For many years FAO has been pursuing activities aimed at promoting the role of women in agricultural and rural development. A plan of action for the integration of women in development was drawn up and presented to the 98th Session of the FAO Council in November 1988 and adopted by the FAO Conference in 1989. This plan (FAO, 1989a) is the expression of FAO policies and programmes intended to improve the conditions of rural women and to provide a response to the demands of FAO Member Governments. It has its roots in the Organization's adoption of the Nairobi forward-looking strategies for the advancement of women (United Nations, 1985), in which the Member Governments of the United Nations made a commitment to taking concrete measures before the year 2000 to eliminate all forms of sexual discrimination in the political, economic and social spheres.
The aim of the plan is to induce change so that women will be afforded opportunities and rights equal to those of men and so that society will make the best possible use of the potential they represent. Strategies are proposed on three fronts:
· improvement of the database on women in agricultural development;
· formulation and promotion of policies based on this information;
· development of appropriate programmes.
The plan of action has four spheres - civil status, economic, social and decision making - which were selected on the basis of the experience FAO has amassed over the years through its contact with rural women in developing countries.
Each sphere has its own specific strategy for improving the conditions of women at all levels of society, and the lines of action essential to the plan's implementation are presented for each. As it is unrealistic to try to do everything at the same time, the following priorities were established:
· training of FAO staff on women's integration in development;
· advice to Member Governments on development policies;
· reorientation of home economics and agricultural curricula;
· project development and monitoring;
· preparation of manuals to promote women's participation in development;
· teaching on population with special reference to women's role in development;
· data collection, communications and public information;
· sustainable development, management of natural resources and environment.
Since 1988, the date of the adoption of the FAO Plan of Action for the Integration of Women in Development, and at the request and with the collaboration of various French-speaking countries of Africa, the Human Resources, Institutions and Agrarian Reform Division (ESH) - specifically the Women in Agricultural Production and Rural Development Service (ESHW) - has developed actions to help increase the integration of women in development.
The present document is a critical analysis of the lines of collaboration set up between African governments and FAO with a view to organizing action to improve the integration of women in development. Highlighting the difficulties as well as the real possibilities of attaining this objective is an exercise of interest to both governmental and FAO policy-makers and could facilitate the formulation of development policies and strategies benefiting rural women. The presentation of progressive, coherent steps to follow, together with the drafting of some operational guidelines, should support the efforts made towards sustainable and equitable agricultural and rural development that would benefit both men and women.
This document is based on the reports of missions carried out by FAO headquarters staff and consultants. Mrs Agnès Le Magadoux, an FAO consultant, was entrusted with the analysis and with the drafting of the report, in collaboration with the Women in Agricultural Production and Rural Development Service. The cover photograph was kindly supplied by Mr Roberto Faidutti.
MAJOR DATES IN FAO'S MANDATE AND ACTIVITIES CONCERNING THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT
· FAO Council Resolution 2/66 on "Integration of women in agricultural and rural development and nutrition policies"
· FAO Conference Resolution 10/75 on "The role of women in rural development"
· Establishment of the FAO Interdivisional Working Group on Women in Development
· World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD); Adoption of Declaration of Principles and Programme of Action
· FAO's Home Economics and Social Programme Service restructured as Women in Agricultural Production and Rural Development Service
· FAO Report on the State of Food and Agriculture with a chapter on the role of women
· FAO Regional Conference for Africa including examination of the situation of rural women
· FAO Conference Resolution 12/85 concerning rural women's problems, especially in the areas of training and access to inputs and technology
· UN World Survey on the Role of Women in Development; preparation of the chapter on "Women in agriculture"
· FAO Conference Resolution 3/87 calling for a plan of action for the integration of women in development, encompassing strategies to ensure that all relevant FAO programmes incorporate the recommendations of the Nairobi forward-looking strategies and the System-wide Medium-term Plan
· FAO Council Resolution 1/94 adopting the Plan of Action for the Integration of Women in Development
· FAO Plan of Action for the Integration of Women in Development adopted by the FAO Conference
· Training of FAO staff in the integration of women in development
· Third progress report on the WCARRD programme of action including the role of women in rural development