day,” said Jenete during a talk show event titled the LIKE Festival (Environment, Climate, Forestry, New Renewable Energy) with the theme of Young Farmer Social Entrepreneurs, held in Senayan, Jakarta (16/9).
In front of the attendees at the event organized by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in preparation for COP 28 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), Jenete stated that millennial farmers like herself are not just farming. For her, farming is a embodiment of equality. She wants to break the stigma against women in farming.
“In the past, in my village, people still thought that women are weak, that we had to wait for a man before we could work. After the Green Skill training from Plan Indonesia, we no longer need to wait for men to work; women can do it ourselves. I want to prove that women can work too,” she explained.
Empowering young people, especially women, aligns with the Green Skill program. In addition to providing training focused on improving efforts in horticultural farming, participants also received basic gender awareness training to promote equality for young women.
Dini Widiastuti, Executive Director of Plan Indonesia, in the same event, appreciated Jenete’s success as a young farmer who has become a successful agripreneur. She hopes to see more young people bring about change, especially in Eastern Indonesia.
“Everyone can make a change, including in agriculture. Like Jenete, who leverages technology that is compatible with the climate for farming so that young people are willing to step into agriculture industry,” said Dini in her speech.
In the future, Jenete plans to expand her horticultural farming land. She has joined a Social Forestry group and, together with Gapoktan, she is working on a 350-hectare plot of land. She also aspires to open an agrotourism site in Soe, NTT.
“I believe that being a farmer is cool. Everyone needs food, and farmers grow crops to meet human needs. We, as women, can also become successful farmers, contributing to our and the earth’s future,” she concluded.
