Agriculture and development: Ban Ki-moon lauds rural women for their contribution

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki moon has paid tribute to the valuable contributions made by rural women, including indigenous women, to agriculture and development. In his message on the first International Day of Rural Women, he said observance of the day, on October 15, was especially timely, as it came in the midst of a world food crisis and global financial turmoil, and on the eve of World Food Day.
"Rural women produce more than half of the world's food and provide immeasurable support to local communities," he said. He, however, regretted that despite the life-saving role they play, these women are seldom adequately appreciated or compensated.
Women farmers in developing countries do most of the agricultural work, but they own just a tiny fraction of the land. Disproportionately poor and illiterate, they are rarely included in decision-making that affects their circumstances. Ban Ki moon said UN mission is to foster a world where the woman who farms is also a woman with educational opportunities, political access, and a voice at the negotiating table.
UN was said to be keen to help a woman with a market environment that favours a fair return on her investments of equipment, seeds and labour - a woman who benefits from the land, credit and new technologies that will increase production. "We know that when we empower rural women, we enhance the well-being of their children, their families, their communities and, ultimately, their countries.
At the same time, we must recognise that improvements in roads, health care, water and sanitation systems and environmental protection will elevate not only women but society as a whole." The Secretary General, in his message, urged all countries to seize the opportunity at the Conference on Financing for Development in Doha, scheduled for next month, to put the needs of rural women at the top of the global agenda.
By making women active partners in addressing the world's pressing food crisis, we can do much more than solve the immediate problem; we can pave the way for a more secure global future. "On this Day, let us commit to that mission," urged the UN Secretary General.