Brave Ndisale Deputy Director, Social Policies and Rural institutions Division, FAO
The central role of women and youth in rural development
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States’ South-South
and Triangular Cooperation Symposium:
“Integrated Rural Development:
Strengthening Women and Youth
Empowerment through Jobs and
Entrepreneurship”
11-12 February 2016 BrusselsFAO’s role as a South-South Cooperation Facilitator
How
• About 795 million people globally still suffer from hunger and malnutrition;• Food production to increase by 60 % to feed a global population of 9 billion
in 2050;
• Youth aged 15-24 account for more than 1 billion;• Women currently account for 42% of total agricultural labour force;• The agriculture sector is underperforming, partly because rural women and
youth are disadvantaged and marginalized.
Our World
Fighting rural poverty and promoting inclusive
sustainable development
Improving access to resources, assets, services, organizations, markets and opportunities of
rural women and youth
Goal
Rural women:• Unequal access to productive resources (e.g. land);
• Limited access to services (e.g. education, extension, credit and social protection);
• Widespread inequalities in rural labour markets, combined with heavy burden of unpaid care work in households and communities;
• Limited participation, voice and influence in rural organizations.
This “gender gap” impacts negatively on rural households’ food and nutrition security imposing high costs on the economy.
What are the challenges?
Landholding in selected ACP countries
Source: National Agricultural Censuses (except for Belize, Ethiopia, Nigeria)
Country Year Total Landholders
% Female Landholders
Caribbean Belize 2003 9.697 8%
Haiti 2008 1.018.951 25%
Jamaica 2007 210.853 30%
Saint Kitts and Nevis 2000 3.046 28%
Trinidad and Tobago 2004 19.051 15%
Pacific Fiji 2009 65.033 4%
Samoa 2009 26.6400 23%
Africa Botswana 2004 50.690 35%
Cape Verde 2004 44.450 51%
Ethiopia 2012 14.747.439 19%
Madagascar 2005 2.428.492 15%
Mali 2005 805.195 3%
Nigeria 2007 15.732.850 10%
Zambia 2000 1.305.783 19%
Rural youth:• Limited access to productive and gainful employment in the
agricultural sector
• Limited access to skills development and education• Excluded from institutions that provide access to financial
services, such as credit, savings and insurance • Lack of curricula tailored to the labour market’s needs
What are the challenges?
FAO’s Programmes that can be scaled up through South-South and Triangular Cooperation
Rural women:• Access to land: Gender and Land
Rights Database (GLRD)
• Gender equitable value chains• Access to knowledge and
information: Dimitra• South-South Cooperation to
promote Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment
Rural youth:• Access to decent work: JFFLS
• Support to government in designing youth targeted policies
• Advocacy for rural youth needs in global initiatives: Decent Jobs for Youth Initiative
Milestones
Active in over 16
countries
Over 300 JFFLS (FAO initiated)
Over 2000 facilitators
trained
More than 25.000 youth
(directly) trained
JFFLS Country Case: Mali 2014-2016
Background:
• Predominantly rural, agriculture isthe foundation of the economy
• 40% of the population: youngpeople between 15-40 years old
• Alarming rate of poverty: 70% earnless than $2/day
Junior Field Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) methodology
Project:
• Creating 400 new jobs for youngwomen and men
• Improving the quality of 1000jobs in agro-food value chains
• Launched in 2010• 84 county profiles
(and growing)• Sex-disaggregated
land tenure statistics capturing different aspects of control over land
• Legal assessment tool for gender-equitable land tenure
• Online discussion platform
Gender and Land Rights Database
Enhancing women’s participation in value chains and agribusiness
• Tools and guidelines for gender-sensitive value chain interventions
Ex: Guidelines on gender sensitive dairy value chain interventions
• Awareness raising and advocacy
Ex: Regional workshop on gender sensitive dairy value chains in Africa
• Capacity development
Ex: Direct interventions with different value chains actors, from producers to producer organizations
Participants: Government representatives, Civil Society, and FAO from 10 countries
Aims of the Knowledge Share fair:• Share knowledge and good practices from field
implementation• Cross-fertilize successful approaches to increase impact• Scale up the impact of the UN Joint Programme on Rural
Women’s Economic Empowerment
Strengthening Knowledge Exchange and South-South Cooperation
Key recommendations:
Replicate successful approaches, such as:• Household methodologies to identify critical needs (Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan)• Value chains and linking producers to markets (Rwanda, Nepal)• Rural savings and credit cooperatives (Ethiopia)• Assertiveness trainings for women (Iraq, Liberia) • Farmer Field and Life Schools (Uganda)
Follow-up initiatives to strengthen field implementation (e.g. a RWEE Web Portal)
Thank you!
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States’ South-South
and Triangular Cooperation Symposium:
“Integrated Rural Development:
Strengthening Women and Youth
Empowerment through Jobs and
Entrepreneurship”
11-12 February 2016 Brussels
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States’ South-South
and Triangular Cooperation Symposium:
“Integrated Rural Development:
Strengthening Women and Youth
Empowerment through Jobs and
Entrepreneurship”
11-12 February 2016 Brussels
