by: Giulia Filpi | March 8, 2024
In sub-Saharan Africa, 66 percent of women’s employment is in agri-food systems, while in South Asia it is 71 percent. The data emerges from a statement from the UN agencies FAO, IFAD and WFP on the condition of women in agri-food systems. “Women – the agencies underline – are essential for global, regional and national food security”.
Globally, the statement continues, closing gender gaps in agricultural productivity and wages within agri-food systems could increase gross domestic product by 1 percent, equivalent to nearly $1 trillion, and ensure food security for over 45 million people.
In 2022, the note continues, 388 million women and girls lived in extreme poverty and 27.8 percent of women were moderately or severely food insecure.
This overall picture of gender disparity is clearly evident in rural areas. Limited access to agricultural resources and inputs creates a gender gap in land productivity, with a 24 percent difference between the productivity of female-run and male-run farms of the same size. Women earn, on average, 18.4 percent less in agricultural wage work: when men earn a dollar, women earn about 82 cents. Furthermore, heat waves and floods affect rural women and men differently and widen the income gap.
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