Archive

Food Price Volatility

It may seem that commodity prices are down, but countries remain nervous about food price volatility. At the United Nations, they passed a resolution (A/RES/66/188) that will keep food pricing at the top of the agenda. In a process led by the Dominican Republic, there has been good G77 support for a variety of measures […]

The Female Face of Farming

To celebrate International Women’s Day, I am happy to share with the CFS the infographic “The Female Face of Farming” developed by the FAO and the Farming First coalition. We hope this will be a useful tool to further the cause of women farmers. www.farmingfirst.org/women.

Rio+20

The Farmers Major Group statement at the Rio+20 conference highlighted the need for the outcomes of the Rio Conference on Sustainable Development to link the concept of food security more effectively to farming. “On behalf of the Farmers Major Group, we wish to congratulate the member states for having stressed clearly, in the preparatory process, […]

Women’s Day

Ahead of Women’s Day on March 8th, Farming First and FAO have launched a new infographic on the gender gap in agriculture: www.farmingfirst.org/women. They have already received coverage in the Guardian and we hope this will be a useful tool to help spur the discussion on the role of women in sustainable agriculture in the […]

Rural Women’s Education

There is a pressing need for general education for women in developing countries. Education for women has a lagged behind in many countries, and there is evidence that literacy rates for rural women are even lower than their urban counterparts. For instance, in Bangladesh, the adult literacy rate for rural women is only 36.2 percent, […]

Women Farmers

Women make crucial contributions to the agricultural sector as farmers, fishers, livestock keepers, farm labourers and primary processing. An average 43 percent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries are women, ranging from about 20 percent in the Americas to almost 50 percent in East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Rio +20 Key News

Here are some key deadlines and dates for the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development: Rio+20 Conference: 20-22 June Thematic days: 16-19 June PrepCom: 13-15 June March Intersessional Informal negotiations will occur from March 19-23. Major Groups may only observe at these meetings and will not be allowed to speak from the floor. The intersessional will […]

Women in Agriculture

As the UN is about to talk about Rural Women for the first time from February 27-March 9, it is important to remember how feminine the face of global farming is. In Canada, farming is largely a male domain, but in places like Africa and Asia it is a very different picture. As we contemplate […]

Eradicating Hunger and Pushing Growth

16% of the world’s population still lives in chronic hunger. Read about FAO’s Eradicating Hunger and Pushing Growth highlights in the attached. It has lots of key figures in the sidebar along the left side of the front page. http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/am859e/am859e05.pdf

Funding available for African and Canadian students as part of 2012 graduate research grants

Graduate students from Africa and Canada will have the opportunity to benefit from $300,000 (CAD) in funding, as the Africa Initiative today announces a call for applications for the 2012 graduate research grant program. Grants of up to $10,000 (CAD) will be awarded to as many as 15 African students applying to study in Canada […]