This project introduced a range of renewable energy technologies to enhance the lives of rural people. Biogas digesters were coupled with latrines and slurry storage was developed. Sustainable bio slurry will replace chemical fertilizers, allowing households to save money and consume healthier foods. Biogas digesters also alleviate burdens on women...

Climate-Smart Cocoa (CSC), a strategic offshoot of the wider Climate-Smart Agriculture, is gaining ground in Ghana, a cocoa export-dependent country. CSC is imperative, given the rapidly declining forests, prolonged periods of drought, pest and disease infestations, and fluctuating cocoa yields attributed to climate variability and change. Although many interventions are...

Developing policies to foster inclusive rural transformation processes requires better evidence on how climate change is affecting the livelihoods and economic behaviours of vulnerable rural people, including women, youths and people living in poverty. In particular, there is little comparative, multi-country and multi-region evidence to understand how exposure to weather...

The Women’s Empowerment Livestock Index (WELI) is tailored for areas where livestock farming is prominent, aiming to assess the impact of livestock interventions on women's empowerment. By identifying effective interventions, the index seeks to improve empowerment opportunities for women in the sector, thereby enhancing household livelihoods, nutrition, and gender equity....

Family farmers innovate by developing assemblages of old and new food system practices and organizational processes, using both traditional and diverse forms of knowledge and connecting these with newly available information and technologies. These innovations have a holistic approach and can take many forms: technological, social, policy, financial, marketing, legislative...

Euromontana kicks off the year with the publication of its annual booklet of good practices for sustainable mountain development. This publication showcases 10 inspiring initiatives from across Europe (EU and non-EU) collected by Euromontana throughout 2023 to promote initiatives that drive sustainable change in mountain areas. The booklet covers key issues for...

Gender Transformative Approaches address root causes of gender inequality by fostering lasting changes in decision-making and resource control, offering a strategic framework to enhance women’s empowerment in accessing and managing land and production means, as well as natural resources.

The story of female beekeepers in Ecuador shows that by giving women more equitable access to resources and markets, improving their technical skills and knowledge, and addressing deeply rooted social norms perpetuating gender inequalities, gender transformative programming has the potential to enhance food security, improve nutrition and transform agrifood systems....

This year's World Water Day theme, "Water for Peace," is particularly relevant given the global water, food, and humanitarian crises. These crises, exacerbated by conflicts, disproportionately affect women and girls, highlighting the urgent need to empower women in water management and crisis response. Investing in women not only enhances peace...

The role of digital innovation in agri-food systems is growing exponentially—the potential of digital tools to revolutionize how we detect disease, plan for sustainable use of inputs, or create awareness of seasonal extreme weather  events is unchallenged. However, what has been challenged is the inclusivity of the benefits of this...

In 2023, the CGIAR Research Initiative on Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA) addressed the nexus of poverty, social inequities, malnutrition, environmental degradation, and climate change through research and innovation. Collaborating with 10 CGIAR Research Initiatives, engaging with five bilateral projects aligned with Initiative goals, and partnering with two...

La sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle (SAN) est une problématique centrale dans les zones rurales des pays du Sud où vit la majorité des personnes sous-alimentées dans le monde. L’égalité des sexes et l’autonomisation des femmes font partie des objectifs de développement durable pour 2030, les femmes ayant été reconnues comme des...

La historia de las apicultoras en Ecuador demuestra que al brindar a las mujeres un acceso más equitativo a los recursos y mercados, mejorar sus habilidades y conocimientos técnicos, abordando las normas sociales profundamente arraigadas que perpetúan las desigualdades de género, la programación de género transformadora tiene el potencial de...

FAO developed this manual, in collaboration with Solidaridad West Africa, to support trainers in preparing and delivering the training on empowering rural women to engage in responsible agricultural investments (RAI). The design of this training programme is based upon a specific methodology that meets the learning needs of rural women...

This study presents findings from a qualitative research study conducted in Chiapas, Mexico that is one component of a larger activity funded by the Walmart Foundation and implemented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), titled Applying New Evidence for Women’s Empowerment (ANEW). ANEW seeks to generate evidence from...

This blog post is part of a special series on the global and regional food security implications of high food and fertilizer prices originally stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and now exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war. 

This study explores how livelihood assets, strategies for accessing the assets, and enabling and discouraging factors in the value chain shapes the inclusion of women and youth in on-farm, off-farm and non-farm activities. It is based on the Safeguarding Sahelian Wetlands for Food Security (SaWeL) program that aims to make...

The Secretariat of the World Banana Forum (WBF), a multi-stakeholder network coordinated by the Markets and Trade Division (EST) of FAO, is delighted to extend an invitation to Members to the Fourth Global Conference of the World Banana Forum, to be held at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy on Tuesday, 12...

SDG 5 calls for achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Women spend far more time on unpaid and domestic work than men, on average an additional 2.4 hours a day. One in five girls get married before the age of 18. Climate change threatens to worsen these...

Since 2013, IFAD has recognized projects from every corner of the world that go the extra mile for gender equality. Acknowledging that sustainable development is impossible without rural women. Their empowerment is crucial to transforming food systems, building thriving rural communities and creating lasting prosperity for all. Let’s visit the five inspiring...