This study identifies gender-related protection issues that impact women farmers in Pakistan, and suggests strategy solutions that can contribute to emergency and resilience strategies to safeguard their rights. It focuses on women farmers engaged in the production of four major crops: cotton, maize, wheat and vegetables/fruit. Women in the fisheries and livestock sectors were also interviewed to better understand women’s contributions to food systems and climate change resilience. The study analyses the linkages between women’s livelihoods, nutrition, literacy and child protection issues vis-à-vis rural women’s understandings of well-being, protection and economic security. By examining these issues, the study seeks to shed light on the kind of policy reforms, technical assistance and departmental coordination required to address protection issues that affect women in agriculture.

This Country Gender Assessment of the Agriculture and Rural Sectors (CGA-ARS) in Pakistan identifies several gaps, challenges, priorities, and opportunities related to gender equality and rural women’s empowerment. It offers an evidence-informed analysis of rural women’s experiences, challenges and opportunities in the context of sociocultural norms and gendered power dynamics in households and society at large. It explores the state’s political will, institutional culture, enabling environment, policy initiatives and allocation of financing to achieve gender equality. It also highlights successes at the national and provincial levels in terms of advancing gender equality.

While policy makers, media, and the international community focus their attention on Pakistan’s ongoing security challenges, the potential of the rural economy, and particularly the agricultural sector, to improve Pakistanis’ well-being is being neglected. Agriculture is crucial to Pakistan’s economy. Almost half of the country’s labor force works in the agricultural sector, which produces food and inputs for industry (such as cotton for textiles) and accounts for over a third of Pakistan’s total export earnings. Equally important are nonfarm economic activities in rural areas, such as retail sales in small village shops, transportation services, and education and health services in local schools and clinics. Rural nonfarm activities account for between 40 and 57 percent of total rural household income. Their large share of income means that the agricultural sector and the rural nonfarm economy have vital roles to play in promoting growth and reducing poverty in Pakistan.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) produced a 2011 report on women in agriculture with a clear and urgent message: agriculture underperforms because half of all farmers—women—lack equal access to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive. This book builds on the report’s conclusions by providing, for a non-specialist audience, a compendium of what we know now about gender gaps in agriculture.

The 'Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook' provides an up-to-date understanding of gender issues and a rich compilation of compelling evidence of good practices and lessons learned to guide practitioners in integrating gender dimensions into agricultural projects and programs. It is serves as a tool for: guidance; showcasing key principles in integrating gender into projects; stimulating the imagination of practitioners to apply lessons learned, experiences, and innovations to the design of future support and investment in the agriculture sector. The Sourcebook draws on a wide range of experience from World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and other donor agencies, governments, institutions, and groups active in agricultural development. The Sourcebook looks at: access to and control of assets; access to markets, information and organization; and capacity to manage risk and vulnerability through a gender lens. There are 16 modules covering themes of cross-cutting importance for agriculture with strong gender dimensions (Policy, Public Administration and Governance; Agricultural Innovation and Education; Food Security; Markets; Rural Finance; Rural Infrastructure; Water; Land; Labor; Natural Resource Management; and Disaster and Post-Conflict Management) and specific subsectors in agriculture (Crops, Livestock, Forestry, and Fisheries). A separate module on Monitoring and Evaluation is included, responding to the need to track implementation and development impact. Each module contains three different sub-units: (1) A Module Overview gives a broad introduction to the topic and provides a summary of major development issues in the sector and rationale of looking at gender dimension; (2) Thematic Notes provide a brief and technically sound guide in gender integration in selected themes with lessons learned, guidelines, checklists, organizing principles, key questions, and key performance indicators; and (3) Innovative Activity Profiles describe the design and innovative features of recent and exciting projects and activities that have been implemented or are ongoing.

This book analyzes the different policy challenges that Pakistani women face and makes regionally relevant policy recommendations across different areas of private and public life, drawing on secondary data from nationally representative surveys and primary data from qualitative interviews. These areas include family safety, housing adequacy, food security and nutritional adequacy, environment and disaster protection, educational development, employment and formal sector inclusion, and health security. The author examines how the history, culture, and political climate of Pakistan have shaped social policy for women, interrogates gaps in social protections for women, and analyzes the limitations for past interventions. This text also looks at collaboration across South Asian countries, as well as using religion, social media, financing, and a new model of governance for comprehensive coverage and sustainable social policy for women. This book will be of interest to scholars, students, and policymakers with focus on women’s and gender studies and policy studies in South Asia.

Women constitute a large portion of the economically active population engaged in agriculture. International instruments on human rights, the environment and sustainable development reaffirm the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sex or gender. Yet women often face gendered obstacles in realizing their rights and feeding their families. The right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, may thus not be fulfilled. These obstacles may stem from directly or indirectly discriminatory norms or from entrenched socio-cultural practices, or both. This study analyses the gender dimension of agriculture-related legislation in a selection of different countries around the world, examining the legal status of women in three key areas: rights to land and other natural resources; rights of women agricultural workers; and rights concerning women's agricultural self-employment activities, ranging from women's status in rural cooperatives to their access to credit, training and extension services.

A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economy and development of Pakistan providing food to consumers, raw materials to industries, and a market for industrial goods. Unfortunately, agricultural production is stagnant due to several barriers including a fixed cropping pattern, reliance on a few major crops, a narrow genetic pool, poor seed quality, and a changing climate. In addition, the high cost of production, weak phytosanitary compliance mechanisms, and a lack of cold chain facilities makes Pakistan agriculturally uncompetitive in export markets. Despite all these issues, agriculture is the primary industry in Pakistan and small farmers continue to dominate the business. Small farmers grow crops for subsistence under a fixed cropping pattern and a holistic approach is required to develop agriculture to improve the livelihoods of the rural populace. This book presents an exhaustive look at agriculture in Pakistan. Chapters provide critical analyses of present trends, inadequacies in agriculture, strategic planning, improvement programs and policies while keeping in view the natural resources, plant- and animal-related agricultural production technologies, input supplies, population planning, migration and poverty, and balanced policies on finance, credit, marketing, and trade.