Thirty-ninth session

Item 5 of the provisional agenda*

23 July-10 August 2007

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

Reports provided by specialized agencies of the United Nations system on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities

Note by the Secretary-General

Addendum

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

I.Jordan

The population of Jordan was estimated to be approximately 5 million in 2004, of which 21 per cent were living in rural areas. Ten per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 26 per cent, of which 27 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 69 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

Through the Telefood Campaign, which seeks to promote an increased awareness of the need and urgency to combat hunger and gender inequality, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has supported five projects in Jordan that focus mainly on goat and poultry rearing and fruit production.

Through the Dimitra project, FAO collects detailed information on organizations and projects concerning rural women, food security and sustainable development, mainly in Africa and the Near East. By making this information available, the project aims to increase the visibility of rural women’s contribution to development using traditional means of communication and new information technologies. The Dimitra project seeks to increase gender awareness among development actors and to promote information exchange and dissemination. There are 47 organizations in Jordan listed in the Dimitra database and 116 projects engaged in a wide range of activities focusing on bee-keeping, food processing, home gardening, health care and herb gardening.

II.Hungary

The population of Hungary was estimated to be approximately 9 million in 2004,1 of which 35 per cent were living in rural areas. Nine per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 45 per cent, of which 5 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 24 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

FAO provided technical support to a workshop held in June 2005 on the importance of gender-relevant data and statistics for agricultural and rural development. The workshop was held by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office as a follow-up to the retabulation of the data of the Hungarian National Agricultural Census 2000 in order to produce gender-disaggregated data sets and analytical reports.

FAO provided technical support for the expert meeting, held in September 2006, of the FAO/European Commission on Agriculture (ECA) Working Party on Women and the Family in Rural Development. The expert meeting was on rural development of jobs and income with a focus on gender-responsive rural finance. The objectives of the meeting were to share experiences from Western, Central, Eastern, South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States in rural development through the diversification of jobs and incomes; compare and discuss country experiences in rural entrepreneurship and finance; and identify factors that have contributed to the success of rural development projects in the Pecs region.

III.Republic of Korea

The population of the Republic of Korea was estimated to be approximately 47 million in 2004,1 of which 20 per cent were living in rural areas. Eight per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 42 per cent, of which 8 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 46 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

Through the Telefood Campaign, which seeks to promote an increased awareness of the need and urgency to combat hunger and gender inequality, FAO has supported 7 projects in the Republic of Korea that focus mainly on the development of maize nurseries and potato and vegetable production.

IV.Cook Islands

The population of Cook Islands was estimated to be approximately 18,000 in 2004,1 of which 28 per cent were living in rural areas. Twenty-nine per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 43 per cent, of which 33 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 50 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

Through the Telefood Campaign, which seeks to promote an increased awareness of the need and urgency to combat hunger and gender inequality, FAO has supported 18 projects in Cook Islands that focus mainly on promoting home gardening, bee-keeping, establishing root crop nurseries, and developing cassava and banana processing plants.

The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific developed an information sheet entitled “Gender responsive development for food security: Cook Islands”.

In collaboration with the Gender and Development Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Social Services of Cook Islands, FAO provided technical support and resources to a project that focused on strengthening capacity for gender-responsive development for food security. The project seeks to improve national food security through establishing and maintaining home gardens as a central element in local food systems; preserving and strengthening traditional skills that are in harmony with food security, disseminating methods and means to preserve and process seasonal foods in rural areas and outer islands; formalizing a gender-responsive approach to food security programmes among the stakeholders in agricultural development; and developing strategies for capacity-building among women in order to improve access to food through local food systems. To date, the project has trained approximately 200 men and women in home gardening and food processing. The women development centres in various islands received basic equipment, additional demonstration units for hydroponic vegetable production and improved seeds and garden tools in order to continue training programmes in food processing. Technical support was given to the Ministry to facilitate an interdepartmental collaboration that would lead to the development of gender-responsive strategies to improve food security; small-scale enterprises in coconut based products; and a sex-disaggregated database for policy and programme development.

V.Norway

The population of Norway was estimated to be approximately 4.5 million in 2004,1 of which 21 per cent were living in rural areas. Four per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 47 per cent, of which 3 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 36 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

FAO provided technical assistance to the implementation of the European Workshop on Gender-Sensitive Statistics for Analysing Change and Development in Agriculture. The Workshop was a joint undertaking of the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Innovation Norway, the County Governor of Nord-Trondelag and FAO. Initiated by the FAO/ECA Working Party on Women and the Family in Rural Development, the Workshop, which took place in June 2006, sought to increase the consciousness of planners, politicians and others on the importance of statistics as a tool for policy development; promote interdisciplinary collaboration in the production of a more gender-sensitive agricultural and rural development statistics; and provide participants with improved skills for the management and analysis of gender-sensitive statistics for agriculture.

VI.Guinea

The population of Guinea was estimated to be approximately 8 million in 2004,1 of which 64 per cent were living in rural areas. Eighty-three per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 47 per cent, of which 95 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 87 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

Through the Telefood Campaign, which seeks to promote an increased awareness of the need and urgency to combat hunger and gender inequality, an FAO Telefood project supported local cooperatives of fish-smoke women. About 150 women in two villages were able to replace their ovens with an improved type that conserves scarce wood and reduces smoke by concentrating the heat. The processed fish is, therefore, of better quality and greater value. The women also received literacy training to enable them to manage their resources. FAO has supported 19 similar projects in Guinea that focus mainly on horticulture, poultry rearing, agricultural production and rice cultivation.

Through the Dimitra project, FAO collects detailed information on organizations and projects concerning rural women, food security and sustainable development, mainly in Africa and the Near East. By making this information available, the project aims to increase the visibility of rural women’s contribution to development using traditional means of communication and new information technologies. The Dimitra project seeks to increase gender awareness among development actors and to promote information exchange and dissemination. There are 33 organizations in Guinea listed in the Dimitra database and 89 projects engaged in a wide range of activities that focus on rural credit, functional literacy, health care, vegetable production and food processing and preservation.

VII.Belize

The population of Belize was estimated to be approximately 261,000 in 2004,1 of which 52 per cent were living in rural areas. Thirty per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 24 per cent, of which 4 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 4 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

Through the Telefood Campaign, which seeks to promote an increased awareness of the need and urgency to combat hunger and gender inequality, FAO has supported 9 projects in Belize that focus mainly on school gardening, vegetable production, bee-keeping, fruit cultivation and post-harvesting storage grains.

VIII.Brazil

The population of Brazil was estimated to be approximately 180 million in 2004,1 of which 16 per cent were living in rural areas. Fifteen per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 36 per cent, of which 8 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 19 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

Through the Telefood Campaign, which seeks to promote an increased awareness of the need and urgency to combat hunger and gender inequality, FAO has supported 8 projects in Brazil that focus mainly on apiculture, poultry production and organic vegetable production.

In March 2006, FAO, in collaboration with the Government of Brazil, hosted an international conference to review agrarian reform and rural development issues worldwide and to identify sustainable rural development options that can contribute to rural poverty and hunger reduction. The main objectives of the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development were to analyse agrarian reform and rural development experiences in different countries and identify policies, practices and lessons learned that could bring about a new rural development paradigm based on social inclusion, environmental sustainability and livelihood security for the poor. Gender issues were high on the Conference agenda. Two special thematic sessions focused on enhancing women’s leadership and transforming organizations for sustainable rural development and on land rights of indigenous women. Several consensus based principles emerged from the Conference; one specifically highlighted that a number of fundamental rights should be better recognized in policies, institutional patterns and plans (for example, for women, land and natural resources, food sovereignty, indigenous peoples, pastoralists and vulnerable groups). Delegations from 92 FAO member States participated in the Conference. More than 150 farmer and civil society organizations participated in the Conference and the Special Forum held in parallel with the Conference.

IX.Honduras

The population of Honduras was estimated to be approximately 7 million in 2004,1 of which 54 per cent were living in rural areas. Twenty-eight per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 33 per cent, of which 18 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 21 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

Through the Telefood Campaign, which seeks to promote an increased awareness of the need and urgency to combat hunger and gender inequality, an FAO Telefood project provided a diesel-driven water pump and irrigation pipes for a village that had been unable to harvest maize for 3-4 years owing to the lack of water. With the new pump, 14 members of the women’s cooperatives and their families benefited. Women were able to expand their plots and production by growing tomatoes, beans and watermelons. FAO has supported 13 projects in Honduras that focus mainly on water management and food security.

X.Kenya

The population of Kenya was estimated to be approximately 32 million in 2004,1 of which 59 per cent were living in rural areas. Seventy-four per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 47 per cent, of which 78 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 50 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

Through the Telefood Campaign, which seeks to promote an increased awareness of the need and urgency to combat hunger and gender inequality, FAO has supported two projects in Kenya that focus on small-scale poultry and improving fish ponds.

Through the Dimitra project, FAO collects detailed information on organizations and projects concerning rural women, food security and sustainable development, mainly in Africa and the Near East. By making this information available, the project aims to increase the visibility of rural women’s contribution to development using traditional means of communication and new information technologies. The Dimitra project seeks to increase gender awareness among development actors and to promote information exchange and dissemination. There are 33 organizations in Kenya listed in the Dimitra database and 74 projects engaged in a wide range of activities that focus on tree planting, information for food security, aquaculture and dairy cattle farming.

FAO provided technical support to a regional workshop for Sub-Saharan Africa on improving tenure security of the rural poor. The workshop took place in October 2006 with 60 participants. The purpose of the workshop was to review current evidence and recent findings, trends and best options for improving pro-poor property rights regimes in Africa, within the context of the work being carried out by the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.

FAO, in collaboration with the World Food Programme and other partners, launched several Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools. The schools are designed specifically for orphans and other vulnerable children, especially those resulting from the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The schools aim at imparting agricultural knowledge, entrepreneurial skills and life skills to orphans and vulnerable children between 12 and 18 years of age, to enable them to grow up as independent, conscientious and enterprising citizens. Such knowledge and skills are intended to bring economic empowerment to the youth, as well as to help them become responsible citizens with positive values in respect of gender and human rights. In addition the schools address issues such as HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, gender sensitivity, child protection, psychosocial support, nutritional education and business skills. Every effort is made to ensure that the different needs of boys and girls are identified and met. There are currently 10 Junior Farmer Field Schools in Kenya. Each school has approximately 30 students.

FAO has collaborated with three training institutions and higher learning centres, Egerton University, Baraka College and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, to revise their curricula in order to incorporate agrobiodiversity, gender and local knowledge issues. Capacity-building with regard to these issues was provided to relevant staff from these institutions.

FAO participated in a training workshop to support the information-sharing mechanism of the Global Plan of Action to collect data on the plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. FAO provided technical support in the development of a gender-sensitive questionnaire for the Global Plan of Action.

XI.Indonesia

The population of Indonesia was estimated to be approximately 222 million in 2004,1 of which 53 per cent were living in rural areas. Forty-six per cent of the economically active population were working in agriculture.

Women in agriculture

The total share of female participation in the labour force in 2004 was 41 per cent, of which 48 per cent were working in agriculture. Of the total number of people economically active in agriculture, 43 per cent were women.

Activities for the empowerment of rural women and gender equality

Through the Telefood Campaign, which seeks to promote an increased awareness of the need and urgency to combat hunger and gender inequality, FAO has supported 19 projects in Indonesia that focus mainly on providing support to fisherwomen, developing mushroom farms and income-generating activities.

The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific developed a fact sheet entitled “Women in agriculture, environment and rural production”.

In December 2005, FAO provided technical support to a workshop held under the framework of the Indonesia national avian influenza control project. The workshop focused on community-based disease control and explored possibilities for applied social research in support of community-based highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) control. The objectives of the workshop were to identify current constraints in the existing HPAI programme; identify opportunities with regard to how a community-based disease control approach could contribute to HPAI disease control in Indonesia; and share information on current experiences.

In 2006, FAO assisted the Government of Indonesia in its efforts to rehabilitate the agricultural sector and the livelihoods of earthquake-affected vulnerable rural farming households in Yogyakarta and Central Java, and in the implementation of the project on emergency assistance to support the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector and poor household livelihoods in earthquake-affected areas of Yogyakarta and Central Java. One of the main outcomes of the project was the formulation of a strategy for farming-related livelihood rehabilitation in earthquake-affected areas, with a gender perspective, taking into account the effects of the eruption of Mount Merapi. An example of such an effort is the tsunami regional forestry project, which is implementing participatory community approaches and reinforcement, specifically targeting women as part of community agreements on tree planting and fruit tree restoration.

In January 2007, the lead Indonesian agency for reconstruction produced guidelines on gender, and FAO is ensuring compliance with these in all its transition projects. Workshops and training were implemented using the sustainable livelihoods approach, by which all members of the community were gathered together in one forum to discuss, in a fully participatory manner, topics such as an analysis of available resources, rights of access, strategic planning and workplans that gave benefits to both women and men, and a system of participatory monitoring.