HMG7230 Global Food Systems Essay: Empowering Women to End Hunger

This essay delves into the critical role of women's empowerment in combating global hunger, drawing on the premise that gender equality is paramount for food security. The essay highlights that women constitute a significant portion of the agricultural workforce globally, yet they often face inequalities in access to resources, education, and decision-making processes. It examines the impact of empowering women through modern technologies, access to financial services, and skills development, and it explores the work of organizations like IFAD in supporting women's empowerment projects. The discussion includes case studies of successful initiatives in different regions, such as the training of women in veterinary services and the provision of access to water resources. The essay also addresses the challenges women face in accessing markets and the importance of addressing gender-based discrimination in agricultural practices. Furthermore, the essay reviews the objectives set by the Millennium Development Goals and the United Nations, emphasizing the need for improved education, employment opportunities, and political representation for women. The conclusion emphasizes that breaking cycles of discrimination is crucial for improving the condition of women and ensuring food security.

Running head: EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN TO END HUNGER
Empowerment of women to end hunger
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN TO END HUNGER
Introduction
According to recent reports produced by World Bank, women usually represent at a rate of
more than 40% in the field of labour force at global level and also more than 43% in the field
of workforce at global agricultural level. Many organizations all over the world like Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of that of United Nations presume that productivity of
generation of women labour force will increase at a fast rate if they are rendered quality
training and they are given equal access to various productive units for example improved
seeds as well as fertilizers then it is estimated that yield from their fields would increase at a
rate of 20% to at least 30%. This would help in improving output due to agriculture by the
rate of 4% in various developing nations therefore it would help to reduce hunger of women
and children by the rate of 17% that means 150 more million people will get access to food.
This particular essay would discuss about empowerment of women through teaching them
modern technologies that would increase the yield from their farmlands.
Discussion
Women usually make up 50% of the entire workforce associated with agriculture in various
parts of Eastern Asia, in sub-Saharan parts of Africa and form 20% of the entire population of
farmers in parts of Latin America (Mayoux, 1995). It has been come to known that women
usually work more than from 12 to about 13 hours every week more than men. Rural girls
and old women carry out many such responsibilities for example they play the role of
farmers, micro entrepreneurs and they work as nominal wage labourers. However their hard
labour does not pay off to success as they are sometimes held back due to various dimensions
in inequality with men in terms of education, workloads, and rights towards property and they
also have limited control over various resources and most of the times decision-making
processes regarding agriculture and food production do not involve women farmers or

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN TO END HUNGER
artisans. Sometimes they have to bear the burden of additional work in the fields without
getting any form of payment. Therefore it is necessary to empower women so that
malnutrition, infant mortality rate, poverty as well as hunger can be minimized. Since the
modern environment is undergoing through several changes due to varying climatic
conditions, various patterns due to migration, globalization as well as processes of
commercialization therefore it is necessary on part of women to get themselves educated,
require money capital as well as support to be invested up on them so that they can always be
at par with their male counterparts in terms of production and they will also assist in various
financial services towards the rural areas that would help these places to attain stability
(Kabeer, 2010).
IFAD is basically an organization that works towards welfare of women as well as their
families, their communities as well as various countries and try to establish gender equality
everywhere around a particular place. They are mainly concerned towards making
contributions in order to improve measures associated with food as well as security, sharpen
the skills of rural women in ploughing the lands, irrigation process and other methods, and
motivate women so that they can raise their voices and influence other women and children.
They have the focus on making women share almost all social as well as economic benefits.
There are certain examples of this empowerment program like the organization face several
challenges to impart quality training facilities to women that have been dreams as well as
aspirations for women who suffer due to hunger and their annual income lies low the line of
poverty. Some groups of courageous women from youth section known as Yemeni women
have been successful in availing the opportunity to get themselves trained as various
professionals who can work at vet and they received ultimate support from various projects
funded by IFAD organization. When some young women faced oppositions from the side of
their families regarding joining the Veterinary Technical schools, they got the support from

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN TO END HUNGER
Ministry associated with Agriculture, gender development office for project for the
development of community resources that further helped them to get access to proper
learning as well as training.
There is another woman who used to live in Kenya, in the central district of Kiambu called by
name of Elizabeth Wanjiru who had to strive hard six hours per day just to fetch some water
for her family by standing in queues and the water that was available used to remain
contaminated, full of sediment however due to support and aid from project undertaken by
Smallholder as well as Community Services funded by IFAD in association with Central
Kenya Dry Area that has made possible for women to get better access to water as well as
several health services (Ogunlela and Mukhtar, 2009). This project has helped to build 26
number of shallow wells as well as 17 new piping schemes that would help women farmers to
avail to water resources for cultivation of seeds in the field. Various project groups were set
that helped to train women regarding breeding of livestock, facilitate practise of aquaculture
and various other skills like new techniques to harvest water, help in prevention of soil and
adopt other environmental methods to improve various conditions of their own households,
learning to save time as well as utilization of resources like energy-saving stoves and
manufacture of various units on biogas that would help them to avail fuel resources at cheap
rate.
It is not possible to empower women as well as small children without giving them the access
to various agricultural markets. Sometimes women face detachment from functioning
markets and here they face huge challenges as due to lack of proper literacy, proper
knowledge on various numerical skills as well as since they could not adopt themselves two
new cultural environment, it prevents most of them to join various groups of producers that
would give them the opportunity to exercise power of bargaining. However weavers who are
mostly indigenous women from Guatemala are now able to connect themselves to overseas

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN TO END HUNGER
market due to constant guidance and support from the exporter association AGEXPORT. Ana
Gonzalez is one of those persons who under the support as well as assistance from IFAD
have been able to provide business training and leading women to undertake new ventures so
that they can earn 90% from the income, learn to combine traditional colours with that of
techniques associated with modern design structure, adopt various skills associated with
business training so that they can borrow loans in order to invest in their farming and
agriculture and help to upgrade their loans.
Many women farmers are subjected to management of systems of agricultural production
systems that on the basis of social norms as well as various practices that were mostly
gender-biased. There was lack of data associated with gender-biased perceptions that used to
limit awareness as well as appreciation associated with productive roles of rural women as
well various contributions towards security of food in respective regions. However due to
influence of food as well security organization, acts against gender discrimination were
possible to eradicate. Various structural causes as a result of poverty and food security to
have been made access to women so that they can get access to various resources and decent
wages due to employment.
There are certain places girls and aged women population have to undergo through various
inequities as well as they sometimes do not get appropriate order of justice from legislative
laws therefore women face oppositions in terms of acquisition of land as well as various other
credits. Drawbacks in terms of literacy rates deprive them to get opportunities to take part in
vital role associated with food production, processing, and distribution as well as activities
based on marketing. United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has helped to
improve the conditions of 60% of women who mostly stay malnourished and therefore it has
helped in reinforcing the relationships that usually exist between social as well as economic
benefits that are gradually expanding (Kabeer, 2005). Empowerment of these poor women so

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN TO END HUNGER
that they can overcome most of the barriers and get access to wide number of opportunities so
that they experience self-employment as well as labour market. Study on cross-countries of
those developing countries that during the period of 1970-1995 it has been possible to reduce
the rate of hunger up to 43% through proper training, guidance and educating women
population. Reduction due to hunger rate has been able to increase availability of food by
26% and have been successful to improve health conditions by the rate of 19%. Objectives
that have been recognized by Millennium Development Goals for strengthening of women
are to improve pathways to education for young girls, improving access to employment
opportunities for young women in various sectors other than agriculture and build their
potentials as such that they can stand as representatives in politics and form local
organizations that would work for betterment of women. Studies have been conducted by
United Nations that women are mostly made to do overwork without any form of payment
and if this payment is counted under purse of finance then it would actually represent 94% of
entire part of tax revenue from the Republic of South- Korea as well as amount to 182% of
total tax that is collected in the form of revenue by government of India. In particularly
developing countries if daily amount of extra labour produced by women can be reduced by 1
hour every day that takes for them to fetch water from long distances then it would enable
them to earn $100 in a particular year as they would spend that time doing some other
activities that would fetch them more money as predicted by United Nations Development
Programme in the year 2006 (De Schutter, 2013).
Proper recognition of women as well as redistribution of activities among women increase
their level of priority in taking care of their families as well as households, taking care of
nutrition facilities helps to achieve some productive power and this was acknowledged by
MDG Commitment in the year 2010 at political level as well as government systems. Woman

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN TO END HUNGER
undertaking the role of leadership and expansion of opportunities at economic level can help
in facilitation of public policies and bring changes in social norms.
It can be recommended that through conduction of plans by World Food Summit Plan of
Action it has been possible to avail sufficiency in terms of availability of quantity of nutrients
since the year 1996 and modern society women are required to be made aware of most of the
actions as well as plans towards differential feeding practises. Crises arise due to increase in
prices of food since the year 2008 has led to conduction of plans and summits and these
programmes must be conducted with an aim of increasing focus to reduce prices of
agricultural products and make them available to majority of people all over the countries.
Since many countries have opened their opportunities towards trade facilities in agro based
products so that wide demands across the world can met to a maximum extent.
Figure 1: Table showing crisis faced by vulnerable women in terms of food price, finance and
ecological balance
(Source: Kabeer, 2005)

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN TO END HUNGER
Conclusion
Therefore from the above discussion it can be concluded that on breaking various cycles
associated with discrimination it would help to improve condition of women in Pacific as
well as South-Asia. If women are allowed to more productive resources then there would be
increase in yield of production from their fields at a rate of 20- 30%. This would help in total
output due to agricultural farming by the rate of 2.5-4% that would help in reduction of rate
of hunger all over the world by an annual rate of 12- 17%. This would further help in making
women economically active in many countries like Europe as well as East Asia. If they adopt
themselves learning various technologies and this would increase opportunities of women to
work in various sectors in agriculture, engineering and various business processes.

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN TO END HUNGER
Reference List
De Schutter, O., 2013. Gender equality and food security: Women’s empowerment as a tool
against hunger.
Kabeer, N., 2005. Gender equality and women's empowerment: A critical analysis of the
third millennium development goal 1. Gender & Development, 13(1), pp.13-24.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqSrobaD5sA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJviU0MGwYE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=uDM828TpVpY&list=PLE9PBVsDXfIFJyZfxEAu0NXDMmY04bdEH
Ogunlela, Y.I. and Mukhtar, A.A., 2009. Gender issues in agriculture and rural development
in Nigeria: The role of women. Humanity & social sciences Journal, 4(1), pp.19-30.
Kabeer, N., 2010. Women's empowerment, development interventions and the management
of information flows. ids Bulletin, 41(6), pp.105-113.
Mayoux, L., 1995. Beyond naivety: women, gender inequality and participatory
development. Development and change, 26(2), pp.235-258.