5-6 April 2021, Tashkent – About half of all agricultural workers are women, who play a key, but often invisible or little-recognized role in ensuring the nutrition and well-being of their families and communities, and in ensuring the food security of the entire country. However, despite the relatively high level of education and economic activity of rural women, they are concentrated in low-paid areas, as family workers, and are rarely identified with farming and agricultural land management.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) together with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan organized the first training for representatives of the agro-industrial complex entities of the country, in order to support national partners to formulate and implement gender-responsive and socially inclusive policies that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. The training was organized within the framework of the FAO project “Support in implementation of inclusive agricultural policies”.
“The gender gap in food production and agriculture is significant and prevents women from reaching their full productive potential, which in turn undermines progress in agriculture and rural development. Of course, the situation varies from country to country in Europe and Central Asia, but in most countries, women living in rural and remote areas are more vulnerable and more likely to suffer from discrimination and poverty” – Dono Abdurazakova, Senior Gender and Social Protection Advisor of the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, project supervisor stressed.
In 2019 Uzbekistan adopted the country’s first ever gender equality law, “Guarantees of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men”, which requires each sector of the national economy, including agriculture and forestry, to develop a gender mainstreaming strategy and action plan that prioritizes the needs and interests of rural women. In Uzbekistan, agriculture accounts for 32 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and provides employment for at least 27 percent of the labour force. Nearly half of the population lives in rural areas, that is why women empowerment related issues are of great importance. FAO is providing assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture ant other entities related to the country’s agro-industrial complex, to enhance the capacities of policymakers and practitioners to formulate and implement inclusive and socially just policies and programmes that take into account the interests and needs of socially vulnerable groups, especially rural women.
The project is implemented in cooperation with the Association “Women of the Agricultural Sector” of Uzbekistan. The participants of the training got acquainted with the basics of gender approaches in agriculture, the national legislation of Uzbekistan on gender issues, the role of women in ensuring the food security of the population of Uzbekistan and in the development of agriculture, and other topics.
“Ensuring gender equality in agriculture would generate significant gains for the agricultural sector and for the society as a whole. Gender inequalities are reinforced by stereotypes of gender roles that give less visibility to women’s crucial contributions to agriculture. This is why investing in rural women represents investing in the critical agents of change for ending poverty and reaching food security for all, thus achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”, – Sherzod Umarov, Assistant FAO Representative in Uzbekistan said.
Within the project, more than 250 women and men working in the Ministry of Agriculture, local authorities and other agencies will be trained to gain greater awareness of gender equality concepts, and their links with agriculture and food security, the SDGs and “leaving no one behind” principles. Methodological tools will be developed, the Country Gender Assessment for Uzbekistan updated and a sectoral strategy and action plan produced.
For more information:
Guzal Fayzieva
National Communication Consultant
FAO Representation in Uzbekistan
guzal.fayzieva@fao.org
tel: +998 97 4448709
0
475 
