In Egypt, the assessment started in Al-Minya governorate where four male farmers and eight female farmers were interviewed, providing information about their daily lives, gender roles, and dynamics, to inform FAO’s future interventions.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restriction measures, including closed borders and weakened trade, have compounded the impact of the severe economic crisis that Lebanon has been enduring since late 2019.

Through partnerships with rural youth organizations, FAO has worked with young agricultural workers and entrepreneurs to understand their needs and mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic.

Besides supporting the diets of the social residential institution, the agricultural intervention yielded unexpected recreational results during the pandemic restrictions.

The vegetable group allows them to make an income safely and with the support of other women. Agok and her fellow women feel strongly about the amount of support the group provides.

This project allows families to generate income to cover their basic needs and helps prevent malnutrition, as eggs are rich in nutrients and protein.

Fartun recognises that enrolling in this project has made a “big change” in her life, allowing her to generate an income and support her family.

Empowering women by helping them become full and active members of FFPOs at all levels can help them be equal actors in transforming rural landscapes and economies.

“Without food, there is no health and without women, there is no food,” said Jessie Thomson of CARE Canada as she summarized key takeaway messages from the speakers.

Three women farmers saw an opportunity to further their knowledge and benefits from farming when the FAO project “Dynamic Conservation and Sustainable Use of Agrobiodiversity in Traditional Agroecosystems of the Philippines” came to their community.

Before coming into contact with the project, Fatemeh, Abolghasem – like many of their neighbours – could hardly see beyond making ends meet.

Encouraging tourists to take an interest in the unique way the local communities gather fish and cook with it will boost income for local communities and develop more sustainable value chains all year round.

“I am very happy to be part of this cooperative. We are not only enjoying new friendships with Syrian women, but also exploring new opportunities – in business and in building self-confidence," Derya added.

A Norad-funded FAO project currently starting up in Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Uganda places women in fisheries in focus.

If we are to achieve #ZeroHunger and end rural poverty, we can’t afford to leave young rural women behind. Women comprise about 43 percent of the agricultural labor force, but even more of its potential.

Nowadays, in each of the communities where the project is running, women have a strong, decisive presence in the local development fund committees.

“I don’t have to go to the market every day to purchase vegetables. Now I am proud to say that I am growing my own produce and hope to be able to save money,” Gul describes.

In conflict areas, FAO supports people in their daily lives, helping to ensure that they can continue to earn an income, provide food for their families, access medical care and send their children to school.

Mwanasha, from the Uzi Island, is a mother of five. After her husband died, she depended on seaweed farming for her family’s survival.

Different ethnic groups took part in the training in Guayabal including the Wayúu people, the country’s largest indigenous group, as well as Afro-descendants and Venezuelan migrants.