Presentation made by Ilaria Sisto, Training Officer at FAO, World Water Week, August 26-31, 2012, Stockholm, Sweden

1. Women in Agriculture,
Gender and Water Indicators
FAO Support to the African Ministers Council on Water
(AMCOW) Gender Strategy
Ilaria Sisto
World Water Week 2012
Stockholm, 27th August 2012
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

2. Outline
1. Women in agriculture and the gender gap
2. Gender-sensitive Indicators for water
resources in agriculture
3. FAO Support to the implementation of the
AMCOW Gender strategy
Women from Sub-
Saharan Africa spend
about 40 billion
hours/year collecting
water

3. 1. Women are a key resource in agriculture
Source: ILO.
Share of employed population by sector and gender

4. Women farmers produce less per
unit of land...
Percentage Sorghum Vegetables All crops
0
-5
-10 -18
-21
-15
-20 -41
-25
-30
-35
-40
-45
Gap between yields on male- and female-controlled plots in Burkina Faso

5. … because women use fewer inputs
(e.g. fertilizer)
Bolivia
Ecuador
Guatemala
Nicaragua
Panama
Bangladesh
Nepal
Pakistan
Tajikistan
Viet Nam
Ghana
Madagascar
Malawi
Nigeria
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Percentage of households using fertilizers
Male-headed households Female-headed households

6. … and women control less land
Bolivia
Ecuador
Guatemala
Nicaragua
Panama
Bangladesh
Indonesia
Nepal
Pakistan
Tajikistan
Viet Nam
Ghana
Madagascar
Malawi
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Average farm size (ha)
Male-headed households Female-headed households

7. Economic and social gains from
closing the gender gap
 Agriculture productivity gains on women’s farms
and at national level
 Food security gains with a reduction in the
number of hungry people
 Broader economic and social gains
 Improve health, nutrition and education for children
 Build human capital and promote economic growth

8. Steps to close the gender gap
 Ensure equality for women under the law
 Invest in women and girls
 Provide public services and technologies to
free up women’s time
 Consider gender differences in agricultural policy
 Address the multiple constraints of women in
agriculture holistically

9. 2. Gender-sensitive indicators in water
resources management at national level
 Management of land and water resources
 Access to paid employment
 Educational attainment
 Institutional empowerment
e.g. Empowerment (legal, political, economic and social
empowerment of women and men)

10. Monitoring MDG 8: Access to drinking water
% urban water supply coverage % rural water supply coverage % total water supply coverage
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
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11. Management of land indicators:
① Percentage farms managed by women
② Percentage cultivated area managed by
women
③ Distribution of farm sizes between men
and women

12. Access to water indicators:
① Number of men and women with access
to drinking water in relation to the total
population
② Proportion of rural households (male and
female headed) connected to reticulated
water
③ Proportion of people (families)
dependent on a community pump for
drinking water of total population.

13. Access of women to paid
employment
1. Statistics reflect only part of reality as many
workers are paid in cash and payments are not
officially registered
2. Contributions of women and children are not
recorded
3. Majority of farms (approx. 85%) are « managed
by the family »

14. Access to paid employment indicators:
① Percentage women hours worked in
agriculture sectors
② Percentage women in the agriculture
labour force in the irrigation sector
③ Ratio men/women in paid permanent
and seasonal employment in the
irrigation sector
① Percentage of women with social
security coverage.

15. Educational attainment indicators:
① Number of rural boys and girls enrolled
in schools
② Number of men and women employed in
the irrigation sector who received training
③ Number of men and women with each
education level working in agriculture
sectors
①
Ratio men/women of extension staff
involved in the irrigation sector.

16. Institutional empowerment indicators:
① Percentage women employees in a
ministry (water ministry or equivalent)
② Percentage women in decision-making
positions
③ Percentage women members of the
irrigation associations

17. 3. FAO Tools Passport to
mainstreaming
gender in water
programmes:
 SEAGA Irrigation
Sector Guide Key questions for
interventions in the
agricultural sector
www.fao.org

18. FAO Policy on Gender Equality
• Framework to guide FAO’s efforts to achieve
gender equality in all its technical work and
assess results.
• 30% of total agricultural aid is committed to
women and gender equality by 2025.
• One standard for gender mainstreaming is
strengthening the capacity of Member
countries in policy analysis, gender equality
planning and evaluation.

19. FAO Support to Member Countries
 Strengthen government technical and
functional capacities to address gender
inequality in agriculture sectors.
 Three dimensions: individuals, organizations
and enabling environment.
 Portfolio of CD instruments: training, policy
advice, organizational analysis, knowledge
management, network creation, coaching,
knowledge sharing and pilot new approaches.

20. What else can be done?
 Strengthen extension systems and institutions
to be more responsive and inclusive of women
 Address structural barriers to women’s access
to productive resources
 Improve financial systems to respond to needs
of rural women producers and entrepreneurs
 Close the gender gap in the
rural labour markets.