Gender and Food Security 2010
Introduction:
In the quest to understand the key role of women in the social political and developmental sectors, my search lead me to understand the significant of Gender in relation to providing sustainable food security in and around the world focus particularly on Africa as a continent. Issues such as the gender roles, its achievement and challenges plus given recommendation on how we could increase food security would be discussed. WHAT IS GENDER? The term refers to the economic, social and cultural attributes and opportunities associated with being male or female. In most societies, being a man or a woman is not simply a matter of different biological and physical characteristics. Men and women face different expectations about how they should dress, behave or work. Relations between men and women, whether in the family, the workplace or the public sphere, also reflect understandings of the talents, characteristics and behavior appropriate to women and to men. Gender thus differs from sex in that it is social and cultural in nature rather than biological. Gender attributes and characteristics, encompassing, inter alia, the roles that men and women play and the expectations placed upon them, vary widely among societies and change over time. But the fact that gender attributes are socially constructed means that they are also amenable to change in ways that can make a society more just and equitable. Gender also can be relates to the socially assigned position and behavior of men and women. It affects the allocation of resources and work, decision-making and power, and the enjoyment of rights and entitlements within the family as well as in public life. Men and women have different roles and responsibilities in their individual lives, in their families and households, and in their communities. Both men and women are income earners and agricultural producers. Within the family, the womens responsibilities often involve care provision for their families and intra-household food distribution. Women also play a vital role in the processing and preparation of food, and frequently use their own earned income in support of their children. Women seeking to make these significant family contributions frequently have only limited access to the necessary resources, or to the related decision-making processes of family resource allocation and use. FOOD SECURITY The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. Commonly, the concept of food security is defined as including both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs as well as their food preferences. In many countries, health problems related to dietary excess are an ever increasing threat, In fact, malnutrion and foodborne diarrhea are become double burden. Food security is built on three pillars:
Food availability: sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis. Food access: having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Food use: appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation.
Food security is a complex sustainable development issue, linked to health through malnutrition, but also to sustainable economic development, environment, and trade.
Pan African Christian University College, Pomadze Ghana
Gender and Food Security 2010
GENDER AND FOOD SECURITY In 1974, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and was meant to provide for women access to health care, social security, training and education, loans, technology, water, adequate living conditions, sanitation, housing, supply and transport. Supply, distribution, and access to these resources for women is central to enhancing food security. It is difficult to discuss a blueprint procedure for empowering women to achieve food security in Africa because property rights, political rights, and gender inequality vary depending on the society in question. However, the IFPRI report concludes that high levels of gender inequality translate to high levels of food insecurity. Therefore, the avenue for policy clearly must work towards a more equal distribution of resources that aim to make small-holder farmers competitive. Women have been especially disadvantaged when it comes to securing access to technology, land, and farm inputs. Many African countries do not allow women to own land and if their spouse dies, women lose their land plot. Womens access to land must be strengthened because women play such a significant role in Africas rural agriculture. Africa currently faces a food security crisis stemming a multitude of causes including corrupt governments, civil war, drought, and HIV/AIDS. The continent is vast and the problems are complex, so no single strategy for eradicating hunger will be sufficient. The continent has also been a test lab for countless Western endeavours including a failed green revolution, decades of crippling structural adjustment labeled as neoliberal reform, and most recently a free-for-all land grab as other states concerned about their own food security needs buy up huge swaths of fertile land from unaccountable governments to farm and ship foodstuffs to feed their own populations. A meaningful food security strategy will have to be innovative and informed by past failures in order to combat hunger in Africa. Yet Western economists seem to be calling on more of the same. Jeffery Sachs, the influential author of the Millennium Development Goals, advocates increased food aid with more efficient distribution. Paul Collier insists that the West needs to launch a second Green Revolution in Africa, using genetically modified organism crops which have been formally deemed by the UN as unsafe because of their unknown ecological and health impacts. In a 2005 UN Report that stated: Gender equality is not simply socially desirable; it is a central pillar in the fight against hunger. Women are traditionally the individuals that ensure that children get enough to eat. Malnutrition in children is not a temporary condition. A child born undernourished and underweight will face disadvantages throughout life. Malnourished children are more susceptible to disease and often suffer from reduced cognitive and physical ability, which in turn limits their capacity to do decent work. Those suffering from food insecurity today are likely to be suffering from the same ills in ten years time, not because of the unavailability of food per se but because starvation is a poverty trap, affecting individuals throughout their lifetime. Any sort of poverty reduction strategy has to begin by addressing the basic health and nutrition of the affected populations. On a larger scale, a healthy population will enable regional and national governments to focus on other development and economic issues. Food security, therefore, is an integral component to global development strategy. Information from a 2009 report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) finds that gender inequality negatively affects food security. The reports focus on women, distribution of land and resources reveals the growing recognition of alternative food security strategies that aim to increase food production and improve the equity of its distribution. More research is investigating alternative methods. A 2009 Report by the IFPRI recommends a refreshingly distinct approach seeking to identify and address the unique role of women and their potential contribution to food security in Africa. Women are responsible for 80 percent of agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa and farm mostly on subsistence and small plot holdings without wider access to technology or technical advice.
Pan African Christian University College, Pomadze Ghana
Gender and Food Security 2010
It is now understood that gender inequality exacerbates hunger because women distribute available resources more effectively amongst their family members and community than men. Within Africa, women bear a disproportionately large share of the countrys poverty and food insecurity. Whatever indicator one takes, be it education, nutrition or employment, women are generally worse off than men. There are a number of inherent difficulties in addressing womens needs and concerns effectively through development interventions. A major part of the problem lies in not reaching women effectively in different situations and settings, especially those who belong to asset-less, asset-poor, and socially vulnerable households, thereby enabling them to have a voice in designing and shaping the interventions. Food security risks and vulnerabilities for women and girls increase even more during disasters for a variety of reasons. Women are less likely to utilize disaster shelters and are often the last to leave the household compound in disaster situations. Their responsibilities to protect and maintain family and households are compounded during disasters and increase their workloads. Men may migrate to urban areas during disasters in search of work leaving women as de facto heads of households. Women are more likely to be cut off from disaster warnings or other information since many rural women have no access to radio, television, or other media sources.
Challenges to Food Security in Africa:
An Underdeveloped Agricultural Sector The major challenge to food security in Africa is its underdeveloped agricultural sector that is characterized by over-reliance on primary agriculture, low fertility soils, minimal use of external farm inputs, environmental degradation, significant food crop loss both pre- and post- harvest, minimal value addition and product differentiation, and inadequate food storage an preservation that result in significant commodity price fluctuation. Ninety five percent of the food in Sub-Saharan Africa is grown under rain fed agriculture. Hence food production is vulnerable to adverse weather conditions. There is an overall decline in farm input investment including fertilizers, seeds, and technology adoption. Access to fertilizer use is constrained by market liberalization and trade policies that increase fertilizer prices relative to commodity prices, limited access to markets and infrastructure, limited development of output, input and credit markets, poverty and cash constraints that limit farmers ability to purchase fertilizer and other inputs. The soils continue to degrade leading to a reduction in the productivity of the farms. Some of the causes of soil fertility depletion in Africa include the limited adoption of fertilizer replenishment strategies and soil and water conservation measures; the decline in the use and length of fallow periods; expansion of agricultural production into marginal and fragile areas; and the removal of vegetation through overgrazing, logging, development, and domestic use. Other causes include rapid population growth, limited access to agriculture-related technical assistance, Poor handling and storage and lack of knowledge about profitable soil fertility management practices leading to expansion into less-favorable lands. A significant amount of the food is lost through pre- and post-harvest losses. The tropical climate makes foods produced in these regions prone to pests and diseases. Barriers to Market Access Access to markets is the second huddle that smallholders have to overcome. The problem is many- fold: poor infrastructure and barriers in penetrating the market caused by their limited resource base, lack of information, lack of or inadequate support institutions and poor policies in place among other factors. Poor infrastructure literally limits the markets to which farmers can profitably take their produce by increasing the cost of transportation, and hence also acts as a barrier to market penetration. Other barriers include market standards, limited information, requirements for large initial capital investments, limited product differentiation, and handicapping policies. While almost any of the farm produce sells at the village level market, consumers are quick to discriminate against produce that is comparatively inferior, hence farmers
Pan African Christian University College, Pomadze Ghana
Gender and Food Security 2010
have, over time, adapted to selling only that which will sell. This is a highly subjective process that has worked traditionally. However, when the same farmer wants to sell the produce to high-end markets, then subjective standards no longer work. Effects of Globalization Globalization is a concept that allows countries to benefit from capital flows, technology transfer, cheaper imports and larger export markets in the long term. However, the effect of globalization on any country depends on that countrys level of economic development, structures in place during the implementation stage, flexibility of its economy. Globalization has three dimensions. The first refers to the multiplication and intensification of economic, political, social and cultural linkages among people, organizations and countries at the world level. The second dimension is the tendency towards the universal application of economic, institutional, legal, political and cultural practices. This is related to the first dimension in that increased linkages generate a need for common institutions and rules. The third dimension is the emergence of significant spillovers from the behavior of individuals and societies to the rest of the world. Due to the interrelation of the various dimensions, policies made in one country are bound to have effects on another. With globalization comes liberalization of markets. The food security threat caused by liberalization is due to dumping of heavily subsidized produce in developing countries and premature exposure of upcoming industries to genuine competition from producers in developing and developed countries. In addition, most profits are repatriated by transnational companies reducing the potential for poverty reduction to direct employment alone. In most cases, the pay is low because the national policies do not protect the laborer.
Disease and Infection Disease and infection continue to plague the African continent. Diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS not only reduce the man-hours available to agriculture and household food acquisition, but also increase the burden of household in acquiring food. In Sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is the leading cause of adult mortality and morbidity. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), estimates that by 2020 the epidemic will claim the lives of 20 percent or more of the population working in agriculture in many Southern African countries. More than two thirds of the total population of the 25 most affected countries resides in rural areas, affecting agricultural production as well as farm and domestic labor supplies. Lack of resources also makes it more difficult for HIV-affected households to supplement their diet through the purchase of more nutritious and varied foods. The effect of malnutrition on food security is further exacerbated by the fact that individuals affected by disease and infection, have greater nutritional requirements. Handicapping policies Poor policies have greatly affected the food security in Africa. The problem arises when the focus on policies, structures and institutions is put above that of the people themselves. When policies are not inclusive in their design they tend to handicap the exempted lot by providing barriers. One such way in which this may take place is uneven development within countries where certain regions are preferentially developed for political reasons at the expense of others.
Pan African Christian University College, Pomadze Ghana
Gender and Food Security 2010
Recommendations
The number of people without enough food to eat on a regular basis remains stubbornly high, at over 800 million, and is not falling significantly. The latest FAO figures indicate that there are 22 countries, 16 of which are in Africa, in which the undernourishment prevalence rate is over 35%. In general the countries that succeeded in reducing hunger were characterized by more rapid economic growth and specifically more rapid growth in their agricultural sectors. They also exhibited slower population growth, lower levels of HIV and higher ranking in the Human Development Index. As such, in line with the FAO, addressed, A propose key steps to increasing agricultural productivity which is in turn key to increasing rural income and reducing food insecurity may include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Boosting agricultural science and technology. Current agricultural yields are insufficient to feed the growing populations. Eventually, the rising agricultural productivity drives economic growth. An Improved infrastructural development. Combating, Health issues, Trades (both domestic, cross border and international) enhancement etc. Promoting gender awareness initiatives Securing property rights and access to finance. Enhancing human capital through education and Conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms and democracy and governance based on principles of accountability and transparency in public institutions and the rule of law are basic to reducing vulnerable members of society.
References:
Article on food security World Health Organization [online] L, Olivia. Article on Successful food security in Africa October 2010. Tradition and Change in Ghana, An Introduction to Sociology, Second edition, By G.K PP. 172174. IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute). 2002. Reaching sustainable food security for all by 2020. Getting the priorities and responsibilities right. Washington, D.C:IFPRI Sociology (Understanding a Diverse Society), Instructor Edition, Margaret L. Anderson, Howard F. Taylor.
Pan African Christian University College, Pomadze Ghana
