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Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 3(1): 11-19 (1995) ISSN: 0128-7702 © Universiti Pertanian Malaysia Press Roles of Progressive Malaysian Farmers in Rural Development: A Gender Analysis MAIMUNAH ISMAIL Women's Studies Unit, Centre for Extension and Continuing Education, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Keywords: men and women progressive farmers, gender studies, local change agents ABSTRAK Kajian bertluuan untuk mengenalpasti ciri-ciri penting petani maju lelaki dan wanita, sena menganalisis peranan yang mereka laksanakan dalam pembangunan luar bandar. Data diperolehi dari tiga belas pemenang penama anugerah "PeladangJaya Kebangsaan" dal'i tahun 1981 hingga 1992 dengan menemubual mereka. Kajian mendapati petani maju lelaki dan wanita mempunyai ciri yang sama dari segi umur dan saiz tanah yang dimiliki. Mereka berbeza dari segi taraf persekolahan, saiz keluarga dan bilangan institusi sosial yang dianggotai sebagai pemimpin. Kajian juga mendapati bahawa petani maju lelaki dan wanita mempunyai pelbagai peranan dalam pembangunan luar bandar selain daripada peningkatan produktiviti penanian seperti penglibatan dalam perniagaan tani dan perniagaan bukan penanian, kepimpinan dalam pembangunan institusi sosial, kebajikan dalam masyarakat dan peranan sebagai agen perubahan tempatan. ABSTRACT The paper analyses characteristics of men and women progressive farmers and examine their roles in Malaysian rural development. Data were gathered from thirteen male and female winners of the "Farmer of the Year" national award, from 1981 to 1992, using indepth interviews. Male and female progressive farmers have similar characteristics in terms of age and land acreage owned. They differ in terms of educational allainment, family size, and number of leadership positions in institutions. The study showed that both groups pelform multiple roles in rural development including involvement in the commercialization of agriculture, agribusiness and non-agricultural business, leadership roles in institutional development, community welfare services, and as local change agents. However, the study showed men and women exhibited some variations in exercising those roles. INTRODUCTION Mainstream literature on progressive farmers (Ahmad Mahdzan 1980; Rogers 1983; Sofranco et aL 1988) concentrates on analyses which lack disaggregation based on gender. However, a growing concern about the need for such gender- based analyses has resulted from the global awareness that men and women farmers have different but significant roles to play in economic development (Boserup 1970; Agarwal 1985; Kandiyoti 1985), In Malaysia, for example, women farmers constituted 43.3% of the total female labour force in 1980, whereas men farmers constituted 33.2% of the total labour force (Statistics Department 1985). Hence, analyses on farm employment, farmers" roles and contributions to the economy require a gender breakdown. The term gender is based on the assumption that relations between men and women are socially constituted. It is different from the term sex, which is derived from biological characteristics of being male and female (Whitehead 1979:10). Therefore, the term gender relations distinguishes such social relations benveen men and women from those

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Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 3(1): 11-19 (1995) ISSN: 0128-7702© Universiti Pertanian Malaysia Press

Roles of Progressive Malaysian Farmers in RuralDevelopment: A Gender Analysis

MAIMUNAH ISMAILWomen's Studies Unit,

Centre for Extension and Continuing Education,Universiti Pertanian Malaysia,

43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Keywords: men and women progressive farmers, gender studies, local change agents

ABSTRAK

Kajian bertluuan untuk mengenalpasti ciri-ciri penting petani maju lelaki dan wanita, sena menganalisisperanan yang mereka laksanakan dalam pembangunan luar bandar. Data diperolehi dari tiga belas pemenangpenama anugerah "PeladangJaya Kebangsaan" dal'i tahun 1981 hingga 1992 dengan menemubual mereka.Kajian mendapati petani maju lelaki dan wanita mempunyai ciri yang sama dari segi umur dan saiz tanah yangdimiliki. Mereka berbeza dari segi taraf persekolahan, saiz keluarga dan bilangan institusi sosial yangdianggotai sebagai pemimpin. Kajian juga mendapati bahawa petani maju lelaki dan wanita mempunyaipelbagai peranan dalam pembangunan luar bandar selain daripada peningkatan produktiviti penanianseperti penglibatan dalam perniagaan tani dan perniagaan bukan penanian, kepimpinan dalam pembangunaninstitusi sosial, kebajikan dalam masyarakat dan peranan sebagai agen perubahan tempatan.

ABSTRACT

The paper analyses characteristics of men and women progressive farmers and examine their roles inMalaysian rural development. Data were gathered from thirteen male and female winners of the "Farmer ofthe Year" national award, from 1981 to 1992, using indepth interviews. Male and female progressive farmershave similar characteristics in terms of age and land acreage owned. They differ in terms of educationalallainment, family size, and number of leadership positions in institutions. The study showed that both groupspelform multiple roles in rural development including involvement in the commercialization of agriculture,agribusiness and non-agricultural business, leadership roles in institutional development, community welfareservices, and as local change agents. However, the study showed men and women exhibited some variationsin exercising those roles.

INTRODUCTION

Mainstream literature on progressive farmers(Ahmad Mahdzan 1980; Rogers 1983; Sofrancoet aL 1988) concentrates on analyses which lackdisaggregation based on gender. However, agrowing concern about the need for such gender­based analyses has resulted from the globalawareness that men and women farmers havedifferent but significant roles to play in economicdevelopment (Boserup 1970; Agarwal 1985;Kandiyoti 1985), In Malaysia, for example,women farmers constituted 43.3% of the totalfemale labour force in 1980, whereas men

farmers constituted 33.2% of the total labourforce (Statistics Department 1985). Hence,analyses on farm employment, farmers" rolesand contributions to the economy require agender breakdown.

The term gender is based on the assumptionthat relations between men and women aresocially constituted. It is different from the termsex, which is derived from biologicalcharacteristics of being male and female(Whitehead 1979:10). Therefore, the termgender relations distinguishes such socialrelations benveen men and women from those

Maimunah Ismail

characteristics which can be derived frombiological differences.

The significance of adopting the concept ofgender is based on two assumptions. First, theproblems faced by women are not caused bywomen, but are a result of the relations betweenmen and women in the social system. Second,it is assumed that the roles of men and womenare complementary.

It is widely assumed that progressive farmers,as the term implies, playa significant role inagricultural production. Their number in acommunity is generally very small, less than2.5% (Rogers 1983). In many ways, however,circumstances allow them to exercise many otherroles, both agricultural as well as non-agricultural,within the entire complex system of ruraldevelopment.

According to Rogers' adopter categorization(Rogers 1983), progressive farm ers aresynonymous with the categories of innovatorsand early adopters. Both groups of farmers areinnovative, that is very eager to try new ideas.They are influential leaders in the village interms of disseminating new ideas to othervillagers, besides their other functions inmanaging local institutional development.Progressive farmers also have a stable economicbase, a criterion which allows them to cope withhigh degrees of uncertainty about venturinginto various economic activities. In the Malaysiancontext, the group of progressive farmers ismade up of those large farmers contributingsignificantly to agricultural productivity. Theyare self-reliant farmers with above averageagricultural resources and exercising importantroles in commercial agriculture. Those whowon the "Farmers of the Year" award, at bothstate and national levels, are certainly amongthose in the group of progressive farmers.

This paper reports a study conducted onprogressive farmers; the objectives were toexamine some socio-economic characteristics ofmen and women progressive farmers, and to

compare and contrast their roles in exercisingrural development tasks. This knowledge hasimplications for planning policy and actionprogrammes for the development of both groupsof farmers. More attention should be given tosuch progressive farmers in terms of increasingtheir number and of recognizing their variousroles since they contribute significantly to thesustainability of the agricultural sector.

METHODOLOGY

The respondents of the study were taken fromthe winners of the "Farmer of the Year" nationalaward, during the period from 1981 to 1992.

Each year there are two winners, one manand one woman farmer. Therefore, during thatperiod, there was a total of 24 winners, 12 maleand 12 female farmers, from all states in Malaysia.

Data were gathered from respondents usingindepth inteI\Tiews, covering their life and socio­economic background, both past and present.Data related to their roles in agriculture andtheir related functions in the development ofthe village were also secured during theinterviews.

A preliminary analysis was done afterinterviewing each man and woman respondent.After interviewing seven male and six femalerespondents, who were from the states of Perlis,Kedah, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka andJohor, the researcher believed that the datacollected had reached a saturation point. Thisis a point where further information obtainedby increasing the number of respondents willgive repeated responses and is, therefore,redundant. Bogdan and Biklen (1982) referredto this situation as a point of diminishingreturns. Therefore, it was decided that the totalnumber of respondents of this study wasthirteen.

A tape recorder was used to facilitate theinterviews. Data were then transcribed andanalysed based on the objectives of the study.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Socio-economic Characteristics

The average age of the men and womenprogressive farmers in 1993 when the study wasconducted, was similar, 52.0 years for men and51.2 years for women. The age range was 39 to60 years for men and 40 to 60 years for women.A greater difference was evident in educationalattainment. The women farmers had attendedformal school for an average of 8.0 years,compared to only 6.1 years for the men farmers.The number of years of education ranged from1 - 13 for women and 3 - 11 years for men. Thesedifferences could be one of the conditionsleading to the differences in the role intensityexercised by women and men progressive farmerswhich are explained later.

12 PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 3 No.1 1995

Roles of Progressive Malaysian Farmers ill Rural Development

Another different characteristic betweenmen and women farmers was family size. Menfarmers had bigger families (11.7 with a rangeof 6 - 40 persons), compared to those of femalefarmers (6.7 with range of 4 - 10 persons). Thiswas due to the polygamous marriages of two ofthe men progressive farmers (one has threewives with 36 children and the other has twowives with 11 children). Among the womenprogressive farmers two were divorced.

Land acreage owned by men and womenprogressive farmers was generally similar, withaverage ownership of 32.3 acres (range of 14 ­55 acres) for men, and 32.8 acres (range of 12- 50 acres) for women. This is very much higherthan the average acreage owned by individualwomen and men among rural households of 0.4and 3.8 acres, respectively. It is also very muchhigher than the size of land ownership cited bynational standards of 4.45 acres in mixed farmingareas in Selangor (Maimunah 1993) and 3.71acres for MADA farmers (Ahmad Mahdzan1980). Almost all the land acreage owned bymen and women farmers as reported in thisstudy was acquired through purchase. This showsthat all progressive fanners, male and female,were able to buy land by themselves.

Much of the land that the progressive farmersnow own was purchased slowly during the 1970sand 1980s when the price of land was still low.These lots had become available as manysmallholders were forced to sell their land becauseof a variety of problems such as idle land, lack ofcontiguity of lots owned, and a shortage of capitaland labour. There were no noticeable differencesin the way men and women progressive farmersbought their land. All of them said that theypurchased land either by using their own savingsor through bank loans.

The substantial land acreage owned by bothmen and women progressive farmers had thepotential to give them a stable monthly incomeranging from RM3000' to RM7000, with anaverage of RM4500. The wide range of incomewas dependent on the type of cultivation theypractised for a particular period, and the size offarming enterprise in which they engaged.Income was higher when more short-termcashcrops such as corn, papaya, and vegetables

were planted and with returns from poultry andfish rearing.

The study identified two commoncharacteristics in the background of the menand women progressive farmers. All of themcame from poor families. With hard work anddedication they had managed to achieve upwardsocial mobility through their serious involvementin farming over two or three decades.

Another important characteristic of menand women progressive farmers whichdetermines their role in the community is thenumber of local social" institutions eachrespondent is affiliated to, either as a key leaderor as a committee member.

The average number of institutions in whichmen and women progressive farmer hadleadership roles was four and seven, with therange of 1 - 7 and 4 - 12, respectively. Onereason for the difference was the dearth ofwomen leaders in a particular community, whichresulted in women leaders each being compelledto take on a number of leadership roles. Thishas meant that a women progressive farmertends to become a leader in almost all localinstitutions.

By contrast, male progressive farmers hadfewer chances to assume more than oneleadership role due to a preponderance ofpotential male leaders in a particular locality.This difference, in turn, explains the intensity ofmen and women progressive farmers' leadershiproles in institutional development which will beexplained later.

The main characteristics of men and womenprogressive farmers are summarized in Table 1.

Roles in Rural Development

Rural development is generally defined as theintegrated efforts towards achieving the goals ofenhanced agricultural productivity of the ruralpopulation, and their full participation in bothplanning and implementing developmentprogrammes, as well as reaping the benefits ofthe programmes. This means that ruraldevelopment should encompass agriculturalproduction programmes as well as communitydevelopment and institutional developmentprogrammes.

1. RM stands for Malaysian ringgit, the Malaysian unit of currency. One US dollar is equivalent to about2.6 Malaysian ringgit.

PenanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 3 No.1 1995 13

Maimunah Ismail

TABLE 1Some salient characteristics of

men and women progressive farmers

Characteristicsrange

Menaverage range

Womenaverage

Age (years) 39-60 52.0 40-60 51.2

Attendance at formalschool (years) 3-11 6.1 1-13 8.0

Family size (persons) 6-40 11.7 4-10 6.7

Land owned (acres) 14-55 32.3 12-50 32.8

Income/month (RM) 3000-7000 4500 3000-7000 4500

Number of localinstitutionsaffiliated to as 1-7 4 4-12 7key leader 01- ascommittee member

The results of the study demonstrate thatboth men and women progressive farmers havemany roles in rural development. The variousroles of men and women progressive farmers arenow compared and contrast as follows:

Commercialization of Agriculture

All the men and women progressive farmersplayed a very important role in thecommercialization of agriculture. This is definedas the efforts towards increasing the productivityof agriculture (crops and livestock) with themain purpose of earning income by trading andmarketing the agricultural produce to industriesand consumers. Agricultural commercialization,one of the important strategies of the newNational Agriculture Policy, is the function oftwo factors, namely, productivity anddiversification of agriculture.

Higher productivity in agriculture is achievedthrough modernization and capital-intensive useof resources (high-yielding crop varieties andlivestock species) and labour-saving technologies(mechanization and better systems of farmmanagement). Diversification, on the other hand,is necessary because it allows multiplicity in cropfarming and livestock rearing for a givenagricultural area, especially commodities with a

higher commercial value. Diversification ofagriculture is a base for the creation of a stronglocal food production and processing industry,and therefore, an approach to increaseproductivity of agricultural produce, so as tomeet the changing needs of consumers andindustries.

The role of both men and womenprogressive farmers in agriculture productivity isshown by their serious involvement in farming,particularly in the use of medium to fairly highcapital-intensive technologies. For example, allthe progressive farmers used commercialfertilizers in the cultivation of oil-palm and cocoaand short-term crops such as banana, corn,papaya and vegetables. In poultry rearing, theyadopted the franchise system in which theenterprise was administered on a systematicmanagement of input-and-output delivery. Therewere at least 3,000 chicken reared per batch.The necessary inputs such as day-old-chicks,animal feed, medicines and pesticides weresupplied by the authorities, and the chickenwould later be marketed on a contract basis.

An important characteristic enablingprogressive farmers to diversify agricul turebeyond the capability of the average Malaysianfarmer was their high acreage of landholdings.

14 PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 3 No.1 1995

Roles of Progressive Malaysian Farmers in Rural Development

This alone made it possible for them to engagein both long-term and short-term cash cropcultivation. Important long-term cash cropscultivated by both men and women progressivefarmers were oil-palm, rubber, cocoa, fruit andcoconuts. Short-term (seasonal) crops includedbanana, corn, vegetables, paddy, pineapple andtapioca. Most men and women progressivefarmers diversified their farming with livestockrearing such as poultr)', sheep, goat and quailrearing. In addition, most had some experiencein fish rearing even though it was not currentlytheir major farming enterprise.

involvement in Agribusiness

One outcome of agricultural diversification ist.he t.endency t.owards increased involvement. int.he agribusiness system. This encompasses threemain sub-systems: the agricultural input. industI)',agricultural product.ion industJ)', and downstreamactivities industry. This study demonstrates t.hatall t.he men and women progressive farmersmade significant cont.ributions to t.he growth ofthe agribusiness syst.em in t.heir respectivelocalit.ies, especially in the agricultural product.ionand downst.ream sub-systems. In the cultivat.ionof short-term cash crops, not only wereprogressive farmers t.he producers, t.hey werealso involved in the market.ing of t.heir produceand t.he manufact.uring of food products such aschilli and tomato sauce, fruit jams and juices,snack foods such as banana and tapioca chips,and food delicacies. Some of these manufacturedfoods t.hey sold themselves at farmers' andevening markets, while some products were soldin bulk to wholesalers. About 50% percent ofthe progressive farmers were also the localdealers for rubber, dried cocoa beans, bananasand veget.ables in their respective localities.

Besides farming, bot.h men and womenprogressive farmers were also involved in contractbusinesses such as land preparation andplanting, the supply of agricult.ural inputs suchas fertilizers and pest.icides to other farminginst.itutions and the selling of hill-soil used forconstruction work.

Two factors determined a high level ofinvolvement. of men and women progressivefarmers in agribusiness. First, their diversifiedagricultural production, and secondly their betterlinkages with many market. out.let.s outside theirfarming localities. However, a slight differencewas noted. Men's linkages were far away from

t.heir villages, perhaps in other districts, butwomen were linked wit.h other market businesscomponent.s within t.he vicinity of t.heir village.

involvement in Non-Agricultuml Business

The study showed that men and womenprogressive farmers were also involved in non­agricult.ural businesses. But one difference wasthe greater range of non-agricult.ural activitiesamong t.he women. These included runningrest.aurant.s, sundry shops, souvenir andhandicraft shops, tailoring school uniforms, andrural co-operat.ives. Men's involvement in non­agricultural businesses was narrower in scope,mainly in running sundry shops and as small­scale contractors supplying st.ationery and schoolequipment. Such differences could be explainedby the latter's involvement in agriculturalbusinesses far away from their respective villageswhile the women's involvement in agricult.urebusinesses seldom exceeded t.he boundary oftheir villages.

Leadership Role in Institutional Development

As ment.ioned earlier, all the progressive farmerswere leaders in their communit.ies; t.hey werechairmen or committee members of localinstit.utions. A gender difference in the leadershiprole was exhibit.ed in t.he t.endency for a womanprogressive farmer to be a leader in almost. alllocal instit.utions, whether social or economic-based.

The institutions in which men progressivefarmers were the leader or a member in t.heleadership committee were: Village Developmentand Security Committee (VDSC), Farmers Co­operat.ive, Farmers Group, Mosque DevelopmentCommittee, School Parent-Teacher Associat.ion,Ex-Soldiers Development. Committee,Com m un ity Services Com m ittee, divisionalpolitical party committee, Malay Contractors'Association, Youth Association, the promotionfor the Farmers' Market Committee and ReligiousGroup. On the other hand, women progressivefarmers, besides being the leader of the women'ssect.ion or unit of the above associations, were allalso key leaders in other women's units ofdevelopment agencies such as RISDA (RubberIndustry Smallholders Development Authority),KEMAS (Community Development Division ofthe MinistJ)' of Rural Development) and theDepartment of Agriculture. In cont.rast, maleprogressive farmers had fewer chances to assumemore t.han one leadership role in local

PcrtanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & HUJIl. Vol. '> No.1 1995 15

Maimunah Ismail

institutions due to a preponderance of potentialmale leaders (whether farmers or non-farmers)in a particular locality.

Welfare Role in Community

Welfare role in community is defined as thevoluntary activities one performs to complementthe existing community development prognlmmesor to maintain community livelihood.

The study revealed that women progressivefarmers were more involved than their mencounterparts in community welfare activities. Theactivities included: adopting children of problemfamilies, providing services in communitygatherings and religious classes, giving servicesto the community through rural co-operatives,and providing employment to other womenthrough income-generating projects owned bywomen farmers' groups. One woman respondentreported that she had been involved in suchcommunity welfare activities for the past 30 yearswithout receiving any allowance.

Role as Local Change Agents

A change agent is defined as one who acts as aninformal educator, helping other individuals inthe community to learn ways of improving theirperformance in their daily productive and socialtasks at grassrot level.

""omen progressive farmers were found tohave a more important role as local changeagents than the men. Their high level ofinvolvement as local change agents implies thatthey fulfil the role of extension and non-formaleducators of local leaders. This has someconnection with women's leadership and welfareroles in the community as discussed earlier. Twowomen progressive farmers were heavily involvedin organizing and teaching specific skills neededby the villagers. Examples of such programmeswere on-the-job training for youths in skillsrelated to the cultivation of short-term cashcrops such as corn, papaya and vegetables, andin skills of poultry, freshwater fish and aquariumfish rearing. The programmes were sponsoredby the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Anothertwo ,,/Omen progressive farmers organizedtraining for members of a women's club in themanufacturing of snack foods and in tailoring,in order to prepare club members to ventureinto other enterprising activities.

The study also showed that half of thewomen progressive farmers were KEMAS

teachers, conducting non-formal educationclasses, training rural women in income­generating projects such as tailoring, handicraftsand agriculture.

A lower level of involvement of maleprogressive farmers as local change agen ts wasdue to their stronger linkages with agribusinessesoutside their village or district boundary. In thissense, male progressive fanners are said to bemore cosmopolitan than their femalecounterparts, hence reducing their opportunityfor contact with local villagers. They could notbe approached and consulted as often as thefemale progressive farmers in matters related tofarming and other income-generating skills.

The higher involvement of womenprogressive farmers in leadership and welfareresponsibilities, and their greater role as localchange agents could be explained from thenotion that women's social role outside the houseis seen as closer to nature, which, in turn, tiesthem down to domestic responsibilities. Men,on the other hand, are seen as free to go farbeyond home/village boundaries, having widersocial movement and social contacts (Ortner 1978).

A summal)' of the roles of men and womenprogressive farmers in rural development isshown in Table 2.

CONCLUSION

There were both similarities and differences inthe roles of men and women progressive farmersin rural development. Both groups of farmersmade significant contributions towardsagl-icultural production, diversification andcommer-cialization. Important factors sustainingthe commercial status of both groups ofprogressive farmers were the acreage of theirlandholdings, and their constant involvement inboth agro-based and non-agricultural businesses;such factors have assured them of a constantincome from agriculture. ''''omen progressivefarmers, especially those who headed theirhouseholds, were also found to be engaged inother non-agricultural business activities.

Female progressive farmers had a greaterleadership role in local social institutions thanthe male progressive farmers. This was due tothe limited number of women progressivefarmers available in a given community. Menprogressive farmers tended to distribute thecommunity leadership roles to other male leadersbecause of the preponderance of the latter.

16 PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 3 No.1 1995

Roles of Progressive Malaysian Farmers in Rural Development

TABLE 2Roles of men and women progl-essive farmers in rural development

Role

Commercializationof agricul ture

Involvement inagribusiness

Involvement in non­agribusiness

Leadership role ininstitutionaldevelopment

Welfare role incommunity

Role as local changeagents

Men Progressive Farmers

Long-term cash crops:oil-palm, rubber,cocoa, coconut, fruit orchards,(star-fruit and dokong).Short-term cash crops:paddy, banana, vegetables,pineapple, tobacco, corn.

Livestock: poultry, sheep andgoats.

As producers of the abovecommoditiesInvolved in marketing ofcommoditiesSmall-scale industries makingchilli and tomato sauces,soya sauce, snack foodsLocal dealer for rubber anddried cocoa beansAgriculture contractors supplyingagricultural inputs such asfertilizers and pesticides, landpreparation and plantingBetter linkages with componentsin agribusiness system

Sundry shopContractors (Class F,below RM200,OOO capital),school equipment supplier

Leadership roles morespread because there weremany male leaders in acommunity

Community gatheringsProvide employment toother workers

Less involved as localchange agentsHave more linkages withbusiness componentsoutside community system

Women Progressive Farmers

Long-term cash crops:oil-palm, rubber,cocoa, frui t orchards,especially mango.Short-term cash crops:vegetables, banana,corn, papaya.

Livestock: quail, poultry,freshwater and aquarium fish

As producers of the abovecommoditiesInvolved in marketing

Producers of small-scalemanufactured products such asfruit jams and juicesLocal dealers for rubbel-and dried cocoa beans

RestaurantSouvenir shopHandicraft shopTailoring, school uniformsTransport companyRural co-operatives(Businesses are more diversified)

Female progressive farmerswere leaders in almost allassociations of women/women'ssection of any institutionNot many women leaders

Adopt children of problem familiesCommunity gatheringO'-ganize and lead associationsof widows and divorceesCo-operative servicesProvide employment to other womenthrough women's projects

More involved as local changeagents compared to menTraining for youth in fish andfarm productionKEMAS teacher in the villageSupport the role of Extension andNFE roles of opinion leaders

PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 3 No. I 1995 17

Maimunah Ismail

The study also concluded that womenprogressive farmers had a larger role than theirmale counterparts in welfare services to thecommunity and as local change agents.

These conclusions have implications forextension and development planning. Eventhough the number of progressive farmers isvery small in any community, especially inMalaysia, their contributions to agriculture andrural development are substantial. Malaysia hasthe potential to increase the number of farmerswith characteristics closer to those of progressivefarmers through its strategies under the newNational Agriculture Policy (NAP) (1992 to

2010)~.

Optimizing resources used, accelerated agro­based industries development, and enhancementof Rand D efforts through technologicalcreations are among the agriculturaltransformation strategies aimed at developingviable and self-reliant farmers.

It is imperative that any extension anddevelopment programme targeted at the ruralpopulation should clearly specify the gender ofthe clientele involved. This would facilitate theimplementation of the programmes in terms ofapproach, place and time to contact the differenttypes of audience. These considerations areneeded because both male and female farmershave equal potential to achieve the status ofprogressive farmers.

The study also implies that extension andnon-formal education programmes shouldcapitalize on both male and female progressivefarmers in their planning and execution becausethey are among the influential people in anycommunity who can help expedite the successof the programme. They should be involved,for instance, not only in developing village-basedprojects and programmes but also in the researchand development activities since both groups offarmers have vast practical experience in farming.In fact, one of the strategies of the new NationalAgricultural Policy is commercialization ofagriculture in which progressive farmers have

tremendous roles to playas this country movestowards achieving the goal of developed nationstatus in the second decade of the 21st century.

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