This is another story to tell about an empowered woman who came out from her comfort zone as a veterinarian and chose to work with vegetables and the seed sector. 

Featured resource speaker of Episode 4 of Aggie Ps Talk Season 7, aired last October 5 was Dr. Mary Ann P. Sayoc who talked about “Seeding Love.” Although Dr. Sayoc holds a degree in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, she chose to be in the field of agriculture and in securing food availability through farming and crop production. In her 20 years of professional experience in the seed industry, Dr. Sayoc serves as one of the agents in providing sufficient and nutritious food through high quality vegetable seeds under the East West Seed (EWS) Company.

In her presentation, Dr. Sayoc stated that women play a key role in the production of food. She cited that according to the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2011, women produce over 50 percent of the world’s food. Moreover, women comprise about 43 percent of the agricultural labor force.

As the Public Affairs Lead of East West Seed International, Dr. Sayoc proudly shared that EWS is the market leader in tropical vegetable seeds in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Myanmar. While East West Seed has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the World Food Prize Laureate in 2019 which is equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize, the company’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Agenda makes it more notable and relevant. 

East West Seed Company specifically supports Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 5, which aims to achieve gender equality and women empowerment. Dr. Sayoc shared that most of the key functions at EWS are headed by female managers. Moreover, EWS involves women farmers in participatory plant breeding and participate in pre-commercial selection of vegetable varieties, provide data on yield, disease resistance, and fruit quality taste on varieties coming from research & development.

In the Philippines, EWS also employs and provides equal opportunities to women. For example, Dr. Sayoc explained that ESW prefers female pollinators because they have tender hands and are more patient and persevering in finding female flowers. Women also do the harvesting, seed extraction, and cleaning. 

Dr. Sayoc also provided three important considerations on how to empower women, such as.

1. Education is key to unlocking the potential of women;
2. Encouraging women to venture in fields which are traditionally dominated  by men; and
3. Promoting gender equality in the workplace.

As she ended her presentation, Dr. Sayoc said that women farmers play an important role in food production but they have multiple roles in the household. As they grow food, they cook meals and provide nourishment and nutrition for their family. They also care for their children and during this time of pandemic, act as teachers. They are overworked yet undervalued. Indeed, there is no limit to what women can accomplish.

Watch the video through this link: youtube.com/watch?v=wt6K1-ejw40&t=465s

(IMGesmundo)