Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
This chapter examines the relationship between gender inequality and food security
with a particular focus on the following dimensions: (i) women as food producers, the
production constraints they face as farmers, and the potential for increasing agricultural
output globally if the constraints are overcome; (ii) women as consumers and key man-
agers of food in the home, and the implications of their unequal access to food; and (iii)
the mechanisms, especially institutional, for overcoming the constraints and inequali-
ties women face as producers, consumers, and family food managers. Before focusing
on the gender dimensions, however, I outline some general factors that impinge on the
question of food security today.
Some General Factors
A key factor that has an important bearing on long-term prospects of global food secu-
rity is the regional concentration of foodgrain production and exports. In 2008, Asian
farmers produced 90% of the world's rice and around 40% of its wheat and total cere-
als. Most Asian countries, however, consume what they produce, and the exports come
from only a few. Sixty-five per cent of all cereal exports came from North America and
Europe in 2008 (Figure 11.1).
60
Production
Exports
Imports
50
40
30
20
10
0
Asia
Africa
Latin America
North America
Europe
Figure  11.1 Production, exports, and imports of total cereals by the world's regions, 2008
(percentages).
Source:  Based on FAO Statistics ( http:/faostat.fao.org) .
 
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