Gender programme - Main menu

Considerable efforts have been made to raise the status of women in Mozambique, as shown by the increased number holding high office within government and public services. Nevertheless, gender inequality and gender differences (defined as the differences between women and men in relation to access to and control over recourses including farm inputs and labour, access to markets, cash income and decision making over income) are still a major issue, in particular in rural areas.

Poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation have a disproportionately negative impact on rural women, due to their inferior socio-economic, legal and political status as well as their critical roles as producers and household managers. The causes and effects of these problems are systemic, with far-reaching implications for agricultural and rural development as a whole and for all initiatives aimed at raising levels of nutrition, improving the production and distribution of food and agricultural products, and enhancing the living conditions of rural populations.

Current support interventions

• Address the gender discrimination regarding Women and Girls’ Property and Inheritance Rights

• Assistance in addressing the growing feminization of the HIV/AIDS epidemic

• Assistance in the integration of gender into the following country policies and strategies: PARPA, National AIDS Strategic Plan, Rural Development Strategy, Gender Strategy in Agriculture and Education sectors

• Promotion of Gender awareness at different levels (from national line ministries to communities)

Potential support interventions

Potential areas that may be considered for future assistance to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of gender mainstreaming in the agriculture sector include the following:

• Integration of gender-sensitive planning, monitoring and evaluation approaches into all FAO programmes and projects in Mozambique;

• Policy assistance to revise and implement the Plan of Action on Gender in Agricultural Development, within the framework of PROAGRI;

• Assistance for the Gender Unit of MINAG to strengthen Gender Focal Points within MINAG, both at central and provincial levels;

• Technical and institutional support to the National Directorate of Rural Extension, for the establishment of gender-sensitive rural extension training strategy through the FAO Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis Programme;

• A pilot project for developing simple business skills targeted at small-scale farmers and small traders in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and/or the Ministry of Women and Social Action; and

• Technical support to the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) to develop and apply gender sensitive socio-economic participatory research methodologies.

Click here to go to FAO Field Programme Management Information System (FPMIS) Projects lists for Mozambique