I

t is amazing to see how women in Indonesia are showing the way in ensuring their families'€™ and communities'€™ food security amid the challenges brought by climate change. The distance they have had to overcome makes their achievements even more inspiring.

I recall Sitti Rahmah, 41, from the village of Pitu Sunggu in Pangkep regency, South Sulawesi province. Saltwater intrusion made the land in her coastal village difficult to farm, forcing people to turn their farmlands into shrimp and seaweed ponds.

After receiving training on farming by the Mangrove Action Project, one of Oxfam'€™s partner organizations, Rahmah realized it was possible to cultivate saltwater rice and that it was possible to engage local women to convince them to participate.

When the land became productive, Rahmah and the women began to farm organic vegetables, which they sold in nearby markets. When the weather was unsuitable for farming, the women turned
the seafood into other products, such as chips.

Weather, food supply and women are strongly interconnected. The impact of climate change on food is felt sharply by women working in agriculture, the fishery and in households. They bear the brunt of water scarcity, failed crops and increased food prices.

In Indonesia, millions have already begun to experience the impacts of climate change, which are threatening their livelihoods as farmers and fisherfolk.

With less income, they become more susceptible to loan sharks, burying them deeper into debt as they struggle to find alternate sources of revenue.

It can only get worse. According to a recent UN Report, global warming will disrupt food supplies, slow world economic growth and may already be causing irreversible damage to nature. Asia, including the millions of people living along Indonesia'€™s coasts, are among the most vulnerable to the impacts.

Despite these problems, some women across Indonesia have been exemplary role models in showing how women can play significant roles in securing food production amidst climate change, especially when they are given the right resources and are empowered.

In Sumba Timur, East Nusa Tenggara, Marlina Rambu Meha, 39, also champions a food self-sufficiency movement in her community. Some of the land in Meha'€™s home province is not ideal for conventional rice farming. Meha, along with other female farmers, now plan other food crops such as tubers, sorghum and vegetables that are more suitable to their climate to supplement their families'€™ incomes.

When provided with adequate support, skills and knowledge that enable them to adapt to climate change, women have proven they can be champions for climate change adaptation for their
communities.

Women make up 43 percent of the agricultural workforce in developing countries and play a vital role in food production and preparation around the globe.

The multiplier effect of putting gender in the context of climate change adaptation and disaster
risk reduction efforts cannot be overestimated.

Unfortunately, ensuring women'€™s voices in planning for disaster and livelihood remains a challenge.

In spite of the numerous mentions of gender equality in disaster risk reduction policies, much remains to be done. This is one of the findings of a recently launched Oxfam briefing note, '€œCan'€™t Afford to Wait'€, which highlights why disaster-risk reduction and climate-change adaptation plans in Asia are still failing millions of people.

There are quite a lot of community-based adaptation stories and models championed by Indonesian women. These, along with the experiences and needs of women, should be part of the primary considerations for disaster risk reduction and climate-change adaptation policies and plans in the region.

When women are included in the conversation, their families and communities are bound to benefit.