Helping women respond to the global food crisis

The 2007-2008 food price crisis received widespread attention but the gender dimensions of the crisis were largely overlooked. Yet ongoing research on gender and intra-household resource allocation continues to suggest not only that men and women are affected differently by global food crises, but as both consumers and producers, they have different means and approaches for responding to rising prices. This four-page brief published in 2008 calls for an urgent policy response at national and international levels to address the gender implications of a crisis. It provides an overview of what is known about women’s roles in agricultural production and household welfare, and the specific challenges they face. The brief is aimed at assisting decision makers more effective craft policy responses and to enable women to respond better to the challenges and opportunities of the crisis.

Key issues include:

• In the face of crisis, women are more likely than men to lose assets and formal jobs and their unpaid and care work responsibilities increase dramatically.
• Higher food prices increase the workload and stress of poor women, as they have to spend more time and effort to secure food for their families and households. Women often end up reducing their own consumption to leave more food for other household members.
• Women farmers have less access to resources such as land, seeds, fertiliser, credit, and technological training.
  

Recommendations include:

• Interventions should target small-holder farmers with explicit efforts to reach poor women farmers.
• Social protection interventions should include preventive health and nutrition programs, conditional cash transfers, food or cash for education or work, and microfinance programs, targeted to vulnerable groups.
• Recognise the importance of women farmers and women’s social networks in disseminating information.
• Extension services can also be tailored to meet the needs of women by bringing services closer to women farmers.