FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf says that "in many countries - particularly in developing countries and in agrarian societies, production of staple food, cash crops and livestock relies heavily on women's labour. Most of their back-breaking work is unpaid or grossly underpaid, and agricultural tool producers, researchers and extension workers give little attention to alleviating the drudgery of women's lives".
With this edition, we publish the results of a study - by IFAD and FAO's Agriculture Department - that drives the point home. A survey in five countries of sub-Saharan Africa found that many rural women are helping to "feed the world" using inadequately designed and poorly made handtools, and with little or no access to the income, credit and training that would allow them to adopt more efficient and productive technologies. The report urges farming services to involve women farmers in production training, promote consultation between blacksmiths and female clients, and include advice on farm tools and implements in extension campaigns. See Spotlight: Women and farm tools.
Agricultural finance revisited
The volume of agricultural credit has been shrinking in many developing countries since the beginning of the 1980s. Numerous agricultural development banks collapsed during that period, and the remaining institutions often lack the organizational strength and business skills needed to serve to small farmers. AG's Rural Finance Group and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) are collaborating a new publications series, "Agricultural finance revisited", that will analyse the impact of modern financial technologies for small-scale clients, and elaborate better policies and practices. Six modules are planned, covering FAO and GTZ experience, national-level policy formulation, technologies and resource mobilization for financial institutions, regulation and supervision, and improving financial skills on the farm. Follow this link for further details and to download the first two modules.