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Role of Women in Family Farming Esther Penunia Secretary General, Asian Farmers Association (AFA) Global Forum and Expo on Family Farming March 5, 2014/Budapest, Hungary Slide 2 Slide 3 Role of Small-scale Farmers in Food and Nutrition Security 3 FEEDING THE WORLD CARING FOR THE EARTH 2.5 Billion Women and men engaged in family farming produce 70% of Worlds food 1.5 billion women and men working on 404 million small plots of less than 2 hectares Slide 4 Markets the produce in farm/fisheries ; food preservation; food reserve Farmers, Too! Plus kitchen gardens, animal raising Prepares, cook and put food and water on the table First care givers, nutritionists Women are frontline service provider for education, health, nutrition and agriculture extension The human face of the agriculture-health-nutrition water-energy nexus production and reproduction functions Central role of women in household health, nutrition and food security Slide 5 Barriers/Constraints Women Farmers Face Work undervalued, even unpaid, even unrecognized-- Inequalities ---access and control over assets particularly land ---access to technologies, inputs, capital, credit, training ---unequal pay ---participation in decision making processes ---access to social services Drudgery Feminization of Agriculture 5 Slide 6 Women Farmers Are Solution Providers 6 Women farmers responses : awareness raising, organizing (geographic and cropline); learning exchanges, claim-making (from local, national, international levels) Slide 7 Policy and Program Support for Women Farmers Promote women empowerment ---political ---economic Promote gender equality 7 Slide 8