Media Advisory no.: MA/11/08

Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook to be launched in Rome at FAO and IFAD to mark the first observance of the International Day of Rural Women

Rome, October 15 2008 – On the occasion of the launch of the Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook, coinciding with the International Day of Rural Women, experts from the three Rome based food and agriculture organisations (FAO, IFAD, WFP) and the World Bank will discuss the findings of three years of research on gender responsive agricultural development.

The Sourcebook is a vital tool for understanding and applying the practices and innovative activities that will unleash the female potential to pull the rural poor out of poverty.

“The Sourcebook focuses on strengths and opportunities, rather than on needs and weaknesses” said Yianna Lambrou, FAO Senior Officer, Gender, Equity and Rural Employment, FAO.

The ongoing global food price crisis has refocused the attention of the international community on the importance of investing in agriculture. 450 million smallholder farms hold the key to feeding over 2 billion of the world’s rural poor people.

Growth and development in the agricultural sector can only be achieved if women are recognized and rewarded as the main actors.

Smallholder farming in developing countries is predominantly a women's task; women produce most of the crops in many low income developing countries. Yet they still have far less access than men to land, water, energy, knowledge, technology and credit. Experience shows that when women do gain equal access to these, food production increases as much as 20 percent. Gender imbalance in ownership and control of these assets persists and undermines the potential of women as driv­ers of agricultural growth and food security.

“The Sourcebook provides strategies on assisting women to become stronger and more effective partners and major players in agricultural development”, said Maria Hartl, IFAD Technical Adviser on Gender and Social Equity.

Date: Wednesday 15 October

Place: FAO Headquarters, Iran Room, Rome
Time: 10:30 – 12:00

Place: IFAD Headquarters, Rome
Time: 15:30 - 17:00