U.S. aid officials are launching a new way to measure whether their efforts to empower women farmers are working. Women make up nearly half the agricultural workforce in sub-Saharan Africa and East and Southeast Asia, but women’s farm production tends to lag behind their male counterparts. Women face a number of obstacles that men do not. They tend to own less land and have fewer rights to that land. They have less access to credit and training. And they have less input in … [Read more...]
Empowering Rural Women: CSW 2012’s Priority
The 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the principal global policy-making body committed to gender equality and the advancement of women, meets 27 February- 9 March in New York and is this year dedicated to rural women’s empowerment. Given the centrality of rural women in FAO’s work to eradicate hunger and poverty, the organization will play a major role in this year’s discussions. Rural women make essential contributions to the rural economy of … [Read more...]
WOMEN globally talk about food insecurities in rural areas
Rural women speak out about food insecurity Today’s global food insecurity destabilizes rural communities all over the world, impeding their access to food and affecting their ability to earn a livelihood. In partnership with the Huairou Commission and WOCAN, FAO held a series of twenty one consultations with hundreds of women and men in Africa, Asia and Latin America to better understand the direct impacts of food security on their lives and those of their families. Today’s global food … [Read more...]