Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Speakers at an event said access to land, finance, technology and its knowledge was vital to help rural women become more resilient and contribute to the development of agriculture sector in the country.
Addressing the International Rural Women’s Day, they urged the need for formulating women centric policies in order to provide them land ownership rights for helping them bring in economic mainstream and for poverty alleviation.
The event was organized by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations, in collaboration with International Labor Organization (ILO) and other stakeholders in order to mark International Rural Women’s Day.
The theme for International Rural Women Day 2019 was ‘Rural Women and Girls Building Climate Resilience’, which was also attended by female beneficiaries of FAO projects from North Waziristan.
The experts said climate change poses a great threat to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs in Pakistan, adding it also impacts health, food security, nutrition, production, and people’s earnings.
Yet given their traditional roles in agricultural production and as the procurers of water, cooking fuel, and other household resources, women were not only well suited to find solutions to prevent further degradation and adapt to the changing climate, they had a vested interest in doing so, they observed.
Speaking on the occasion, FAO Representative Mina Dowlatchahi said women and men both need to be educated in the role of women when it comes to building resilience to climate change, as well as sustainable market linkages in order to improve agricultural productivity.
She also highlighted the role of rural women in agricultural production and how climate adoption in agriculture could improve their access to production, land and financial resources.
She said the role of rural women and girls was vital in order to meet the challenges of climate change and mitigating measures for rural development. Mina Dowlatchahi said access to land, finance, and technology and its knowledge can help rural women become more resilient and contribute to the development of the agriculture sector in Pakistan.
