Women and young farmers can spur others to implement new sustainability and development initiatives, even though they are less likely to be seen as opinion leaders in their local communities, according to a study.

Women make up 43 per cent of the global agricultural labour force, but face significant discrimination when it comes to land ownership, access to credit and financial services, and participation in decision-making, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

For the study, published this month in the journal Agriculture and Human Values, researchers surveyed about 2,000 farmers on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia and asked them to identify leaders they would consult for advice and information in their smallholder farming communities.

These leaders, largely older men, were then asked to convince other farmers to use pruning scissors to improve the health of their cocoa trees.

“Correct pruning of cocoa trees can decrease unwanted shading, help control diseases and pests, and limit transfer of nutrients to unproductive parts of the plant thereby increasing the yield of cocoa trees by optimising their growth patterns,” says Petr Matous, the study’s lead researcher from The University of Sydney’s School of Project Management and John Grill Institute for Project Leadership.

Read the full article about women and youth in rural Indonesia at Eco-Business.