There is increasing recognition that livelihood security, sustainable peace, conflict prevention and gender equality are complementary goals requiring integrated policy approaches, yet there is limited evidence on the links between these key development pillars. Motivation This article uses three case studies to illustrate how specific policy interventions can address the differentiated priorities of men and women with relation to food security, building sustainable peace processes and achieving gender equality. Purpose The article illustrates how five pathways have operated and interacted in three selected FAO interventions, and discusses data, research and policy challenges that emerged from this analysis. Approach and methods A conceptual framework grounded on five pathways is used, including changes in (a) behaviour, agency and aspirations; (b) social norms about gender roles and equality; (c) institutions and governance; (d) agriculture and employment markets; and (e) social cohesion and inclusive collective action. Findings The institutions that emerge from complex processes of interaction between state and non‐state armed actors, other informal actors and different population groups shape how property rights, food distribution systems, employment programmes and social service provision support or fail to support the local populations. Policy implications More information is needed on local conflict dynamics. As such, better data collection is needed to support policy interventions.
Women as farmers, livestock keepers, fishers and forest dwellers play vital – often overlooked – roles in natural resources use and management in the Mediterranean region. Women’s exclusion from decision making bodies and unequal access to productive resources represent a missed opportunity in terms of sustainable management of available resources and economic development. Recent studies indicate that if men and women equally participate in the labour market, in the southern Mediterranean region the GDP could rise by 47% over the next decade, meaning an annual benefit from an economic impact of €490 billion (Woetzel et al., 2015). The Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), José Graziano da Silva, at the fourth Regional conference on women’s empowerment in the Euro-Mediterranean region stressed that rural women’s contributions and leadership is crucial to feed the Mediterranean region’s growing population and achieve sustainable food production: «By enabling rural women to reach their full potential, we can make food systems more inclusive, efficient and effective» (FAO 2018). In the region women sustain such food systems by gathering wild plants for food, medicinal use, fuelwood and other purposes, acting as herbalists, tending home gardens, selecting, managing and storing seeds, managing crops, trees and small livestock, domesticating plants, participating in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, and storing, preserving and processing foods after harvesting. They have a unique knowledge about local biodiversity, which is often passed from generation to generation (FAO, 2019; World Bank, FAO and IFAD, 2009). Nevertheless, still too often women have less access than men to land and livestock, production inputs and services such as education, extension and credit, and are not represented in decision-making processes related to food and agriculture (Lehel 2018; World Bank, FAO and IFAD, 2009).
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO.
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