Rural women at the heart of sustainable development

Women are responsible for more than half of the food production globally. They have crucial role in food security and rural livelihoods. Rural women are committed to 2030 agenda. They play a paramount role in tackling many of the goals set by the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.
“The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have gender equality and women’s empowerment at their core, and include a target to “double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women. Indeed, rural women are critical to the success of almost all of the 17 SDGs, highlighted the UN Secretary General, Ban-ki Moon.
Therefore, the Women’s Committee of the World Farmers Organisation (WFO) urges all WFO member organisations, partners and all other stakeholders to search for, develop and implement practical solutions to scale up the role of rural women as transformative agents for achieving the economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development.
Rural women are also witnessing a variety of constraints and discriminatory practices. Limited access to credit, health care, land and education are among the many challenges they face, which are further aggravated by the global food and economic crises and climate change. WFO urges to ensure the empowerment of women farmers worldwide with positive benefits not only for the well-being of individuals, families and rural communities, but also for the overall economic productivity, given women’s large presence in the agricultural workforce worldwide in a sustainable manner.

The International Day of Rural Women is celebrated on October 15th worldwide. The idea was born during the 4th UN Conference on Women in Beijing back in 1995, when the conveners decided to symbolically set the celebrating day at the eve of the World Food Day to raise awareness on women in rural area.

On the occasion of the International Day of Rural Women, WFO launched a photo contest “Through the lens of rural women – The critical role of rural women in sustainable agriculture.
The aim of the contest is to raise understanding and awareness of the needs of women farmers to feed the Planet, with a special focus on sustainable development.
Rural Women are also celebrated in different forums of social media all over the world.
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