Climate Change Threatens Food Security and Livelihoods of Rural Women Farmers

Strategic Insights -

Climate change is ravaging crop production, biodiversity, and food security in rural communities, particularly for women farmers who already face intersecting challenges. Despite the growing urgency of the situation, only 18% of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals are on track to be met by 2030, highlighting the need for urgent action and sustained multilateralism.

Key Takeaways:

  • In Acora, Peru, climate change has led to devastating floods and droughts, threatening crop production and biodiversity, and exacerbating food insecurity.
  • Women farmers, like Pascuala Pari and Fanny Ninaraqui, are working tirelessly to preserve indigenous agrobiodiversity through seed banks, which not only help sustain their livelihoods but also preserve traditional knowledge.
  • Over 125 varieties of native crops have been preserved across the region, with women farmers trading and bartering seeds with other owners.
  • Women farmers often lack legal rights, including land titles, with 58% of countries lacking sufficient protection for women's land rights (Source: Secretary-General's Sustainable Development Report).
  • Women are twice as likely to not have land deeds and other protected property rights, hindering their economic outcomes and sidelining their voices in policymaking (Source: Secretary-General's Sustainable Development Report).
  • Initiatives that aim to change discriminatory social norms and institutions are essential to empower rural women, beyond legal land rights (Source: FAO).
  • International and civil society organizations, including the UNDP, have worked to help women establish their seed banks and ensure long-term capacity-building (Source: UNDP).
  • Women like Pascuala Pari and Fanny Ninaraqui are part of the Aymara indigenous community, where seed banks are a form of innovation that allows them to build upon indigenous knowledge regarding agrobiodiversity (Source: Pari).
  • These women are passing on the knowledge and skills they've gained to younger generations, ensuring the preservation of traditional knowledge and practices (Source: Pari).

Statistics:

  • 18% of UN Sustainable Development Goals are on track to be met by 2030 (Source: Secretary-General António Guterres).
  • 58% of countries lack sufficient protection for women's land rights (Source: Secretary-General's Sustainable Development Report).
  • Less than half of women have secure rights to land, with men being twice as likely to have land deeds and other protected property rights (Source: Secretary-General's Sustainable Development Report).
  • Over 125 varieties of native crops have been preserved across the region (Source: Pari).
  • Women in Acora, Peru are working to preserve over 125 varieties of native crops, with some varieties, like quinoa, having multiple colors (Source: Pari).

Sources:

  • Secretary-General's Sustainable Development Report
  • Pascuala Pari, head of the Sumaq Chuyma Association in Ãcora
  • Fanny Ninaraqui, leader of the Ayrumas Carumas Association
  • Seemin Qayum, policy advisor at UN Women
  • Carol Boudreaux, Senior Director of Land Programs at Landesa
  • Clara Park, senior gender officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
  • UN Development Programme (UNDP)
  • World Food Forum (Source: Bochola Sara Arero, youth representative)