Technical Consultation on Intra-household Dynamics and Rural Household Food Security: September 1998

A Technical Consultation on Intra-household Dynamics and Rural Household Food Security will be held, at the FAO Regional office for Asia and the Pacific. It is expected that the technical consultation, with the participation of researchers from eight countries in the region will provide a forum to explore the current concerns on gender roles and household level resource allocations with implication for household food security. The outcome of the consultation will be to identify recommendations for FAO action in the programme area of household resource strategies and household food security and develop a regional network of focal persons for FAO RAP WID programme. The experts will be invited on their personal capacity recognized as experts for their knowledge and scholarly contribution in the area of intra-household resource dynamics with implications for rural household food security.The experts are invited from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, India, LAO PDR , Philippines, Nepal and Thailand. Rome Declaration of World Food Summit recognizes the three dimensions of food security as availability, access and stability. In all three aspects, a the micro-level food security concerns are associated, with the capacities of individuals and households to produce, buy and use food of right quantity and quality at various phases of life cycle and seasons. Within the groups of individuals and households, it is crucial to identify the relative status and roles of men and women in achieving desired food security. A macro analysis of food security will focus on food production determining supply relative to the demand by the population. But, placed within the context of household resource allocation dynamics, food security is associated with day to day household activities and decisions to produce, purchase, and use food to meet the needs of the household members. Intra-household dynamics relate to such aspects as who does what to produce food, to earn cash income for purchase of food, go marketing for food and prepare food within rural households and the respective contribution of men and women in these aspects. Hence intra-household dynamics with a gender roles perspectives (socially determined roles of men and women) have significance in determining household food security. The technical consultation will explore the issue of rural households' intra-household dynamics from gender roles perspectives as they impact on rural household food security. Since intra-household dynamics and household food security are complex and extensive in scope, the consultation will focus on selected key concerns. It should be recognized that the rural intra-household dynamics on gender lines and the associated implications for the rural households are influenced by various social and economic realities of the participating countries. It is the expectation of the consultation that these realities will surface in the papers presented and discussions pursued, to provide a regional view of differences as well as common concerns to shape the guidelines for FAO actions.