Consultative Workshop "Addressing Gender Equality in Agriculture and Rural Sector in the Near East and North Africa"
18/11/2013-19/11/2013
Consultative Workshop "Addressing Gender Equality in Agriculture and Rural Sector in the Near East and North Africa"
The 2011 edition of FAO’s key publication, The State of Food and Agriculture entitled Women in agriculture: closing the gender gap for development as well as the World Bank’s World Development Report of 2012 on Gender Equality and Development underline and provide ample evidence that women make crucial contributions in agriculture and rural enterprises in all developing country regions, as farmers, workers and entrepreneurs.
These publications also maintain that while women’s roles vary across regions, they face gender-specific constraints everywhere, reducing their productivity and limiting their contributions to agricultural production, economic growth and the well-being of their families, communities and countries.
In the Post-2015 Development Agenda discourse there is now undisputed consensus that gender equality transforms not only households but societies, and it is a development objective in its own right. There is no doubt that gender equality enhances productivity and improves other development outcomes, including prospects for the next generation and for the quality of societal policies and institutions. It has also become clear that economic development is not enough to shrink all gender disparities—corrective policies that focus on persisting gender gaps are essential.
In this global context, FAO’s Gender Policy adopted in 2012 puts forward gender equality as a cornerstone to FAO’s worldwide mandate to reduce hunger and malnutrition. In parallel, FAO’s new Strategic Framework addresses food security and nutrition issues with a cross-cutting focus on gender, underscoring the importance of reducing gender inequalities in agriculture, rural development, food security and nutrition as a means to enhancing productivity and for ushering broader economic and social benefits.
Overall objective
Gender inequality remains a major challenge in the region of North Africa and the Near East, in general, but in particular for the rural world at large. For agriculture development and food and nutrition security policies and strategies to succeed, more vigorous efforts and commitment will be necessary from all stakeholders.
Aware of persisting challenges in the Region, FAO’s 32nd Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC 31) in February 2014 will discuss an agenda item entitled ‘Addressing Gender Equality in Agriculture and Rural Sector in the Near East and North Africa’.The aim of this undertaking will be to elaborate a clear roadmap to meaningfully address gender issues in FAO’s interventions and cooperation programmes in the Near East based on available evidence and analysis on gender inequality in agriculture and rural sector, as well as on the outcomes of the gender audits undertaken in the Region focusing on a number of FAO Offices and programmes/projects.
The outcome of discussions will further provide recommendations on approaches and time-bound actions to enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the FAO work in the region in the 2014-2015 biennium, and progressively align all interventions with the FAO Policy on Gender Equality.
These publications also maintain that while women’s roles vary across regions, they face gender-specific constraints everywhere, reducing their productivity and limiting their contributions to agricultural production, economic growth and the well-being of their families, communities and countries.
In the Post-2015 Development Agenda discourse there is now undisputed consensus that gender equality transforms not only households but societies, and it is a development objective in its own right. There is no doubt that gender equality enhances productivity and improves other development outcomes, including prospects for the next generation and for the quality of societal policies and institutions. It has also become clear that economic development is not enough to shrink all gender disparities—corrective policies that focus on persisting gender gaps are essential.
In this global context, FAO’s Gender Policy adopted in 2012 puts forward gender equality as a cornerstone to FAO’s worldwide mandate to reduce hunger and malnutrition. In parallel, FAO’s new Strategic Framework addresses food security and nutrition issues with a cross-cutting focus on gender, underscoring the importance of reducing gender inequalities in agriculture, rural development, food security and nutrition as a means to enhancing productivity and for ushering broader economic and social benefits.
Overall objective
Gender inequality remains a major challenge in the region of North Africa and the Near East, in general, but in particular for the rural world at large. For agriculture development and food and nutrition security policies and strategies to succeed, more vigorous efforts and commitment will be necessary from all stakeholders.
Aware of persisting challenges in the Region, FAO’s 32nd Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC 31) in February 2014 will discuss an agenda item entitled ‘Addressing Gender Equality in Agriculture and Rural Sector in the Near East and North Africa’.The aim of this undertaking will be to elaborate a clear roadmap to meaningfully address gender issues in FAO’s interventions and cooperation programmes in the Near East based on available evidence and analysis on gender inequality in agriculture and rural sector, as well as on the outcomes of the gender audits undertaken in the Region focusing on a number of FAO Offices and programmes/projects.
The outcome of discussions will further provide recommendations on approaches and time-bound actions to enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the FAO work in the region in the 2014-2015 biennium, and progressively align all interventions with the FAO Policy on Gender Equality.