Presentation by Dr Rajendra Paroda, Executive Secretary, Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), at the 2012 Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD) in Rio de Janiero, Learning Event No. 13, Session 4: "Addressing the needs of women through agricultural research for development around the world".

1. Gender in Agriculture
Raj Paroda
Executive Secretary
APAARI
Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions
Bangkok, Thailand

2. GENDER IN AGRICULTURE
• Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) laid emphasis on
removal of key obstacles for advancement of women the world over
• Gender inequalities continue to persist despite women making up nearly
half of the world’s agricultural force
• In agriculture, not much has happened. Few recent reports: FAO (2010)
and World Bank (2012)
• For the first time, a Global Conference on Women in Agriculture (GCWA)
was held on13-15 March, in New Delhi

3. Global Conference on Women in Agriculture
Overarching Goal
• Empowering Women for Inclusive Growth in Agriculture
Objectives
• To discuss and deliberate the prevailing and
emerging gender issues in agriculture
• To have evidence on experiences in enhancing
role of women in agriculture
• To understand the mechanisms and approaches
adopted by various organizations and countries
• To ensure that policy initiatives are gender sensitive
and there is a Framework for Action
Participants
• 760 participants from 50 countries participated
• Co-Sponsors: ICAR, APAARI, GFAR, CGIAR, USAID,ACIAR,
ADB, World Bank, IDRC, UK Aid, BMGF, TAAS, RAGA

4. Global Conference on Women in Agriculture
Conference Structure:
Policy Fora
• Reforms in empowering women in agriculture
• Institutional changes for capacity building
Parallel Sessions
• Assessing women’s empowerment in agriculture
• Agricultural innovations for reducing drudgery
• Linking women to markets
• Role of women in household food and nutritional security
• Access to assets, resources and knowledge: policies and
services
• Impact and responses to climate change related risks and
uncertainties: their impact
Plenary Sessions
• Strengthening capacity building and partnerships
• Need assessment and future strategy
• Toward more effective joint action
Also, there were three working Groups, Poster Presentations
(242) and Innovation Market Place

5. Global Conference on Women in Agriculture
Priority Areas for Action:
• Making importance of gender in agriculture more
visible and recognized
• Strengthening evidence and knowledge to address
specific needs of farm women
• Promote collective action and leadership of rural
women and address effectively existing
discrimination.
• Establishing rights to ownership and access to
resources to ensure inclusive growth
• Promoting partnership through coordination and
convergence at national, regional and global scale

6. Global Conference on Women in Agriculture
Next Steps:
• GCWA synthesis report now available on the website of
Co-organizers ( ICAR, APAARI, GFAR)
• Participatory multi-stakeholder process to be facilitated by
GFAR to build Gender in Agriculture Partnership (GAP)
• A draft proposal for GAP to be presented at GCARD2 for
further discussion and general agreement/endorsement
• The GCWA be held regularly in future. The next to be
hosted by FARA in Africa in 2015 in order to assess the
progress on Action Plan
Key Message:
Woman Farmer First

7. Global Conference on Women in Agriculture
“In order to awaken the people, it is the
women who have to be awakened. Once she
is on the move, the family moves, the village
moves, the nation moves.”
Jawaharlal Nehru, the First Prime Minister of India

8. www.gcwa2012.in