Goat producers reflect on the role of women in agricultural development and climate governance

• Second Gender Equity Workshop of the CIENPINOS project highlights the contributions, challenges, and proposals of rural women in Cuba

“Women are a fundamental and essential force for the success and sustainability of agricultural development projects.” With this forceful statement, the Second Gender Equity Workshop of the project Municipal Climate Governance and Sustainable Agroforestry Food Production with Low Emissions and Climate Adaptation in Cienfuegos and Pinar del Río (CIENPINOS) concluded. The workshop took place on May 28 and 29 in the province of Cienfuegos, Cuba.

During the event, 60 participants —including 30 women goat producers— discussed the presence, influence, and impact of women in the agricultural sector, especially in the context of goat farming, a key sector for many rural Cuban families.

One of the workshop’s most notable points was the urgent need to ensure greater participation and decision-making power for women in climate governance and in the design and implementation of Nature-based Solutions. In this regard, the CIENPINOS project was highlighted as a platform that offers opportunities for training, technical updates, and capacity building.

Dr. Yoana Piedra Sarría, President of the Chair on Gender, Youth and Society at the Carlos Rafael Rodríguez University of Cienfuegos, noted that rural women play a leading role in sectors such as agriculture, livestock, and forest management, yet their work is often unrecognized and undervalued. “Rural women play a key role in goat management and domestic activities, but their contributions are often undermined and their decision-making power is very limited,” she said.

Through case analysis, project-produced videos, and participatory dynamics, the attendees identified persistent gender stereotypes and proposed concrete actions that could be implemented across the project’s four components, including communication and the promotion of local traditions.

The voices of the producers reflected both daily challenges and their capacity for resilience. Ivette Cruz Cabrera, from the municipality of Abreus, emphasized: “In addition to contributing our efforts to the development of goat farming, we also bear a disproportionate share of unpaid domestic work.”

 For her part, Raquel Morejón, from the municipality of Cumanayagua, said: “We face a lack of rainfall and increasingly higher temperatures, but we also seek solutions to produce and prepare our families to mitigate and adapt to these negative climate impacts.” From the same area, Yadira Cruz Muñoz, one of the largest goat milk producers in the territory, added: “We need to keep preparing ourselves. We need technical training to improve goat management, and CIENPINOS has brought that to these lands.”

The workshop also served to gather valuable information on the social realities of the communities, which will be used to strengthen the territorial approach of the project. As part of the conclusions, strategies were proposed to enhance the value chain of the Creole goat, including the valorization of milk, the production of by-products such as cheese, and the improvement of marketing processes.

With this second edition of the Gender Equity Workshop, CIENPINOS concludes a cycle of thematic engagement that has fostered ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders on gender equity. The empowerment of women is thus reinforced as a transversal and strategic axis for the development of rural Cuban communities and the sustainability of productive systems.