GAF
Projects build guidelines towards sustainable, resilient and equitable food systems
An exchange workshop aims to draw methodological lines on the gender approach in the Strategic Support for Sustainable Food Security program.
To draw guidelines that lead to gender equality, the First Workshop of participatory exchange and construction to promote the empowerment of women from three ongoing collaboration projects in the agricultural sector will be held in Havana on November 16 and 17. . These are the projects Strengthening policies for sustainable food security in Cuba (Posas), Local self-sufficiency for a sustainable and healthy diet (Alass) and Strengthening the Integrated Knowledge Management System for sustainable food security (Consas), which make up the Strategic Support for Sustainable Food Security in Cuba (SAS) program, agreed between the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG) and the European Union for the period 2019-2025. The three projects seek to jointly support the efficient production of diverse and healthy foods in response to local demand and the nutritional needs of those who live in six municipalities in the central region of the country, in the provinces of Villa Clara and Sancti Spíritus. . At the inauguration, Anierka Fernández, from the national secretariat of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), referred how the gender approach in these projects are aligned and respond to the National Program for the Advancement of Women (PAM), as well as the Plan National Food Sovereignty and Nutrition Education (SAN). Maricela Díaz Rodríguez, Director of Science and Technology, Innovation and Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, highlighted the importance of this workshop. "It is of great importance, in the first place, because the program is called to transform and build this model of management of resilient and sustainable local food systems, as part of the municipal development strategy in support of the food self-sufficiency program that we have to achieve in the six municipalities that make up the program. " Women and men who coordinate in the provinces and municipalities SAS Cuba and provincial and municipal gender focal points, directives of the FMC and the MINAG exchange with facilitators of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Program of United Nations for Development (UNDP) on the dimensions of the gender approach in development, female empowerment, incorporation into employment in the agricultural sector, inequalities and how the elimination of social and economic gaps would contribute to social justice. Among the topics addressed was the measurement of progress in reducing gender gaps and female empowerment, based on indicators that show not only how much progress has been made, but above all, the pending issues that should continue to be emphasized. and implementing for equity. The role of local governments, knowledge management, the inclusion of men and women and how all these issues contribute to the fulfillment of the 63 measures to boost agricultural production. During the meeting, Julia Muriel Escobar, director of MINAG cadres, presented the update of the Gender Strategy of the Agriculture System, as well as the results of its implementation in the 2015-2020 stage. In the exchange, achievements and challenges in the territories where the projects are applied were discussed, while communicative products were analyzed, to avoid that ignorance of the gender approach in its implementation reinforces sexist patterns and stereotypes.
