The path of global agricultural development has been narrowly focused on increased productivity rather than on a more holistic integration of Natural Resource Management with food and nutritional security, therefore a system-oriented approach is preferable because it can address the difficult issues associated with the complexity of food and other production systems in different ecologies, locations and cultures.
Most rural women are comparatively poor and uneducated, their impact and activities are significant as their indigenous knowledge in the management of natural resources such as land, soil, water and forests (trees) because their traditional gender roles bring them in direct contact with these natural resources, and their survival and that of their families depend directly on exploiting and harnessing supplies from these natural resources, which are the main factors that affect agricultural productivity. When the world environmental protection and conservation policies advocate for protection without any form of use, while ignoring rural women, they become the greatest victims of such a policy.
In rural communities, land provides many basic needs, the most essential one been food. The main activity of rural women is producing food for their families. Women provide over 80% of labor directly in food production on most farms, firewood collection, fetching water for domestic use, cooking and treatment of common rural ailments. Women have direct contact with land in their effort to produce food. If the soil doesn’t yield enough crops as a result of exhaustion, women would have to deal with modification of farming practices like provision of local manure to replenish the soil. Their traditional activities, skills and knowledge are crucial in understanding why lands deteriorate or remain viable, while it is becoming increasingly important to protect soils from erosion, and degradation. A lot of natural biodiversity and change of ecologies also result when land is misused; loss of biodiversity because of intensive, indiscriminate and careless use of land. It is of much urgency that women are taught to use farming and other compatible land use approaches for biodiversity and ecological conservation. The common problems related to use of land in the face of increasing human population and diminishing land resources are deforestation, soil and water pollution.
Addressing gender, many people don't understand what gender equality actually means: Instead of seeking for women to be treated fairly just us males would be treated in any situation, a lot of activism in the gender mainstreams rather incite women to disregard men which over shadows the relevance of seeing both genders as equal humans. Gender equality should be sorted on the basis that both genders have access to opportunities and accorded equal respect. Gender disparities in agriculture hinders the chance of achieving food security, for example in the traditional settings, inheritance is mostly patrilineal making land owner very tough for women. Once a woman marries she has no direct right to lands in her husband's family unless she's fortuned to be given any or is privileged to acquire lands of her own. Women in rural communities struggle a lot to achieve household food security though about 80% of agricultural labor in rural communities comprises of women, women do not usually have control over agricultural produce once harvesting is done the men take charge of everything and sometimes they sell all and the women will have to find means of fending for the family.
To help achieve food security and reduce poverty, sustainable natural resource management and measures to stabilize and increase soil productivity need to be taken without delay. The use of indigenous knowledge in solving food shortage remains a powerful means of sustaining rural household food security. Trial and error natural resource management experiments contribute to develop many indigenous techniques and practices for cultivating, processing and preserving foods at the rural community level. Indigenous methods and solutions applied by women to sustain household food supplies are culturally acceptable, economically practicable, and more appropriate for the local environment and conditions. Rural women have an important role to play in using and preserving this valuable indigenous knowledge, they manage to achieve sustainable food security at household levels, with practical, efficient and economic solutions.
One effective means to achieve household food security is by recognizing, supporting and helping improve the agricultural skills of rural women. A number of changes will strengthen women’s contribution to agricultural production and sustainability, these include support for public services and investment in rural areas in order to improve women’s living and working conditions; giving priority to technological development policies targeting rural and farm women’s needs and recognizing their knowledge, skills and experience in the production of food and the conservation of biodiversity; and assessing the negative effects and risks of farming practices and technology, including pesticides on women’s health, and taking measures to reduce use and exposure.
Mme Kamasa Dorothy