But men control the resources.

Although rural women play critical roles in households and national food security, much of their contribution is unrecognized and unpaid. Women farmers produce up to 80 per cent of the food in some countries, but they only receive 2 to 13 per cent of extension services. Women are the major produce, and preparers of food; they generate income to facilitate access to food; and they ensure that household nutritional requirements are met and, by doing this, protect the health of children and other members of the family. Still, the men are the ones who control the resources, even when they are not the primary source of household income. These are some of the conclusions in the report of the Secretary-General on the improvement of the situation of women in rural areas, which was published on 8 September 1997, and examines issues (which the importance is growing for rural women: their role in agriculture and food security; access to productive resources; female heads of households and migration; and decision-making.

AGRICULTURE: access to technology limited

From country to country and even regionally, the roles of women in agriculture vary, but most of their labour is in unpaid subsistence production and their contributions tend to be underestimated, according to the results of the Secretary-General's report. Depending on circumstances, they have complementary roles with men, sharing or dividing tasks in the production of crops, care of animals and forestry management. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, women contribute 60 to 80 per cent of labour in food production for both household consumption and sale, while in Malaysia the women account for only 35 per cent of the agricultural labour force and in Ireland the participation rate is only 10.4 per cent. Although women make this important amount of labour contributions to agricultural production, "development policies tend to favour export crops to earn foreign exchange and the agricultural research tends to address the improvement of production and technologies for commercial production". This results in limited access for women to technical knowledge and innovations, including irrigation, machinery, farming techniques and extension services. This is strengthened by the fact that most of the extension services target farmers who own land and can obtain credit to invest in input and technology.

'Genderalizations'

Although many developing countries have legally affirmed a woman's right to own land, gender asymmetry in access to and control of land is one of the main obstacles to the full participation of women in rural development and to strengthening their role in ensuring national and household food security. The reform legislation does not, in general, explicitly discriminate against women, but the application of the law, in the context of customs and inheritance laws, often results in discriminating against women in landholding. Fortunately some positive and innovative measures have been introduced in this area. Because of some of these major policy changes, women are often defined as joint beneficiaries and granted either the right to own land on their own or jointly with men. Legal changes have enabled women to open bank accounts in their own names or inherit their father's property.

Another way to improve the situation of rural women is to increase their level of income, which requires a mix of policy programmes. One such programme is to make credit accessible to women. Thereto, micro-finance is a secure, reliable and attractive alternative to traditional savings clubs and credit schemes which can be subject to fraud, mismanagement and group disbandment. The second option is women's agricultural and income-generating cooperatives, to enable women to gain access to credit without collateral. This requires however "a considerable amount of effort by Governments or non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in addition to the women's own efforts".

Left to head their homes, women still can become partners in decision-making

The migration of men from rural areas is contributing to the dominance of women in agricultural production and the increasing number of female-headed households. It is projected that, in the most regions, the proportion of women in rural population will continue to increase to the year 2025.

The increasing incidence of female-headed households is accompanied by the increasing responsibility of women for generating income and ensuring the well-being of their families. It is estimated that the incidence of poverty in female-headed households is 50 per cent greater than in male-headed households. But not only migration contributes to the feminization of rural poverty. Cutbacks in essential services resulting from restructuring policies, environmental degradation, women's limited access to productive resources and services, and armed conflicts, which contribute to the growing number of refugee women forced to provide for their families under exceptionally difficult circumstances, play their role in this process.

Increasing women's participation in decision-making positions at all levels has an impact on policy formulation. This requires collective action through and participation in local organizations, such as the village, ward and district levels, as well as cooperatives, farmers associations, and credit and savings associations. In India, for example, collective action by women's groups enabled them to express their dissatisfaction with the administration of community affairs and be represented in the locally elected councils - panchayats - which had a positive demonstration effect on women and their organizations at the village level.

All-women's groups provide rural women with the opportunity to meet other women and develop networks, or facilitate the growth of community development organizations in many instances. Also these are "effective means of increasing rural women's role in decision-making and ensuring recognition of their right to participate in community affairs on an equal basis with men".

"National machineries are essential for viable rural development strategies. They ensure that women's contributions, priorities and needs are effectively addressed and incorporated into policies and programmes. This process, especially when coupled with sufficient human, technical and financial resources, may enable the national machinery to play a catalytic and strategic role in developing nationwide networks of rural women and men in order to facilitate the implementation of food and agricultural development programmes." Activities with international organizations and national and international NGOs can also be coordinated by national machineries.

Recommendations

The Secretary-General's report of 8 September underlines the critical importance of reconciling and strengthening the productive and reproductive capacity of women farmers and entrepreneurs to improve their situation. The development of legal measures, policies and administrative regulations to guarantee rural women equal and secure rights of access to land is a priority. This will empower them by developing their capacity to interpret the meaning of their rights and participate more fully in political processes.

Policy makers and programme staff concerned with issues affecting rural women should be provided training in gender sensitivity and gender mainstreaming. Such training facilitates the understanding of the precise nature of the constraints, opportunities, needs and priorities of rural women and men in their productive and reproductive capacities.

Rural women have a critical role to play in household and national food security. In order to maximize their contributions, they must be guaranteed access to productive resources.

Governments should therefore, undertake legal, policy and administrative reforms, in partnership with inter-governmental organizations, NGOs and other actors in civil society, to promote gender equality in access to productive resources.