Twenty-ninth session

30 June-18 July 2003

Item 5 of the provisional agenda

Implementation of article 21 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Report provided by specialized agencies of theUnited Nations on the Implementation of the Conventionin areas falling within the scope of their activities

Note by the Secretary-General

Addendum

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

1.On behalf of the Committee, the Secretariat invited the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), on 11 March 2003, to submit to the Committee a report on information provided by States to FAO on the implementation of article 11 and related articles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which would supplement the information contained in the reports of the States parties to the Convention that would be considered at the twenty-ninth session.

2.Other information sought by the Committee refers to activities, programmes and policy decisions undertaken by FAO to promote the implementation of article 11 and related articles of the Convention.

3.The report annexed hereto has been submitted in compliance with the Committee’s request.

Annex

Report of the Food and Agriculture Organization ofthe United Nations for the twenty-ninth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discriminationagainst Women

Brazil

1.According to statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the population of Brazil in 2001 was 172,559,000 people, out of which 18.3 per cent lived in rural areas. In 2001, it was estimated that 46.6 per cent of the population was economically active, with 16.1 per cent working in the agricultural sector. The share of economically active women represented 35.5 per cent, out of which 8.8 per cent were working in agriculture.

2.The FAO Country Programme for Brazil could be consolidated under three main programming clusters or thematic areas of concentration:

(a)Poverty alleviation and food security, with the cluster of projects in income-generation with the Ministry of National Integration and the Ministry of Agrarian Development;

(b)Animal health, plant protection and food safety;

(c)Sustainable natural resource management in support of the National Forestry Programme and new projects to be negotiated with the Ministry of the Environment, the National Water Agency and the State secretaries of the environment in the areas of desertification control, water and soil management and biodiversity.

FAO activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

3.Since 1998, a number of socio-economic and gender analysis workshops were organized by FAO in Brazil, targeting technical officers and planners from public institutions and local non-governmental organizations.

4.In December 2000, FAO and the Red de Instituciones Vinculadas a la Capacitación en Economía y Políticas Agrícolas en América Latina y el Caribe (REDCAPA) initiated the first socio-economic and gender analysis distance learning course via the Internet. FAO was in charge of the elaboration of the materials, programme design and organization of the course. REDCAPA was responsible for the technical application. Distance learning offers an extraordinary potential for development workers since it allows them access to up-to-date information while at the same time facilitating the exchange of experiences without the need to travel. The course took place from 26 March to 13 July 2001, and thus lasted 16 weeks. It was coordinated by two tutors, representing both institutions, and reached 74 participants from Latin America, including Brazil.

5.In the field of gender integration in agricultural policies and development strategies, FAO concluded a technical assistance project in cooperation with the Instituto de Reforma Agraria en Brasil (INCRA) entitled “Gender in the context of the Brazilian agrarian reform”.

6.FAO supported the formulation of an institutional strategy for the integration of equal opportunities for men and women in agrarian reform programmes. It also proposed an analysis methodology of agrarian systems that integrates a gender perspective. FAO has supported the Centre for Economic Studies of the Universidad de Campinas in the production of a study on the situation of women in the sites affected by the agrarian reform in different regions of Brazil.

Costa Rica

7.According to FAO statistics, Costa Rica’s total population estimate for 2001 was 4,112,000, 49.3 per cent of whom were women, and 40.5 per cent of the total population lived in rural areas. In 2001, it was estimated that 41 per cent of the population was economically active, out of which 20 per cent worked in the agricultural sector. The share of economically active women was 31.3 per cent, with 5.9 per cent working in agriculture.

FAO activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

8.Women provide essential support for the survival of agricultural economies. They play a significant role in producing basic grains, which are the key to food security. In the same field, Costa Rica participates in the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Right to Adequate Food.

9.Strengthening of farmers’ organizations: The technical assistance given by FAO is aimed at strengthening the presence of women in farm organizations. FAO supports educational activities in the fields of leadership, community organization and livestock technology. It is also supporting the incorporation of gender in agricultural strategies and in the formulation of equal opportunity planning within the livestock sector.

10.A number of workshops and seminars on socio-economic and gender analysis were organized by FAO in Costa Rica. They were aimed at technical officers and planners from public institutions and NGOs directly linked to the livestock sector.

11.FAO also supported projects related to integrated rural development, communication for development, agroforestry management and agricultural extension, where participatory approaches were adopted to integrate a gender approach in all project activities.

12.In the field of gender integration in government policies, FAO has supported a study to develop gender indicators that can be used by the Ministry of Agriculture in the formulation of policies.

13.In order to contribute to food security, environmental protection and development, FAO cooperated with the ANDAR Association of Costa Rica. The collaboration furthered the promotion of technology transfer related to medicinal plants and biodiversity. These activities targeted women and youth from the Communities of Cartagena and Santa Rosa.

14.From May 1996 to July 1997, the Government of Costa Rica, with financial and technical aid from FAO, launched a project entitled “Support to women in rural areas within the framework of a gender approach”. The aim of the project has been to counteract women farmers’ underrepresentation in agricultural services and promote a detailed review of policies. Measures were taken that included the integration of services and the decentralization of institutions. The project was active at three levels: community, regional and national, and involved policy makers, agriculture specialists, representatives of non-governmental organizations and representatives of rural organizations. The implementing agencies were the Government of Costa Rica, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, and two ad hoc institutions: the Women Ministerial Office and the Women Sector Office.

15.FAO has also financed a study on women in development in Costa Rica, which was used as a case study in the more general publication entitled From Farmer to Planner and Back: Harvesting Best Practices,1 illustrating participatory development planning.

Ecuador

16.According to FAO statistics, Ecuador’s total population estimate for 2001 was 12,880,000, 49.8 per cent of whom were women, and 36.5 per cent lived in rural areas. In 2001, it was estimated that 39.5 per cent of the population was economically active, out of which 25 per cent worked in the agricultural sector. The share of economically active women was 28.4 per cent, with 13 per cent working in agriculture. According to an FAO study on rural women in Latin America and the Caribbean, female participation in rural economic activity reaches its highest levels in Ecuador, particularly in the livestock sector.

FAO activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

17.The FAO programme in Ecuador coalesced around several programmes that relate to gender and development. First, the Special Programme for Food Security is a means of improving production and incomes through better technology options and environmental and technical training for improving the quality of life. The Programme is designed to help farmers increase their food production and productivity to improve their overall incomes. Second, the aim of the project entitled “Production and food security in the area of Ambuqui” has been to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants in the field of food security. The project has also integrated a gender perspective in order to incorporate equal cooperation between men and women at different decision-making levels. Third, FAO launched a project focusing on environmental issues, “Handling the natural resources in the west of Oichincha”, in order to implement productive environmental actions for farm families. Finally, agroforestry projects have started to integrate gender, including those projects related to agriculture extension and the management of agroforestry.

18.Through a special study on the role of rural women in post-harvesting techniques, activities were undertaken to improve capacity-building and sensitization of the technical officers involved in the project, including technical proposals targeting families. Special consideration was also given to the situation of rural women in accessing credit, and a manual on post-harvesting techniques was produced.

19.FAO supported, through TeleFood, a pig-raising project that involved 57 adolescents, 43 women and 14 men aged from 16 to 20 who received training in raising and breeding pigs. The adolescents came from eight communities in Valle de Río Portoviego, Manabi Province. The purpose was to equip them with the necessary tools for raising pigs in order to raise their income and improve their nutritional standard.

20.The Socio-economic and Gender Analysis programme was introduced in Ecuador in 1998 to representatives of the government ministries, non-governmental organizations and FAO projects in Ecuador. Specific training needs (such as for the Special Programme on Food Security, on women’s access to resources and on gender and public policies) were then identified. Training of trainers’ workshops in socio-economic and gender analysis was then planned, and national facilitators were selected as resource persons for national and international organizations in Ecuador on gender mainstreaming issues.

France

21.According to FAO statistics, France had a population of 59,453,000 in 2001. Of the total population, 26.9 million were economically active, and of these 54.75 per cent were men and 45.25 per cent were women. Somce 24.5 per cent of the population lived in rural areas and 3.2 per cent worked in the agricultural sector. An estimated 2.4 per cent of economically active women worked in the agricultural sector.

FAO activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

22.FAO activities in France have concentrated for the most part on collaboration with the Institut Agronomique Méditérranéen de Montpellier (IAMM).

23.Contact with IAMM was initiated in November 2002 when FAO helped to organize a seminar for Algerian forestry officials on participatory development planning. This was part of a longer-term endeavour initiated in 1996 with a seminar organized jointly by the French Ministry for Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Centre Français sur la Population et le Développement (CEPED) and FAO. This seminar brought together participants from French universities, agricultural and social science institutes, research centres and non-governmental organizations. Specialists from Switzerland and Belgium were also invited. The seminar made it possible to take stock of the situation of gender in France and in the French-speaking world.

24.From 24 to 27 February 2003, FAO conducted a mission to IAMM to develop a high-level gender analysis programme, mainly for French-speaking countries but also for the participating French officials. A short training module entitled “Rural development and socio-economic and gender analysis” is scheduled to be held at IAMM in April 2004. It is intended for IAMM students from masters degree courses in rural development.

25.FAO and IAMM have agreed to fund two or three IAMM trainees in the production of case studies in the Mediterranean region on the topic of gender in rural development. They have also agreed to organize seminars and meetings with decision makers in countries of the South on the problem of gender in medium- and long-term agricultural and rural development.

26.In the long term (five years) a French-speaking network of gender experts is to be created, and IAMM is slated to become a resource and reference centre (training, research, seminars) on the subject. A number of research institutions belonging to Agropolis, notably the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement and the Institut national de la recherche agronomique, are taking part in this initiative.

Japan

27.According to FAO statistics, the population of Japan in 2001 was 127,335,000 people, of which 21.1 per cent lived in rural areas. In 2001, it was estimated that 53.7 per cent of the population was economically active, with 3.8 per cent working in the agricultural sector. The share of economically active women was 41.6 per cent, of which 4 per cent were working in agriculture.

FAO activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

28.In February 2002, the Japan/FAO Association organized an international seminar on “Roles and empowerment of rural women in food security”. The seminar was organized within the framework of the preparatory activities for the five-year review of the implementation of the World Food Summit Plan of Action (World Food Summit: five years later), in recognition of the importance of rural women’s contribution to food security in Asia. The organizer requested FAO to provide the keynote speech, to highlight the main issues as they relate to the Asian and Pacific region.

29.The Association invited national representatives from six Asian countries. Representatives from Japan were very diversified, ranging from university professors and scholars to representatives of non-governmental organizations and gender experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) bilateral agency, who were asked to share their experiences and research findings with international participants.

30.FAO and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have a long history of collaboration. In October 2002, JICA requested FAO to assist them in their training activity for prospective JICA experts. A mission was organized to allow FAO to share its socio-economic and gender analysis (SEAGA) tools and experience with potential JICA experts. The exchange took the form of a three-day workshop, where participants were given the opportunity to practice and prepare gender-sensitive participatory research approaches.

31.FAO participated in a seminar on gender understanding in fishing community development held in November 2002 at the Yokohama International Centre. The seminar was organized by JICA, and an FAO fishery industry officer presented the work of FAO in the field of women in fisheries and gender and development.

32.The Japan/FAO Association has recently undertaken the translation into Japanese of the Asia chapter of the FAO publication Rural Women: Key to Food Security, in order to publicize this important topic among Japanese audiences.

Morocco

33.According to FAO statistics, the population of Morocco in 2001 was 30,400,000, of whom 12,093,000 were economically active; 65.2 per cent of these were men and 34.8 per cent women. Some 43.9 per cent of the population lived in rural areas and 35.7 per cent worked in the agricultural sector. An estimated 55.5 per cent of economically active women worked in the agricultural sector.

34.According to the World Bank, Morocco has made considerable efforts to achieve socio-economic development: social indicators are rising, the financial sector is more open and policies to achieve macroeconomic stability are being pursued. Discrepancies between urban and rural areas persist, however, despite endeavours to reduce such disparity.

35.Six FAO programmes (comprising 34 projects, 22 of which are financed by trust funds) provide extremely valuable technical and scientific assistance for the Government’s modernization efforts in various spheres of agricultural and rural development.

36.Twenty agencies belonging to six ministries benefit from FAO support. Their spheres of activity are all linked to agricultural and rural development and relate to food security and the protection of national resources.

FAO activities for the empowerment of women and gender equality

Socio-economic and gender analysis workshop, Rabat, 26-30 March 2001

37.The various meetings that took place during missions to Morocco had revealed a need to provide training in socio-economic and gender analysis in order to support the work being done by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Forestry and other stakeholders to formulate a strategy and plan of action for rural women.

38.The socio-economic and gender analysis workshop was held as part of the effort by various institutions in Morocco to develop a national strategy for rural women.

39.The objective of the workshop was to build the capacities of staff in the various ministries to integrate the gender perspective in their activities, chiefly through the use of socio-economic and gender analysis. This approach should ensure that gender issues are taken into account in the projects and programmes of ministries and non-governmental organizations, particularly as a national strategy for rural women is being formulated from a gender perspective.

40.In addition to providing training in socio-economic and gender analysis, the meeting was also intended to serve as a platform for exchanges and information on the strategy for rural women.

41.Participating bodies included the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Forestry; the Department of Education, Research and Development; the Ministry of the Interior; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Family and Child Welfare and Integration of the Disabled; the Ministry of Economic Planning; the Ministry of Maritime Fishing; the Ministry of Youth and Sports; the Ministry of Employment, Vocational Training, Solidarity and Social Development; the Ministry of Health; and the Crédit Agricole Foundation for microcredit.

42.A second socio-economic and gender analysis training workshop is planned for 2003.

TeleFood projects

43.Two TeleFood projects approved in 2002 will help rural women in El Jadida and Settat increase their income through a rabbit-breeding and bee-keeping unit.

Technical cooperation programme

44.The Government of Morocco has recently submitted a request to FAO for a technical cooperation programme to assist with a national strategy for gender and rural women.

Study on argan oil

45.A study on argan oil has been launched as part of the effort to promote income-generating activities for rural women.

Regional programme

46.Morocco actively participates in the regional programme initiated by the FAO Regional Office for the Near East, located in Cairo, mainly through the following activities:

(a)Preparation of a regional plan for gender equality in development, through a range of seminars on policies and strategies for integrating gender in agricultural and rural development policies;

(b)Translation of the socio-economic and gender analysis programme, including the relevant instructional materials, into Arabic;

(c)Training of trainers in socio-economic and gender analysis, primarily through participation in the subregional seminar held in Tunisia in April 2002.

Slovenia

47.According to FAO statistics, Slovenia’s total population estimate for 2001 was 1,985,000, 51 per cent of whom were women, and 50.9 per cent of the total population lived in rural areas. In 2001, it was estimated that 51 per cent of the population was economically active, out of which 5.7 per cent worked in the agricultural sector. The share of economically active women was 46.5 per cent with 1.9 per cent working in agriculture.

FAO activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

48.At the 1996 World Food Summit, the FAO Statistical Development Service issued the “Programme for the World Census of Agriculture 2000”. The report of Slovenia has helped FAO to gain a better understanding of the situation of rural women in the country.

49.FAO initiated the formulation of the National Plan of Action for Integration of Rural Women in Development in 1996 with the Ministry of Agriculture. The document is currently being revised for submission to the Parliament.

50.A technical cooperation programme on capacity-building in socio-economic and gender analysis has also been requested by Slovenia. An FAO mission to Slovenia was undertaken in 2003 in order to gather information to finalize the proposal.

51.At present, FAO is also involved with the organization of a workshop on socio-economic and gender analysis and rural women’s entrepreneurship to be held in Dobrna in May 2003. The workshop will bring together experts involved in rural and agriculture development at the community, regional and national levels and/or those involved in activities promoting rural women’s entrepreneurship, such as policy makers, business development service or microfinance practitioners, leaders of developmental projects, trainers and extension officers.

52.Slovenia has participated actively in global initiatives, such as the Working Party on Women and the Agricultural Family in Rural Development, summer schools and other technical seminars.

Notes

1See http://www.fao.org/sd/2003/PE0103_en.htm.