By Educating more women about growing nutritious food can greatly contribute to worldwide food security. Women play an important role in society, particularly in agriculture, and empowering them in this sector may be a better, faster way compared to merely focusing on policy making.
Based on Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s data, 43 percent of the labor force in the agriculture industry of developing countries are women and 79 percent of them rely on agriculture as their livelihood. Aside from having limited access to resources, most of them are also not represented and heard in the decision making of environmental-related policies, yet they are the ones whose lives are at risk at work due to the effects of climate change.
Some of the struggles that women face today due to climate change are access to land, water, inputs, and raw materials. Some of them own land, but of small and poor quality. These limitations are threats to their family’s food security. Some studies say that rural women usually perform labor-intensive tasks and work longer than men and yet they earn lower than them. Men and women must have equal benefits and opportunities regardless of industry.
The president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an international financial institution, said that investing and empowering women is a way to ensure that food will be accessible to everyone. With the support of the government, organizations, universities, and other agricultural bodies, we can empower women, increase their income as farmers, and boost their resources to promote sustainable development while strengthening food security and nutrition.
Women must also engage in farmer organizations and cooperatives to build their confidence, leadership, and security. There’s a need to close the gender gap to attain global food security and to increase the overall output while aiming for one goal that is to stop hunger.
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