As we celebrate International Women's Day, it is important to recognize that there is an urgent need to better understand the role that gender plays in smallholder farming systems, and forest communities, in order to develop effective biodiversity conservation and use strategies for food security. Happy International Women's Day! Read more about Bioversity International’s research-for-development portfolio and strategic priorities. http://www.bioversityinternational.org/research/

1. Biodiversity for wellbeing: The role of
women as custodians of biodiversity
Emile Frison, Director General, Bioversity International
8 March 2013

2. Agricultural and Forest
Biodiversity
Includes both:
• Species used for production
(crops, trees, livestock)
• Species that support the
production in the agro
ecosystem (soil
microbes, pollinators, wind
breaks...)
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3. Increasing reliance on few plants
300,000 •Known plant species
100,000 •Used by humankind
30,000 •Edible
7,000 •Used as food at local level
120 •Important at national scale
30 •Provide 90% of plant calories
3 •Provide 60% (rice, wheat, maize)
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4. Challenges for food
security
• 75% of the 1.5 billion people
living in poverty live in rural
areas
• Malnutrition is increasing
• Ecosystems pushed to their
boundaries
• Pollution linked to over use of
fertilizers and pesticides
• Significant reduction in useful
diversity in agriculture
• Crop yields affected by erratic
weather and new pest and
disease outbreaks related to
climate change
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5. Triple burden of
malnutrition
• Hunger or Undernutrition : Almost 1
billion people suffer from hunger
and 3.5 million young children die of
undernutrition every year.
• Hidden hunger: Young children and
women are among those most at risk
of developing micronutrient
deficiencies.
• Overnutrition and obesity: More
than 1.2 billion people are overweight
globally. This number is rising quickly
and dramatically everywhere.
• Increasingly in low income countries,
under- and overnutrition exist side-by-
side along with micronutrient
deficiencies (the triple burden).
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6. Increasing contribution of NCDs to cause of death, in
rural Bangladesh (Matlab area, 1986–2006)
(Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, some cancers, obesity)
Source: http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/view/1904/2301
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7. Poor smallholder
farmers are on the
frontline
• Smallholder farmers produce
60% of the world’s food yet
many live in poverty
• Most depend on agriculture
and forests for their livelihood
• Women make up a
substantial part of the rural
workforce. They produce
80% of the food in Africa and
60% in Asia, yet are often the
last to benefit from economic
development.
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8. How can
agricultural and
forest biodiversity
help?

9. Livelihoods Nutrition
Sustainability Resilient & Productive Ecosystems
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10. There is increasing
evidence that
agricultural and forest
biodiversity is part of
the solution.
Women farmers have a
particular role in
protecting and
managing this
biodiversity.
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11. Women as custodians of
biodiversity
“It is essential to recognize
that women and men have
specific
needs, interests, perspectives
and aspirations, and that they
make different but equally
valuable contributions to the
conservation and sustainable
management of biodiversity”.
(Source: UNESCO)
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12. Yet …
Women farmers typically
achieve yields that are 20-30%
lower than men, however, the
vast majority of studies
suggest that given equal
access to resources as men,
women would achieve the
same or better yields, boosting
total agricultural output in
developing countries by 2.5 to
4%.
(Source: FAOSTAT)
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13. India: Minor Millets
Work to recapture traditional knowledge of cultivating minor millets and to
improve planting techniques, resulted in Indian minor millet growers increasing
yields by 70% and income by 30%.
Reduced processing times for minor millets encouraged women to reintroduce
these nutritious crops to family diets. They also received training to help them
market innovative ‘millet snack foods’ at urban markets and schools.

14. Bolivia: Quinoa
Women in Bolivia were spending several hours a day removing the
saponin layer from traditional quinoa grains before it could be eaten —
laborious work usually carried out in the bitter cold of winter just after
harvest.
A Bolivia: Quinoa
processing machine reduced the time for the women to process 12kg
of quinoa from around 6 hours to about 7 minutes.

15. Kenya: African Leafy Vegetables
Work to revive interest in traditional vegetables that were disappearing from the
field and table resulted in:
• increased dietary diversity and quality
• economic empowerment of women
• more effective management of agricultural pests and diseases.
On average, each farmer in the study area increased their income by US$
200/year.

16. The vital contribution of women
• As farmers, producers of food
• As food processors and marketers
• As custodians of agricultural biodiversity
• As responsible for family nutrition
• As innovators in food systems
But often unrecognized and overlooked
• A gender strategy that addresses issues
faced by women farmers
• Tool and technologies accessible and
adapted to women
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17. Womhttp://www.promusa.org/tiki-index.php?page=Banana-
producing+countries+portalen
Video:
Using local agricultural biodiversity in Kenya
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18. Thank you and
happy International
Women’s Day!
www.bioversityinternational.org