FAO Director of the Land and Water Division calls for gender equality and youth empowerment in access to land and water resources at EESC Hearing

Lifeng LI, FAO Director of the Land and Water Division, joined a hearing hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on the pressing topic of water politics and their implications for the empowerment of youth, women, indigenous, and local communities. LI’s intervention focused on the urgent need for gender equality and youth empowerment in access to land and water resources. 

"Agrifood systems employ mostly women in most regions of the world, but they do not have equal rights and access to land and water resources compared to men. It is a critical gap to be closed”, the Director emphasized in his address at the EESC hearing. 

During his two-day visit to Brussels, he also engaged with senior officials from the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and the Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) at the European Commission. This provided an excellent opportunity for him to discuss issues related to soil, water and land, and to exchange views on upcoming key international events, such as the tenth World Water Forum and the Rome Water Dialogue on WASAG (Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture).