Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

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Ms. Lola Gaparova

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Organization: Mercy Corps and Intrahealth
Country: Tajikistan
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I am currently working on Feed the Future Tajikistan Health and Nutrition Activity, which is implemented by Mercy Corps, Intrahealth and Abt Association. My position is Sr. Program Officer - Food Security and Household Budgeting.

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    • I want to share with my opinion regarding our discussion topic. We know that the number of people in the world is growing by about 70-80 million people a year. If we look at agriculture and the provision of food, each person tends to increase consumption, and the relative consumption also increases due to population growth.  The new agricultural technologies could help households to higher the quality and quantity of their products and have access to healthy food.  From my experience in Feed the Future Tajikistan health and nutrition activity I can say that the main agricultural activities in rural areas done by women, and they need access to resources, knowledge and services. 

      What challenges does agriculture face in future?

      1. Lack of new irrigated land.
      2. Climate change.
      3. Soil degradation.
      4. Deficit of fresh water.
      5. Food Waste-Compromising Food Security.
      6. Resource Depletion.
      7. Population growth.

      Of course all these challenges would bring us to hunger and poverty. It is a time to think about integration gender in nutrition activities, which should be considered by Extension providers and give answer to the question "Will there be enough food to satisfy the growing population?"  Through agricultural extension and advisory services to both men and women we can prevent hunger and poverty. 

    • Agriculture development plays an essential role in improving nutrition. In many development countries, women play a major role in agricultural production, a critical component of food security – women farmers bring to bear valuable knowledge in seed selection, vegetative propagation and the reproduction of plants and animals. A growing body of evidence in international development establishes that gender equality at the household and community levels leads to superior agricultural and development outcomes, including increases in farm productivity and improvements in family nutrition. 

      There is currently need to establish an effective agricultural extension services for food and nutrition security, health and to achieve a range of rural development goals. It helps to reduce poverty through improved nutrition and increasing family income through increased and improved agricultural production primarily for women and their children in developing countries. 

      Extension services help farmers to access information on technologies, markets, inputs, and finance, and upgrade their farming and managerial skills.

      Urgent efforts are required to: 

      • enhance women’s and men’s access to and knowledge about new agricultural technologies; 
      • ensure that farmers and other actors in value chains can deal with changing markets; 
      • enable farmers to adapt to new climate change challenges; 
      • support rural communities to manage their natural resources more effectively; 
      • assist farmers to make optimal use of their available resources to ensure access to food and income for their families.