Family farming and smallholder farming are an important basis for sustainable food production throughout the world. While family farms tend to be highly efficient in terms of agricultural productivity per unit of land, those that produce on a small or med

More than 129 million child labourers in the world work in the agriculture sector, which includes fisheries, aquaculture, forestry and livestock. These girls and boys, between the ages of 5 and 17, are performing work that interferes with their education

Land-related investments in agriculture can greatly impact rural people’s lives. One of the main conclusions drawn from four FAO studies is that women’s livelihoods were improved when private investors took measures to increase women’s participation in ag

Securing water is critical to achieve food security and improve rural livelihoods, especially for the women and men living in arid and semi-arid areas. But accessing this scarce resource can be difficult for those engaged in rural agriculture, women in pa

Compared to men, women are frequently disadvantaged in their access to and control over forest resources and in their ability to take advantage of economic opportunities, according to an FAO paper that calls for action on gender disparities in the forestr

Government leaders and world food experts called for a ‘global goal on food and nutrition security’ in the Post-2015 development agenda during a high-level consultation on Hunger, Food Security and Nutrition in Madrid, Spain, on 4 April 2013. Handing thei

This year, leaders of the Rome-based agencies (FAO, WFP and IFAD), as well as IDLO, in partnership with the Government of Iceland, met at WFP headquarters to mark International Women’s Day with an event that focused on the connection between women, violen

Rural cooperatives and farmers’ organizations play a crucial role in the eradication of hunger and poverty. One of the ways they achieve this is through their vocation to empower small agricultural producers, and in particular women farmers.

On the heels of the 2012 International AIDS Conference, which took place from July 22-27 in Washington DC, we sat down with Karine Garnier, FAO’s Nairobi-based regional emergency officer for gender and HIV.

Granting secure land rights to vulnerable farmers enables them to pursue income-earning activities, access credit, increase agricultural production and raise their overall living conditions. These key factors help to strengthen men and women’s bargaining

At a time when governments are designing strategies and making crucial decisions to restore long-term, inclusive economic growth, it is essential to raise the profile of rural women and to sensitize both governments and the wider public on the contributio

Advancing rural women’s economic empowerment and access to decent rural employment, supporting associations in giving them a stronger voice in decision-making, and fostering their better access to land are three priority areas in enabling rural women to r

As the agricultural sector races to adapt to climate change, awareness is growing that gender issues are at the heart of climate-smart agriculture and food security. A Training Guide on Gender and Climate Change Research was recently launched to support t

Rural women are active economic agents who could unleash major advancements in hunger and poverty eradication if they were able to participate equally with men in the agricultural economy.

Une publication FAO-FIDA présente des succès obtenus dans le monde entier au bénéfice des petits producteurs

Today’s global food insecurity destabilizes rural communities all over the world, impeding their access to food and affecting their ability to earn a livelihood. In partnership with the Huairou Commission and WOCAN, FAO held a series of twenty one consult

Poor rural households in developing countries were the hardest hit by the 2006-2008 food crisis, with women at a particular disadvantage because of their lack of access to resources like credit, land, technologies and infrastructure. The crisis has drawn

Women have a special role to play in ensuring the food security of their families, said FAO’s Director-General Elect José Graziano da Silva at a panel discussion hosted by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Dimitra and its partner in Niger, ONG VIE Kande ni Bayra created the “listener’s clubs” project in 2009 to give rural men and women better access to information and means of communication. ONG VIE Coordinator Ali Abdoulaye explains the reasons for the pro

The findings of FAO’s recently launched State of Food and Agriculture report 2010-11 (SOFA): “Women in Agriculture: Closing the gender gap for development,” were the focus of a high-level roundtable debate organized by the three Rome-based UN agencies - F