Key messages from Learning Event No. 13: "How can agricultural innovation better empower women and their key roles in food and nutrition security?", at the 2012 Agriculture and Rural Development Day in Rio de Janiero. www.agricultureday.org

1. How can agricultural innovation better
empower women and their key roles
in food and nutrition security?
Katy Lee

2. • Women provide much of the world’s
agricultural labour yet poorly recognized
• Need to reframe food security focus of
innovation to include post harvest and
household nutrition
• Access to resources of all kinds is crucial and
has to start from the household and
community

3. Our evidence:
• Women comprise 43% of global agricultural
labour yet often not classed as farmers
• Women control 3-20% of agricultural land
• Typically 20-30% lower yields as less access to
resources – time, land, knowledge, inputs etc

4. What is needed to take our case to scale:
• Rethink scope of innovation and of agriculture
through the eyes of women producers
• Enable access to inputs, knowledge, innovation
and returns. Greater focus on saving time &
energy for women
• This must be cross-institutional and
transformative - traditional gender focal points
are not enough