Introduction to Materials

Abstract

Women Feed the World Investing in agriculture has long been recognized as a critical long-term development strategy – whether the goal is to increase food security for individual families living in poverty or to help economies grow through producing more crops to sell at local, regional and international markets. In the United States, the traditional image of a farmer is a man, but around the globe, the typical farmer is a woman. This is especially true in developing countries, where agriculture is predominantly women's work. In sub-Saharan Africa, women are responsible for producing 80 percent of food, both for consumption and sale. 1 Yet, while women are doing the majority of this agricultural work, they receive less then 10 percent of credit provided to farmers and own an estimated two percent of land. 2 It is therefore essential that agricultural programs take gender into account. What does this mean? Too often, gender is equated with women, but gender is about women and men. Gender refers to the different roles, resources, rights and responsibilities of women and men in a society. Decades of research and experience have shown that these differences between women and men are profound in the developing world. Furthermore, women and men face differing constraints and opportunities – especially in terms of their needs for, and access to, services and programs. When we don't take this into account, our programs fail to address the root causes of poverty and in some cases prolong the cycle of poverty. Men, Women and Development: Together, But Different