Women play a critical role in agriculture throughout the world, producing, processing and providing the food we eat. Rural women are responsible for over half of the world’s food production, producing around 70 percent of the food in most developing countries. Yet, despite their contribution to global food security, women farmers are frequently underestimated and overlooked in development strategies. Rural women are the main producers of the world’s staple crops – rice, wheat, maize – which provide up to 90 percent of the rural poor’s food intake. They are also the holders of vast indigenous knowledge about seeds, genetic diversity, food from forest plants, etc.
