Agribusiness is critical to economic development. In Asia and the Pacific, it can provide opportunities for women to find good jobs earning decent salaries. ADB partners with agribusiness companies like Hasfarm Holdings, Southeast Asia’s leading flower company, to open up new career paths for women.
“In all our financings, we systematically push for gender equality. For example, our financing coupled with a Gender Action Plan to a flower business in Viet Nam, Hasfarm, helped increase the percentage of women employees to 65% for all staff and to 63% for managers and supervisors,” says Martin Lemoine, who leads the Agribusiness Unit of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department.
Women play a vital role in different agricultural activities. By investing and providing them with access to resources, technology, and skills development, their lives are improved and they can fully participate in their chosen fields.
Here’s a glimpse into how scaling-up investment in Hasfarm Holdings is empowering women in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam by improving their job prospects and lifting their incomes.
Doan Thi Out, Harvesting Unit Team Leader, Daron Hasfarm
“We used to harvest flowers manually. We could only harvest between 300 to 350 bunches per hour. Now that we’re using a harvesting machine, production is doubled to 600 to 650 bunches per hour. It took me about a month of training to learn how to use the harvesting machine, which initially was only assigned to male staff. It was hard at the beginning but because I became a team leader, I was motivated to learn new skills like operating the harvesting machine.
I receive about VND5.5 million per month and it is a good income for my family. Me and my husband, who is also a Hasfarm worker, saved enough money to build our own house. I enjoy working with my team members and consider Hasfarm as my second family.”
Le Thi Ly, flower farmer, Dalat Hasfarm
“I was a housewife and did gardening before joining Hasfarm. I decided to work because my kids were growing up and we needed extra income. I joined Hasfarm as a farmer for the team working on seeding and raising young flowers.
My family is grateful for the opportunities that improved our status. We were able to buy a new motorbike and renovate our house. And more importantly, we were able to send our children to school. After finishing his studies, my son Minh decided to work for Hasfarm under the technical support unit. Three generations of my family are now working here, my mother-in-law, my husband, myself and my son.”
Le Thin Nhu Lan, Pot Plant Manager, Dalat Hasfarm
“I’ve been with Hasfarm since 1997. After I graduated from university, I joined the company as one of the first employees. We were initially working on vegetables. After two years, we started with pot plants. We were a small team then and we grew small quantities of flowers like chrysanthemum and geranium. Hasfarm expanded gradually and pot plant became one of our company’s divisions.
I attended a lot of training in my 22 years with Dalat Hasfarm. I was also trained to become a manager. Besides getting a good salary, working here gives me more chances to improve myself.”
.jpg){kind=tracking}