Globally, women make up for almost half of the agricultural workforce. They also play a vital role in household food security, dietary diversity and health, as well as in the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. In spite of this, women remain economically marginalised and vulnerable to violations to their rights and well-being. Through agroecology (the pathway towards food sovereignty), equal opportunities for groups of women and men are achieved to access and control productive resources and services (such as land, livestock, education and nutrition) that benefit society at large.
TOP ARTICLES ON WOMEN
Interview: “Pastoralist women have the capacity to lead” December 19, 2016 - “After my university education I felt I had to work for change in my community.” Paine Eulalia Mako is a Masaai and a pastoralist in Tanzania. She works to connect grass roots and national level campaigns for pastoralists’ land rights. Much of her work is about empowering women to take… Read more
Editorial: Women showing the way with agroecology December 22, 2015 - Around the world, women forge change in their communities using agroecological approaches. Yet, surprisingly little has been written about this subject. This issue of Farming Matters shows how women can transform a situation of exclusion, crisis and social vulnerability, into a positive spiral of innovation, solidarity, and personal growth. Many… Read more
Women drive alternative economies in the Himalayas December 22, 2015 - In the Himalayas, male outmigration and the effects of climate change create challenges for rural women. Many of them develop innovative farming practices based on agroecology, push alternative economies and create niche markets. Women in India, Nepal and China show how agroecology can be a strategy to adapt to changing… Read more
Four rural women leaders: The land is our life December 22, 2015 - In this interview, and four short videos, we asked four rural women leaders and activists from Asia and Africa about the role of women in agroecology. What we found were stories of race, caste, patriarchal systems, land grabbing, statelessness and, as an overriding theme, the lack of land ownership for… Read more