GENDER AND YOUTH: New models of masculinity and feminity to fight gender inequality

Women and Youth

The Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa- Creating a conducive and enabling environment for the fish sector to create equitable, social and economic development in Africa, highlights that, to a make sustainable positive changes in gender equality, a long-term bottom-up process requiring adequate funding is needed and to recongnize the critical role played by women within fisheries.

According to the Policy document, putting in place mechanisms to promote and protect women’s rights to participate in all aspects of marine, coastal and inland water fisheries governance and management and seek to improve access of women to fish and fish markets, particularly through the provision of credit at affordable rates is key. While consideration of age is important in gender analysis, youth also needs specific attention in its own right.

IFAD to showcase the importance of investing in rural people at the G20 Agricultural Ministers Meeting

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will join the world’s leaders of agriculture today in Istanbul, Turkey at the meeting of the G20 Agriculture Ministers to advocate on behalf of the 76 per cent of the world poorest people who reside in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

Josefina Stubbs, Associate Vice-President of IFAD, who will represent the Fund at the meeting, will take critical messages to the ministers about the importance of investing in rural people in developing countries.

“IFAD believes it is essential to bring millions of smallholder farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs, women and men, into the financial mainstream, if we want them to become capable investors who can drive sustainable and inclusive agriculture and food systems,” Stubbs said prior to her departure. “IFAD is proud to be on the frontline of this area, through our support to rural finance institutions across the developing world.”

Gender and Climate Change –Challenges and way forward

Author: Abdou Rahman Sallah

            Executive Director BAJ Gambia

Gender inequalities substantially limit women’s access to control over and use of services and productive resources. As a result, natural hazards have different impact on men and women. These inequalities make the effect more devastating for women. With equal gender opportunities, a new environmentally friendly perspective needs to be developed that makes men and women equally accountable for their personal consumption and renders them responsible for the impact they have on the environment.

Urgent actions are needed to combat climate change but lack of information on gender and climate change has slowed our reactions. Today, there is inadequate information on gender issues relating to climate change. Further research is therefore needed in several aspects to establish the linkages between gender and climate change.

One key challenge is the small proportion of women in relevant professions and position of authority. International climate change process would be achieve sustainably we need to espouse the principles of gender in all stages of the process from research, through analysis, agenda formation, negotiation and decision making, regime implementation etc.