To mark International Women's Day (IWD) 2024, FAO and IFAD will come together to host a virtual event titled “Investing in Women’s Entrepreneurship in Agrifood Systems in Asia and the Pacific” to be held on Monday, 11 March 2024 from 10:00 – 11:30 hrs ICT.

International Women's Day is a moment to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about persistent challenges, reaffirm the commitment worldwide and call to action in accelerating efforts in the pursuit of gender equality. The theme for the IWD 2024 “Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress”emphasizes the need for greater economic inclusion for women and girls everywhere.

Why investing in women’s entrepreneurship in agrifood systems matters?

In the context of agrifood systems, women's roles are incredibly diverse, spanning from producers to policy makers. However, the participation and returns for men and women within these systems are markedly unequal. Bridging this gap requires not only granting women equal access to resources, services, technologies and training, but also addressing the structural inequalities and discriminatory practices. Investments play a key role in overcoming the challenges faced by women in agrifood systems, encompassing a range of areas from service provision, financial instruments and infrastructure to institutional strengthening, social protection and childcare services. These investments lay the foundation for a supportive environment that enables women to launch and scale their business ventures and position them as investors in the agrifood sector.

Data from FAO in 2023 indicates that closing the gender gap in farm productivity and the wage gap in agrifood-system employment would increase global gross domestic product by 1 percent (or nearly USD 1 trillion). This would also reduce global food insecurity by about 2 percentage points, reducing the number of food-insecure people by 45 million.

The IWD 2024 virtual event co-organized by FAO and IFAD will:

• Raise awareness about the importance of investments and policy instruments to enhance women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment in agrifood systems in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Promote investments on gender equality and women’s empowerment as a catalyst for accelerating sustainable development.
• Share experiences, best practices and challenges from the region.
• Facilitate dialogue and knowledge exchange among diverse stakeholders to explore innovative ways for attracting and channeling investments to empower women in agriculture and the food sector.

Speakers and panelists

• H.E. Hor Malin, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Head of the Children and Gender Working Group, the Royal Government of Cambodia.
• Reema Nanavaty, Director, Self Employed Women’s Association.
• Vong Phalla, Deputy Director of Agriculture Cooperative Promotion Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the Royal Government of Cambodia.
• Marie Lisa Dacanay, President, Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia.
• Zonibel Woods, Senior Social Development Specialist, Asian Development Bank.
• Meera Mishra, Country Programme Co-ordinator, IFAD India.

Moderated by Kae Mihara, Gender Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

Watch the webinar: https://bit.ly/498eGU9

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Related Links:

FAO Gender

FAO’s gender work in Asia and the Pacific

IFAD Asia and the Pacific