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Ignoring women in agriculture comes at a cost

Submitted by Cecilia on 19th July 2012
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By Cecilia Schubert

Ignoring the gender gap in agriculture has huge economic dimensions. If we want the situation to improve for female farmers we have to make it all about economics! This was the advice given by Ann Tutwiler (FAO) in the learning event  ‘How can agricultural innovation better empower women and their key roles in food and nutrition security?’ held during Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD) by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research.

Policy makers would be much more engaged if they knew how much revenues the country looses by excluding women from decision-making processes, denied ownership to land,  access to markets and credits, as well as receiving knowledge about new fertilizers and crops. Already women produce less per land, as they lack inputs och resources. Helping women contribute more efficiently can create significantly gains for both the society and in the family unit. Women are key resources in agriculture seeing as they comprise 43 percent of the agricultural labor force in developing countries, Ann emphasized, adding that “the stereotype of a farmer is that he is a man, but in reality she is a woman”.  Read more »

Water, Food Security and Climate Change: not putting all your eggs into one basket

Submitted by Cecilia on 14th November 2011
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Guest blog by Michael Victor, CGIAR Challenge Program for Water and Food, Communication Coordinator

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to some Lao colleagues about the CGIAR Challenge Program for Water and Food’s Learning Event on Rainwater management at ARDD and the concept of climate smart agriculture. While the term is difficult to translate, the definition is quite simple. Essentially, it means tackling climate-change while producing more food for a growing population.

But what does this mean in practice? Is it the ‘best and brightest’ of technologies, the magic bullet that will triple production and solve all our problems? Or is it the recommended technology suite that can be implemented everywhere?  Wasn't this more of the same technologies and approaches we have been promoting for years? Read more »

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