Women in Farming Help End Hunger

Photo Credit: Timothy Eberly (Unsplash)

The International Day of Rural Women and World Food Day occur side-by-side this week, further highlighting the role women in rural areas play in alleviating extreme poverty and hunger. According to the United Nations, women comprise more than "40% of the agricultural labor force in developing countries, ranging from 20% in Latin America to 50% or more in parts of Africa and Asia." But, many of those women face discrimination when trying to manage farms. How can women in other communities help them?

Gender inequality in farming leads to hunger.
Gender inequality in agriculture is linked to poverty. Women in farming are just as accomplished and talented as their male peers, but the United Nations found that women often "lack access to land, credit, agricultural inputs, markets, and high-value agrifood chains and obtain lower prices for their crops." Small farms account for almost 80% of food produced in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Achieving gender equality in agriculture could increase production and reduce the number of people suffering from hunger by 100 to 150 million. 

Multidimensional poverty in rural areas.
As we collectively work to end extreme poverty, it is important to remember that around the world the majority of people who live in the depths of poverty are in rural areas. When compared to their peers elsewhere, women in rural areas are more likely to experience multidimensional poverty. This means that they suffer from multiple aspects of poverty, such as a lack of clean water, little access to education, and health disparities, and their experiences cannot be reduced to one factor.

Women in agriculture are innovative. 
There are numerous stories about women in farming who changed their business plans during the pandemic to ensure sales. In Tanzania, Rosemary Satunini Berere had to pivot from selling vegetables to tourist lodges and consider markets in neighboring countries. UN Women, the Pastoral Women's Council, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency gave Rosemary a small grant to keep her business afloat. Since then, she has increased her crop production and plans to buy a water pump for irrigation. Women managing rural farms are also innovative leaders in their communities. In a small village in China's northwestern Qinghai Province, Yan Shenglian joined a pandemic safety team and was responsible for checking the temperature of people entering or exiting the village. She said, “Although some men do not want to admit it, they are silently imitating and learning my methods.” 

In the U.S., check out the Center for Rural Affairs: Did you know that more than 50% of farmland in the United States is owned or co-owned by women? The Center for Rural Affairs supports women in farming and ranching in the United States. With partners, they host peer-to-peer workshops and learning circles to help women farmers and non-operator landowners learn more about their land, available resources, and conservation. You can learn more here and donate here.

Oxfam is working to help women farmers around the world: Oxfam believes that governments can remove barriers to success for women in agriculture by making certain that women have equal access to land rights, funding, and resources to adapt their farms to climate change. To support their efforts, you can learn more and donate here.