Gender equality in agri-commodity supply chains

Transforming cocoa production to improve women’s roles in Agri-Commodity Supply Chains. This was a key theme in a panel discussion hosted by LadyAgri and attended by FAO and partners with European Commission experts and other partners. The panel discussion featured speakers like Cristina Miranda Gozalvez, Head of Unit for African, Caribbean and Pacific, Overseas Countries and Territories at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade (DG TRADE) and Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit for Rural Development, Food Security and Nutrition at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO). Sebastian Lesch, Head of Division, International Agricultural Policy, Agriculture, Innovation of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and FAO Côte d'Ivoire Representative, Mr Samy Gaiji also took part.

Mr Gaiji underlined women's role in agri-supply chains and explained FAO’s approach, focusing on cooperatives that work on strengthening the position of women in areas such as decision-making, access to finance, access to knowledge and access to land.

“We have learned it's not easy to encourage investment in agriculture, Mr Mizzi said. “One of our priorities for 2021 -2027 is to use agri-commodity supply chains such as coffee, cocoa and cashew to transform the lives of women and increase their access to resources,” he added. Ms Miranda Gozalvez highlighted the importance of women and youth in the recommendations put forward by the Task Force on Rural Africa.

Women working in agri-supply chains suffer substantial discrimination and inequality and are often not recognized for their enormous contribution to the cocoa economy. The Fair Labour Association estimates that women make up 58 percent of the cocoa industry's workforce in Côte d'Ivoire, but earn only 21 percent of the revenue generated.