Empowering Women in Agriculture: FAO renews commitment towards African Union goals
High level breakfast meeting on Empowering Women in Agriculture (EWA) initiative held during 27th session of the African Union Summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
Women Farmers resting after harvesting cabagges. © FAO / Sebastian Liste
Patrick Kormawa, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa and FAO Representative to the African Union and UNECA spoke last month at a high level breakfast meeting on the Empowering Women in Agriculture (EWA) initiative.
The meeting, held during the 27th session of the African Union Summit from 10th-18th July 2016, updated heads of state, EWA champions and development partners on the progress of EWA regional activities so far, and sought to strengthen strategic partnerships among various stakeholders towards the effective implementation of the EWA initiative.
"The importance of women in agriculture speaks loudly to the mandate of FAO. We stand ready to support the Empowering Women in Agriculture (EWA) initiative with technical support and of course with advocacy to ensure it becomes a reality,” said Mr. Patrick Kormawa, the FAO Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa and FAO Representative to the African Union and UNECA.
Reaffirming FAO's partnership with the African Union Commission in the implementation of the “African Union Campaign to confine the hand held hoe to the museum,” the two organizations launched an initiative on sustainable agriculture mechanization, to increase women's access to alternative energy sources and to reduce farm power dependence on human labour.