FAO: gender gap in food insecurity widening in Latin America

The gap between men and women in terms of food insecurity widened in Latin Americaespecially as a result of the pandemicand reached 11.3%, well above the world average, alerted this Thursday the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

in the report “The situation of women in agrifood systems”presented at the world headquarters in Rome, the international body indicated that the global gender gap increased from 1.7% in 2019 to 4.4% in 2021.

The increase is mainly due to the worsening of the situation in Latin America, the most unequal region in the world and where more than 640 people live, according to the FAO, whose Latin American headquarters are in Santiago, Chile.

The study, the first carried out by the organization in this area since 2010, reveals that addressing gender inequalities in agri-food systems and empowering women reduces hunger, stimulates the economy and strengthens resilience to crises such as the climate crisis and the pandemic.

According to the agency, gender equality in agricultural production would lift the 45 million people who find themselves in this situation out of food insecurity and would increase global gross domestic product (GDP) by a 1 %.

Regarding the labor force, the document points out that women constitute the 36% of workers in the agri-food system in Latin America, but this proportion is increasing in rural areas due to greater emigration to the cities, which is especially male.

The weight of women in the labor force varies, however, substantially between countries: while women represent the 54% of workers in the agri-food system in Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador hardly account for the 8%he 6% and the 3 %respectively.

“Governments in the region have increasingly addressed the challenges related to the structural gaps faced by rural women in access to land, inputs, services, finance and digital technology, developing policies and programs that contribute to the closure of inequalities”the FAO said in a statement.

Source: EFE