Answer:
1. Rural women are key agents for development. They play a catalytic role towards achievement of transformational economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development. But limited access to credit, health care and education are among the many challenges they face.
2. The international development community has recognized that agriculture is an engine of
growth and poverty reduction in countries where it is the main occupation of the poor.3
Women make essential contributions to the agricultural and rural economies in all developing
countries. Their roles vary considerably between and within regions and are changing rapidly
in many parts of the world, where economic and social forces are transforming the
agricultural sector. Rural women often manage complex households and pursue multiple
livelihood strategies. Their activities typically include producing agricultural crops, tending
animals, processing and preparing food, working for wages in agricultural or other rural
enterprises, collecting fuel and water, engaging in trade and marketing, caring for family
members and maintaining their homes. Many of these activities are not defined as
“economically active employment” in national accounts but they are essential to the wellbeing of rural households. This paper contributes to the gender debate in agriculture by
assessing the empirical evidence in three areas that has received much attention in the
literature:
But
the agricultural sector in many developing countries is underperforming, in part because
women, who represent a crucial resource in agriculture and the rural economy through their
roles as farmers, labourers and entrepreneurs, almost everywhere face more severe constraints
than men in access to productive resources. Efforts by national governments and the
international community to achieve their goals for agricultural development, economic growth
and food security will be strengthened and accelerated if they build on the contributions that
women make and take steps to alleviate these constraints.
3. They are farmers and farm workers, ranchers, agricultural researchers, and educators. And, they contribute to local food systems, direct farm marketing, farm business planning/management, and more.