Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

1) In your view, what is the relation between sustainable soil use, management and conservation (including soil fertility and health) and gender equality?

The relation between sustainable soil use, soil management and soil conservation (including soil fertility and soil health) and gender equality is that more men are involved, when sustainable soil management practices (and agricultural management practices) are being introduced (in project workshops or demonstration meetings for European farmers[1]). Despite of trying to involve women as well as men, the fact is that women farmers are a minority in Europe, therefore they are also often a minority in project study site communities, which may make them, being a minority, less convenient to participate, but in missing these introductions, also their views, ideas and perspectives will not always be represented adequately and the women are less informed and less involved than men. The invited women however, seem to be interested in the sustainable management subject, as it was shown in the (SoilCare EU) project, although lower in number, in percentage the participation level of women was higher than compared to the percentage of invited men.[2]

2) What are the distinct roles for women, men, boys and girls in sustainable soil management?

In sustainable soil management the roles for women in the European case studies are -more or less- the same as for men, except that more men than women are into farming and forestry. Related to the non-sustainable soil management stakeholders, women are involved and especially interested in sustainable soil (and land) management, considering aspects as the health of the soil and the crops that are being produced now and in the future. In the EU project RECARE[3], a lot of interviews with stakeholders on the subject were held, and some interesting results were, that the women stakeholders tended to respect the soil for its possibilities, where the men tended to look how well the exploitation possibilities of the soil were; Women reminded us about the health of future generations with sustainable soil management, where men specifically mentioned terminology like efficiency related to crop production. These remarks are not significant in numbers, but several women from the case study sites were pointing more to the future health of the soil and considering the threats of their soils, where several men were more focussed on the economic possibilities and the way they could use the soil. There are of course also men with the conservation perspective and women with the production perspective, showing that these approaches are not necessarily gender based, but more gender related, because the men (and women) influence each other in their approach.

3) What are the main gender-based constraints, including unequal gender relations and discriminatory norms that hinder sustainable soil management and contribute to soil degradation?

A gender based constraint in soil management is juridical and/or cultural, when there are laws that discriminate on gender with regard to access to land ownership or inheritance or rules that discriminate on access to (agrarian) schools, jobs, loans, funds, buildings, or on salaries. Often the European laws and public rules are not (any more) discriminating on gender, but the practice still is, as often mentioned the “normal” situation, such as women have to do the household without payment, or women are thought not able or willing to run a farm. It contributes to soil degradation in the way that soil management misses the gender balance or better: the gender diversity, for a sustainable land management approach, but is a male dominated (more focus on the land use and its profits, despite of the soil threats), where a more future based, female minded approach (for healthy soils, its conservation and the importance of soil biodiversity, and preventing soil threats) could bring a better balance.  

What practical solutions and approaches could help overcoming such barriers?

To have a balance of women and men in sustainable soil management, women should be more attracted to this field and some gender related issues should become societal issues solved by juridical, institutional and practical flexible appointments (or rules). Which also shows that gender inequality is a bigger problem, but about sustainable soil, one can for example build a generous (digital) floor to exchange knowledge from the different gendered perspectives (economic growth and quality -biological, chemical and physical healthy soils-). And support for more women to become empowered for positions in sustainable farm management.

To maintain soil quality and soil biodiversity, and for reasons of human health and reproductivity, we should focus on more sustainable, biological solutions, solutions that could make the organic farming increase, instead of producing chemical fertilizers, insecticides and plastics, for temporary higher yields, losing soil quality in the meantime. For soil quality and human health, more strict norms are needed for amounts, type, and mixtures of chemicals for yield improvement, as well as for example, frequency of use.     

4) How can the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment contribute to sustainable soil management and conservation? Which interventions at policy and project/field level are of utmost priority? What are some potential entry points for success?

Sustainable soil management and conservation courses on the internet, and through soil information exchange mobile phone applications[4] for everyone, where the future is designed with subjects that may attract women as well as men, (biodiversity in agriculture, natural fertilizer, combinations with new energy), both men and women are needed to make sustainable- or “organic” farming bigger. To gather more women in soil management and conservation, they should be attracted with issues of their interest, supplied with funds that help them to work on their ideas and offered support from women advisors that might be sensitive to their questions. Not to separate the world, but to make it more equal, since women are a minority in soil and agricultural management, they could use extra incentives, for example: Require involvement of women from applicants when distributing extra loans or subsidies to start a sustainable soil management or conservation practice, or an organic farm.