FAO Regional Conference for the Near EastThirty-Second Session24 – 28 February 2014, Rome, Italy Addressing the Gender Gap in Agriculture and the Rural Sector in the Near East and North Africa Agenda Item 11: NERC/14/6 ©www.fao.org

1. FAO Regional Conference for the Near East
Thirty-Second Session
24 – 28 February 2014, Rome, Italy
Addressing the Gender Gap in
Agriculture and the Rural Sector in
the Near East and North Africa
Agenda Item 11: NERC/14/6
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

2. Outline of Presentation
•
Introduction
•
Challenges to address the gender gap in agriculture
and the rural sector
•
Activities carried out in the region by FAO
•
Regional strategic measures to address gender gap
and women’s empowerment in the region
•
Guidance sought
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

3. Introduction
Agriculture
a. Unable to sustain rural livelihoods
b. Increased male migration
c. Women’s roles as food producers has increased
Women’s predominance in agriculture - access
to productive resources, and services that need
to be more gender sensitive
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

4. Challenges to reduce gender
gaps in agriculture and the
rural sector
•
Gender gap in the NENA region remains a main
challenge
•
Investments in girls’ and women’s education and
health
•
Legal constraints within and outside the
household
•
Gender gaps in the region
a. Land and other livelihood opportunities
b. Education is less accessible to rural women
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

5. Challenges to reduce gender
gaps in agriculture and the
rural sector
•
Entry barriers in non-traditional value chains
•
Land tenure rights and access to loans and
credits
•
Access to information and knowledge transfer,
extension and advisory services
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

6. Challenges to reduce gender
gaps in agriculture and the
rural sector
•
Insufficient research and data
•
High unemployment rates especially among
young women
•
Remuneration and salaries
•
Access to social protection programmes
•
Occupational safety and health in agriculture and
the rural sector
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

7. FAO’s Activities Carried Out
in the Region Cont’d
•
FAO’s Policy on Gender Equality endorsed (2012)
•
Implementation of FAO’s Gender Equality Policy
in the Region/ Gender Audits
•
Gender and Rural Development Network in
Tunisia
•
A regional network and website on Gender
Equality and Rural Women’s Empowerment
launched (2013)
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

8. FAO’s Activities Carried Out
in the Region Cont’d
•
Country initiatives to address gender gaps. Few
examples:
-
Tunisia: FAO supported the sustainable livelihoods of
over 3000 women involved in clam harvesting
-
Egypt: on-going FAO-Government Cooperative
Programme on food-secure environment to increase
women and youth access to skills and knowledge to
improve their diets
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

9. FAO’s Activities Carried Out
in the Region Cont’d
-
Oman: proposal to strengthen the Rural Women
Department to support the economic empowerment of
women producers and entrepreneurs in agriculture,
livestock, and fisheries
-
West Bank and Gaza Strip, women cooperatives
incorporated into a Junior Farmer Field and Life School
Project (this was done through training by FAO in
nutrition, food processing, marketing and other skills
from extension workers)
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

10. What’s Next?
Regional Measures to
Mainstream Gender in the
Region
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

11. Regional Measures to
Mainstream Gender in the
Region
FAO: support to Member States in formulating and
implementing a regional gender approach to increased
food security and rural development:
• Formulate and implement gender-sensitive food
security & rural poverty reduction policies,
sustained by adequate budget allocations
• Inclusive economic growth
• Policy land reforms
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

12. Regional Measures to
Mainstream Gender in the
Region Cont’d
•
Build legal awareness on land and water rights –
provide support to acquire personal identification
documents
•
Advise and support for the design and implementation
of approaches to improve the access to natural
resources and sustainable management
•
FAO’s role as knowledge broker, South-South
cooperation, and exchange among NENA countries
•
Cooperation and partnerships with regional bodies,
private sector and civil society organisations
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

13. Regional Measures to
Mainstream Gender in the
Region Cont’d
•
Strengthening rural institutions essential for poverty
reduction, and economic development of small
producers:
•
Capacity development support of gender-sensitive
approaches
•
Investment in agricultural extension services, focusing on
female extension agents
•
Policies and programs to sustain women producers’
organizations
•
Improve research in crops, livestock, fisheries and
technology to support women’s activities
•
Access to ICTs for women and youth
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

14. REGIONAL MEASURES TO
MAINSTREAM GENDER IN THE
REGION Cont’d
• Human capital of women, men, boys and girls
• New policies and strategies to support women
and youth in rural areas in developing skills
needed to enhance their employment
opportunities
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

15. Regional Measures to
Mainstream Gender in the
Region Cont’d
•
Strengthening the capacity of national stakeholders
to collect and analyse gender disaggregated data
•
Enhance data generation on small-scale producers
and value chains at different levels
•
New policies and strategies to support women and
youth in rural areas in developing skills needed to
enhance their employment opportunities
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

16. Regional Measures to
Mainstream Gender in the
Region Cont’d
Economic empowerment of women and girls
•
Institutional and policy environment that promotes
decent work for women
•
Increase the labour productivity and employment
opportunities / training, extension, social services and
labour saving technologies
•
Policies to better integrate women in the value chain
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

17. Regional Measures to
Mainstream Gender in the
Region Cont’d
Economic empowerment of women and girls
•
Ensure non-discriminatory business and contractual
laws
•
Build social capital among women entrepreneurs
(cooperatives, self-help groups and rural women’s
business associations)
•
Market information for women through national
communication networks
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

18. Regional Measures to
Mainstream Gender in the
Region Cont’d
•
•
Social protection programmes: service roads, rural
clinics, rural water supply networks
Partnership with civil society organisations and other
development & UN organizations is crucial
•
Needs of rural women, youth, and displaced people
•
Design interventions that promote investment in rural
women’s human capital
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

19. GUIDANCE SOUGHT

Initiatives in the region
•
•
•
Food security and nutrition
Water scarcity
Small-scale producers

Address the needs and requirements of rural women
and men through gender mainstreaming in these
regional initiatives

Inclusive approach to achieve better food security
and nutrition
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

20. Thank You
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region