On International Women’s Day, we are celebrating the role women play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal #2 – Zero Hunger.
The goal of Zero Hunger aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Empowering women farmers will be key to success. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) “If women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20– 30 percent.”
Women are Gatekeepers to Food Security:
- Women produce between 60 and 80 percent of food in most developing countries.
- Women are responsible for half of the world’s food production.
- Women spend a significant part of their household income – a much larger part proportionately than men – on buying additional food for the family.
Empowering women to farm sustainably and organically can increase yields, provide a greater nutritional diversity of fruit and vegetables for family meals, and increase household income when surplus produce is sold.
In the hands of women, increased income leads to an improvement in children’s nutritional intake and general health.
Women who farm organically are also nourishing the soil and protecting biodiversity, essential ingredients for healthy crops, healthy people and a healthy planet!
In the previous blog posts, you’ll find personal stories from farmers and updates from organic projects working on the ground to build change. Check them out!
