McEntee tells global conference of need for gender equality in farming

GENDER equality in farming will play a key role in the long-term global fight against hunger, Agriculture Minister of State Shane McEntee told the Conference of the UN’s Food and Agriculture organisation (FAO) in Rome yesterday.

The world will be in a stronger position to cope with global risks relating to food security and nutrition if women are encouraged to play a more central role in farming production, Mr McEntee told ministers from across the globe. His views were particularly directed at the role of women in developing countries.

He said: “If we fail to address the obstacles faced by women farmers than we are failing to deliver food security — it is as simple as that.”

Mr McEntee urged countries to make a sustained commitment to achieve food security.

In emerging world economies, this goal needed to be examined in tandem with analysis on the vital role played by women in the agriculture sector, he said.

Noting the challenges brought about by price volatility, Mr McEntee called on the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, to swiftly implement ongoing needed reforms within FAO in order to better support governments to develop their agriculture sectors.

He also called on the conference to recognise that undernutrition was one of the least addressed aspects of food insecurity and informed it of the work Ireland has undertaken on this issue as part of a refocusing of its development assistance programme around hunger.