Women and Food Security: The Case of Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia

In many countries, women are the primary producers and providers of food at the household and community levels. They not only play roles in the whole farming process, from choosing the best seeds to selling the crops, but also have responsibilities on ensuring food security in their family. By using case study of women farmers in Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, this paper seeks to provide an analysis of challenges and opportunities of women in dealing to food security issues. The analysis in this paper is based on a desk study and literature review of academic publications as well as evidence collected through the field work. In addition, the interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with experts and several women farmers. However, this paper acknowledges that women are not a homogenous group. It tries to identify the commonalities among various groups of women farmers in Belu.