Courage Dutiro
Female farmers face more hardships due to climate change crisis and about 64percent of small scale farmers in Zimbabwe are women, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative in Zimbabwe Mia Seppo said.
Speaking during a StockHolm+50 Zimbabwe National Consultations with women, youth and people with disabilities held on April 4, 2022 in Mutare, Seppo said that women farmers face more hardships due to climate change crisis.
“The World Bank in 2021 acknowledged that agriculture is the most important activity in women empowernment and it is dominated by women but female farmers tend to be more vulnerable to disasters than male farmers,” said Seppo.
She added that women in agriculture provide half of the nutritional needs.
“In Zimbabwe close to 64percent of smallholders farmers are women and they are providing half of all the nutritional needs as was mentioned by our facilitators. UNDP have a portfolio of projects that are contributing to building resilience that include the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund where government of Sweden is also a partner and include the Green Climate Fund,” she said.
Seppo also said the projects are aiming to empower women in the climate smart agriculture.
“These projects are aiming to make sure women participate in local plan processes and at the same time promoting efforts towards climate smart agriculture and what we see is a lot of women picking up on renewable energy in rural communities,” said Seppo.
However, Seppo said that climate change has increased competition between human beings and nature.
“Climate change has increased competition for resources not only between humans and nature but also between communities and households,” she added.
According to the World Bank statement, women are backbone of the rural economy, especially in developing countries.
“Women are the backbone of the rural economy, especially in developing countries. They make up almost half of the world’s farmers, and over the last few decades, they have broadened their involvement in agriculture. The number of female-headed households has also increased as more men have migrated to cities. As primary caregivers to families and communities, women provide food and nutrition; they are human link between the farm and the table,” read part of the report.
The report also highlighted that women are the key agents of change in the agricultural, nutrition and rural development.
“As the global community works toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among them, SDG2, which aims to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030, women can be the key agents of change in agriculture, nutrition and rural development. With better access to information, training and technology, women can alter food production and consumption so that land and resources are used sustainably,” added the report.
