University of Sassari
On April 28th the EWA-BELT Project was presented during the Second module of a series of lessons promoted by UNICEF in the context of the 27th multidisciplinary course on rights’ education. The lesson was focused on Empowerment and Women participation.
Dr Alessandra Paulotto and Dr Meron Lakew Tefera represented the EWA-BELT Project on behalf of the Coordinator, the Desertification Research Centre of the University of Sassari, to outline how the EWA-BELT Project intends to address gender issues and women empowerment in Agriculture.
In EWA BELT, the importance of women in the agricultural production will be emphasized through the inclusion and the active engagement of women in the Farm Field Research Unit, considered as a priority by all project partners. Gender in livelihood strategies will be also addressed through the evaluation and implementation of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) to assess current women’s empowerment, agency and inclusion within the agricultural sector and how it will be affected by the new technologies and practices promoted in the project.
According to the 2011 FAO report, women represent almost
half of the agricultural workforce (48% in low-income countries). However, the workload of
the rural female population is often disproportionate, under-recognized and largely unpaid. Women still have limited access to resources such as land, credit, and other production inputs.