THEME INFO PACKS: WOMEN AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

BOOKS and PAPERS

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The environmental food crisis
by Christian Nelleman et al., 2009, United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
Downloadable at: www.unep.org/pdf/foodcrisis_lores.pdf

The food crises of 2007 and 2008 resulted in 50 to 200 percent increases in food commodity prices, which have driven 110 million people into poverty and added 44 million more malnourished people in the world. As a result of population growth, increased incomes and growing consumption of meat, the demand for food will keep rising and will require a 50 percent increase in food production in 2050. According to this report, the increased contribution will partly come from greater outputs per hectare.
However, food energy efficiency also needs to be optimised, which translates into minimising losses between harvesting and actual consumption of food as much as possible. The report presents sevens point to achieve this, for instance removing subsidies on biofuels, regulating food prices, reducing use of cereals in animal feed and supporting diversified and resilient eco-agricultural systems and ecosystem services.

 

Women Feeding Cities: Mainstreaming gender in urban agriculture and food security
by Alice hovorka, henk de Zeeuw and Mary Njenga (eds.), 2009. Practical Action Publishing, Warwickshire, U.K.
Downloadable at: www.database.ruaf.org/gender

This document summarises the results of the first of a series of annual surveys, in which the authors explore the potentials of entrepreneurial solutions to the main challenges the world is currently facing (climate change, widespread poverty, etc.). Although it does not focus on agriculture nor solely on rural areas, this document is very interesting to read. Considering that an entrepreneur is anyone who “through the practical exploitation of new ideas, establishes new ventures to deliver goods and services currently not supplied by existing markets”, the authors show how entrepreneurs see themselves, describe the difficulties they face (in particular raising start-up money), and show some of the paths followed to solve them. They also show the importance of establishing partnerships with large corporations as a way of scaling up processes. By focusing in detail on health and energy issues, the authors conclude that social entrepreneurship can lead to effective change, in ways that neither governments nor established businesses can.

 

From powerty to power: How active citizens and effective states can change the World
by Duncan Green, 2008. Oxfam International, Oxford, U.K.
Downloadable at: www.oxfam.org/en/policy/from_poverty_to_power

Food sovereignty is about the right to food. This book argues that for all to have this right, the world needs a new global deal on power, economy and global institutions. It implies a complete redistribution of power, opportunities and assets. This is not an illusion and can become a reality through the right combination of active citizens and effective states. Active citizens determine the course of their own lives, fighting for rights and justice in their own societies. But they will be able to induce a development process that can only be fostered in an effective nation state. Human security and development based on rights and human wellbeing are more essential for countries than simple economic growth to find a way out of poverty. Rich countries must also take responsibility, by adopting an agenda that stops causing harm, and show active solidarity with the struggles of the poor.

 

Gender and water. Securing water for improved rural livelihoods: the multiple-uses systems approach
by Robina Wahaj and Maria Hartl, 2007. International Fund for Argricultural development (IFAD), Rome, Italy.
Downloadable at: www.ifad.org/gender/thematic/water/gender_water.pdf

Securing water is critical to achieving food sovereignty and improving livelihoods. Women manage water resources for domestic and productive uses, and they are getting more attention in the planning of water projects: the projects are becoming more multi-purpose, multi-use and multi-user oriented. The involvement of communities, men and women, is the key to successful gender mainstreaming. But much can be improved. As this book shows, projects must be based on the understanding that land and water are closely linked: secure access to land is essential for secure access to water. Every water or land programme should be preceded by an analysis and thorough understanding of rights and how labour is divided in production and household activities. Multi-purpose water systems address women's concerns better than single-use projects. But further gender-sensitive planning and monitoring is necessary throughout the whole project cycle, as is participation of women in decision-making.

 

Monthly Review, volume 61 no 3, July-August 2009
Available at: http://monthlyreview.org

Two interesting articles about the potential of small-scale farming are found in this issue of Monthly Review. In "Fixing our global food system: Food sovereignty and redistributive land reform", Peter Rosset analyses the state of the world's food and agriculture system after the 2007-2008 food price crisis. He finds a clash of two models of agricultural production: on the one hand, agribusiness with an export vocation and heavy use of technology and petroleum; and on the other hand, small-scale family farming with a food-production vocation. Rosset makes a plea for more funds in the rural sector, price guarantees, credit, a focus on local markets and a redistributive agrarian land reform, as he is convinced that these result in higher yields, more food and better food sovereignty. Miguel A. Altieri argues in his article "Agroecology, Small Farms, and Food Sovereignty" that global developments limit the ability of developing countries to feed themselves. But the majority of farmers are still small-scale family farmers and this is the moment to present their way of life as an alternative to industrial agriculture. By managing fewer resources more intensively, small farmers are able to make more profit per unit of output and with lower negative impact on the environment.

 

Gender in agriculture sourcebook
Various authors, 2009. World Bank (WB), International Fund for Agricultural development (IFAD) and Food and Agriculture organization of the united Nations (FAO), Washington, DC, U.S.A./Rome, Italy.
Downloadable at: www.worldbank.org/genderinag

Empirical evidence on women's role in agriculture worldwide is presented, to inform policy formulation and programme design. This sourcebook shows how to avoid pitfalls of gender-neutral planning and how to support women in their potential to raise agricultural productivity and reduce poverty. It contains information from more than 100 contributors based on 15 years of evidence of good practices in the field in terms of agricultural markets, rural finance, livestock, forestry, among others. Agricultural growth and increased income among women are two priority areas of economic development in developing countries. For small-scale farmers especially, these two priorities may be the only way out of poverty.

 

Organic agriculture and womens' empowerment
by Cathy Farnworth and Jessica Hutchings, 2009.
Downloadable at: www.ifoam.org

Gender relationships are fundamental worldwide to the organisation of farm work and to farm decision-making. Surprisingly, there is not enough attention given to gender issues within the organic and sustainable farming movements. However, both could benefit, according to the authors of this book: women can gain empowerment by participating in the movement and organic organisations gain from the knowledge and insights of these women. In this book, people from the South suggest a range of measures to increase women's voice, for example by encouraging women to take up community leadership. Women need to participate in all decision-making aspects of sustainable and organic agriculture; as farmers, as researchers and as leaders. Positive support of men, training in organic methods, women-friendly spaces and women's presence in organic research institutions will help. The authors stress that food security as a priority for organics may also enable empowerment, since women hold a central role in improving nutrition in the household.

 

African women and ICTs: Investigating technology, gender and empowerment
by Ineke Buskens and Anne Webb (eds.), 2009. Zed Books, London, U.K.

The potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a development tool for women in Africa is the focus of this book. ICTs seem promising, but the editors of the book question if there is enough political will among decision-makers to do something useful with it. For reality shows that development can also enlarge gender inequalities and that women benefit less from development. The impact of ICTs on women varies. Some women do not use them at all, others create women-only spaces. Finally, there are some women who use ICTs to advance their lives to their own design. The articles show that women in rural areas use mobile telephones and radios. Despite being a favourite among women, the mobile phone is very expensive and low-cost sms services are usually not accessible to African women.

 

Hope not hype: The future of agriculture guided by the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for development
by Jack Heineman, 2009. third World Network, Penang, Malaysia.

Can we feed the world in the year 2050? Despite global food surpluses, many countries currently face malnutrition, hunger and starvation. At the same time and in the same countries, mass obesity exists as well. These are two sides emerging from industrial agriculture and global trade in agricultural food commodities. This book takes a hard look at traditional, modern (genetic engineering) and emerging (agroecological) biotechnologies and sorts them on the basis of delivering food without undermining the capacity to produce more food. The case is made for a different approach to biotechnology rather than the "one size fits all" biotechnology on offer.

 

Fed up with the right to food? Dutch policies and practices regarding the human right to adequate food
by Otto Hospes and Bernd van der Meulen (eds.), 2009. Wageningen Acedemic Publishers, Wageningen, the Netherlands.

This books deals with Dutch policies and practices regarding the human right to adequate food, as laid down in Article 11 of the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Right (which came into effect in the Netherlands in 1979). The celebration of World Food Day on the 16th of October 2007 showed that the Dutch government does not consider this right as a relevant concern in the Netherlands. The editors of the book think this attitude is wrong, for hunger and poverty are also a reality in the Netherlands, as indicated by the increasing presence of food banks in the country. To counterbalance this omission, an alternative Dutch celebration, called World Hunger Day, was organised. The book is a further elaboration of that event, focusing on human rights.

 

Cassava and soil fertility in intensifying smallholder farming systems of East Africa
by Anneke Marijke Fermont, 2009. Ph.d. thesis, Wageningen university, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Available at: http://edepot.wur.nl/7784

Cassava is an important crop in Africa, not only as a subsistence food security crop for the poor, but as a cash and food crop for all socioeconomic classes. NEPAD has pointed to drought- resistant cassava as a strategic crop to diminish dependency on maize. Production of cassava has already quadrupled in the last five decades. Cassava can have an important beneficial effect on soil and is often intercropped with beans and vegetables; further production increases, however, require more labour and other inputs such as fertilizer. Moreover, focus on improving marketing conditions alone will not be sufficient to secure the intended role of cassava in food sovereignty for households.

 

Land grab or development opportunity? Agricultural investment and international land deals in Africa
by Lorenzo Cotula, Sonja Vermeulen, Rebecca Leonard and James Keeley, 2009. FAO/IIED/IFAD, Rome, Italy.
Downloadable at: www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/12561IIED.pdf

Land grabs have become "hot news" over the past twelve months, but little is understood of international land deals and their impact. This report discusses key trends in land acquisitions in sub-Saharan Africa: the contractual arrangements and negotiations. The report tries to make clear what it means to local people. The interest for land acquisition lays in food security concerns and need for bio-fuels in recipient countries. The report points to the risks and opportunities for people in recipient countries, for it may lead to macro level benefits, but also to local people losing access to communal resources they need for their food sovereignty. (See "Sustainable agriculture in the news" on page 44 for more information.)

More information? Please write to the editors, at ILEIA.

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