Worldwide, the demand for water is growing rapidly, and in many countries the cost of developing new supplies is becoming prohibitive. Simultaneously, increased water pollution is worsening the imbalance between water supply and demand. For these reasons, water resources development and irrigation are of critical importance in efforts to improve food security and sustainable agricultural production. Women play an important role in water management. They are most often the collectors, users and m more...

In smallholder agriculture, women farmers have been largely responsible for the selection, improvement and adaptation of plant varieties. The selection of certain varieties is a complex, multivariate process that depends on choosing certain desirable characteristics (for instance, resistance to pests and diseases; soil and agro-climatic adaptability; nutritional, taste and cooking qualities; food processing and storage properties).In many regions, women are also responsible for the management, i more...

Important international policies and legal agreements acknowledge the key role that women play, especially in the developing world, in the management and use of biological resources. Despite this increased recognition at international levels, little has yet been done to clarify the nature of the relationship between agro-biological diversity and the activities, responsibilities and rights of men and women. In fact, women's key roles, responsibilities and management practices for the conservation more...

In the 21st century, rural women in developing countries hold the key to the future of the Earth's agricultural systems and to food and livelihood security through their roles in the selection of seed, the management of small livestock and the conservation and sustainable use of plant and animal diversity. Rural women's key role as food providers and food producers links them directly to the management of genetic resources for food and agriculture and has given them unique knowledge of local spe more...

Rural women have developed practices for the efficient and sustainable use of the resources available to them. Rural women make a tremendous contribution to food and agricultural production. They also play a crucial role in determining and guaranteeing food security and well-being for the entire household. Equitable, effective and sustainable agriculture and rural development cannot be pursued without an explicit recognition of these realities. In a global atmosphere of increasing poverty, food more...

Internally displaced women and girls in Darfur are
at risk of rape, harassment and other forms of
violence every time they leave the camps to collect firewood. They often have no choice but to take this risk, since there are few other sources of cooking fuel or income available to them. The situation grows more dire every day, as the threat persists and the trees are getting scarcer and the women and girls must go farther from the camps to find wood. Darfur is mostly desert, and the few trees more...

As world food prices reach record highs, concerns over agricultural productivity are mounting. Productivity growth has stagnated as the world’s population has continued to rise, and the wealth generated from economic development is further increasing demand for food. The use of food crops like corn and sugarcane for biofuels production exacerbates the situation. The United Nations estimates that agricultural output will have to rise 50 percent by 2030 to meet this increased demand (UN, 2008).
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In part of a Good Politics Radio series entitled Replenishing the Breadbasket: Food and Philanthropy, Eric Holt-Gimenez explains how the Gates Foundations $300 million effort to aid African agriculture does little to change the structural problems that have led to the food crisis and is instead repeating the failed policies of the first green revolution.

AWID’s Young Feminist Activism program seeks to build a multigenerational movement by amplifying the voices of young women so that their experiences and ideas are reflected in feminist discourse and activism. The Young Feminist Activism program supports and mobilises younger activists by creating provocative opportunities for engagement, innovative research projects, capacity building activities and multi-generational dialogues linked to AWID’s initiatives to promote change. The program als more...

Despite recent advancements in the women’s movement in many Arab countries, flagrant discrimination and violence continue to be perpetrated against women in both the public and private spheres throughout the region.
In June 2006 human and women's rights organisations from throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region came to together in Rabat, Morocco to launch the “Rabat Appeal for the Regional Campaign Equality without Reservation.” The campaign calls for the ratification o more...