IFAD, WFP and FAO celebrate women’s contribution to food and nutrition security
Research suggests increasing women's access to agricultural resources would significantly improve food security worldwide. |
Rome—Marking International Women’s Day
2015 on March 8th, leaders from the United Nations’ three
Rome-based food agencies gathered to remind the world that women farmers play a
central role in achieving food and nutrition security.
At
the Rome event, leaders from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food
Programme (WFP) shared testimonials of their innovative interventions that have
empowered rural women, and in doing so have contributed to food security and
nutrition. They also highlighted that promoting gender equality and women’s
empowerment can significantly strengthen efforts to reduce rural poverty.
This
year’s event also marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark
Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 (Beijing +20).
IFAD
President Kanayo F. Nwanze delivered the opening keynote address pointing out
that as men in developing countries migrate to urban centers or shift to
better-paid work, a “feminization of agriculture” has occurred with
approximately half of the agricultural workforce worldwide now made up of
women.
"Women
are the backbone of rural societies as they grow and process food and make sure
their families are well-fed and well-nourished," Mr. Nwanze said.
"Too
often, rural women are doing the backbreaking work. To improve women’s social
and economic status, we need more recognition for the vital role they play in
the rural economy. Rural women need more opportunities to participate,
improve their skills, gain access to assets, and be involved in agricultural
production and marketing. Let us all work together to empower women to achieve
food and nutrition security. For their sake, and the sake of their families and
communities, he added."
Ertharin
Cousin, the Executive Director of WFP, highlighted the innovative Purchase for
Progress (P4P) initiative, which connects smallholders to markets and in five
years tripled women’s participation in P4P-supported farmers’ organizations in
20 countries.
“Using
WFP’s market power, the organization directly and positively impacted the lives
of 300,000 women,” Cousin said. “By purchasing crops traditionally
cultivated by women, such as beans and soya, WFP demonstrated the key role
rural women play as we work together to achieve a world with zero hunger.
While acknowledging the success of this programme we must scale up the lessons
learned to ensure greater opportunities for more women.”
Marcela
Villarreal, Director of the Office for Partnerships, Advocacy and Capacity
Development in FAO, stressed that food security overall would improve
significantly if women were empowered with the same opportunities that men
have, and sounded a warning about the position of rural women, in particular.
“While
significant progress has been made in improving the lives of women since the
Beijing conference, we’re concerned that rural women are lagging behind in
every development indicator—both behind rural men and urban women,” Ms. Villarreal
said. “In the 20 years since that conference, we have not achieved enough for
this group of women who play an important role as food providers, and we need
to step up our efforts to enable them to reach their full potential.”
Rural
women have generally less access than men to productive resources and services.
This gap imposes real costs on societies in terms of lost agricultural output,
food security, and economic growth.
Events
throughout the year to mark Beijing +20 provide an opportunity for the
Rome-based UN agencies, the international community as a whole, and national
governments to reflect on progress, flag remaining gaps, and renew their
commitments to gender equality and women's empowerment. Despite the historic
agreement of the Beijing Platform for Action by 189 governments in 1995, no
country in the world has yet achieved gender equality. The gender pay gap is
just one example of inequality that affects women worldwide.
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