Remanso women’s network and public policies in the semiarid region of bahia: construction of knowledge and management of agroeco systems to promote gender equity and women’s autonomy

Gender inequalities are part of a historical reality in the countryside, the city and the different socio-environmental contexts in Brazil. In the whereabouts of the Brazilian semiarid region, popular initiatives and public policies have emerged in the search for the valorization of women’s knowledge in the context of agroecosystems and the overcoming of gender issues and equity promotion. Thus, this work aimed to systematize and analyze the local knowledge about the semiarid agroecosystems managed by women farmers who are members of the Network of Women of Remanso, Bahia, Brazil. It is found that in the last two decades with the access to public policies they had a positive impact on the lives of women who are part of the Women’s Network, helped them to recognize their knowledge and fortified the agroecological transition experiences led by women, expanding the strategies of the stock culture, in addition to the promotion of technologies of water storage for human consumption, food production and for the reproduction and conservation of native seeds. The horizontal exchange of knowledge in the management of agrobiodiversity and other strategies guaranteed the conservation of genetic resources and sustainability for the agroecosystems formed in this region of the semiarid region of Bahia. However, even with these achievements and recognition of the knowledge already evidenced through the action of women’s networks, there is still much to advance in order to ensure gender equality and full citizenship for women living in rural areas.