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The purpose of this study was to analyse the position of women in the maize and bean value chains in Rwanda, as well as the current and potential role of financial service providers (FSPs) in strengthening the positioning of women in these chains. The study used the women’s economic empowerment framework for the conceptual analysis, while similarly looking at overall financial inclusion indicators. This was all done within the context of a value chain analysis. The value chain concept provided a framework for analysis and explained the different functions in the value chains for bean and for maize, including the roles [...]

Explore our wide variety of free, multilingual courses in the areas of food and nutrition security, social and economic developmentand sustainable management of natural resources, all supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Tanganyika province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is among the most affected by food insecurity and malnutrition and some of its territories are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). In addition to conflict, food insecurity is caused by a decline in agricultural production due to fall armyworm (particularly in maize-growing areas), floods and insufficient rains, and limited access to land and inputs. Intercommunal rivalries between the Bantu and the Twa—sparked in 2014 during a struggle over natural resources—have worsened since 2016. Resulting armed conflicts have wiped out the few remaining social infrastructures, leading to a climate of terror [...]

The number of Dimitra Clubs in sub-Saharan Africa has reached 3 000, marking a milestone. This gender-transformative approach aimed at rural people’s empowerment through community mobilization has proved increasingly successful.Through this flexible approach developed by FAO, the rural communities themselves, through their decisions and actions, determine the changes that need to be made to their environment, and how to improve their livelihoods.The Dimitra Clubs’ areas of impact are many and varied. Several themes shape this special edition of the newsletter: community mobilization, gender and women’s leadership, food security and nutrition, social cohesion and peace, adaptation to climate change, rural organizations, [...]

In recent years, along with the growing recognition of the rural gender gap in financial access as a key constraint to rural development, research has focused increasingly more towards analysing in depth the financial habits and patterns followed by women in rural areas, in order to produce observations and insights that could foster a more gender-sensitive policy approach towards financial inclusion.In line with this trend, this paper sets to explore the financial habits and constraints of rural women in two Sub-Saharan African countries (Mozambique, Tanzania), both at country and village level, with the objective of answering how, and why, they [...]

Risings, conflicts and disasters around the world, and the negative impacts on lives and properties, are drawing attention to the need to increase the resilience of vulnerable rural communities and their livelihood sources from agriculture and rural areas. Protection from sexual and gender-based violence is also an area of work that merits special attention particularly in areas of protracted crises.This report documents some good practices and lessons learned from around the world with a specific focus on emergency and humanitarian situations. It highlights a few successful FAO’s interventions on resilience building and gender mainstreaming.The information in this report can be [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all parts of society and livelihoods around the globe. It is though worth recognizing that disadvantaged segments of populations like rural young women and men will be impacted harder, nevertheless, when proactively engaged, they have demonstrated to be innovators in their own sectors to surmount the pandemic impact. As governments and development partners take steps to address the economic and social effects of COVID-19, they should not allow a reversal of the rural youth progress achieved in recent years in terms of inclusion in food systems, access to education, vocational education and training, and access to [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all parts of society and livelihoods around the globe. It is though worth recognizing that disadvantaged segments of populations like rural young women and men will be impacted harder, nevertheless, when proactively engaged, they have demonstrated to be innovators in their own sectors to surmount the pandemic impact. As governments and development partners take steps to address the economic and social effects of COVID-19, they should not allow a reversal of the rural youth progress achieved in recent years in terms of inclusion in food systems, access to education, vocational education and training, and access [...]

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will vary for different groups of rural population, with the highest impact expected to be on farmers and other vulnerable groups, especially women and youth. Targeted support is feasible only by activating a network of actors or organizations within agricultural innovation systems (AIS) and promoting customized technologies and practices suitable for location specific contexts. This brief illustrates the extensive repository of good practices and technologies provided by FAO as part of its online knowledge portals. These practices and technologies can be easily adopted to respond to the needs of the smallholders, rural youth and [...]

This fact sheet describes the course that explains the importance to take into account gender and social issues when dealing with land tenure, and what actions must be adopted so that women and men from different social groups can equally participate in and benefit from land tenure governance processes.