Food for the Future with Empowered Female Smallholders?

In African countries, women play a critical role in agriculture. Female smallholders produce 60-80 per cent of the food consumed locally. However, women continue to have poor access to and control over the means of agricultural production, including agricultural inputs, improved technologies, extension services, credit and land.

FAO claims that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase their yields by 20-30 per cent. What are the challenges and what are the solutions? How to empower women smallholder farmers?

• More on the topic: Food security

Program

09.00

• Opening: Women and sustainable food production with Ann Merete Furuberg, leader of Norwegian Farmers and Smallholder’s Union

• Key note speech: Challenges and opportunities for female small holders in African countries with Ms. Bongiwe N. Njobe representing New Partnership for Africa’s development (NEPAD)
  
  
• Questions and answers

• Ms. Alice Kachere, a long time member of The national Smallholder Farmer’s Association of Smallholder farmer’s Association in Malawi (NASFAM) member explains some of the challenges faced by women farmers  

• Young women can do it! with Ms. Kari Helene Partapuoli, The Development Fund

11:00 

Panel: How do we empower women?

• Ms. Isatou Jallow, senior adviser, NEPAD
• Ms Elin Ersdal, head of Departement NORFUND 
• Ms Lovise Ribe, head of FIAN 
• Mr. Karstein Gjefle, senior adviser, The Royal Norwegian Society for Development 
• Ms. Kari Helene Partapuoli, Head of The Development Fund 
• Ms. Bjørg Skotnes, senior adviser, MFA 

Moderator: Eva Bratholm, Communication director, Norad

12:00 Concluding remarks 

• The SDGs: Women and agriculture with Jon Lomøy, Director General, Norad