Women at the Center of Climate-friendly Approaches to Agriculture and Water - New IATP Paper

Extreme weather events consistent with
climate change are already playing havoc with the livelihoods and food
security of much of the world's poor. This is particularly true for arid
and semi-arid areas of the global south. Yet, most proposals for
agriculture being discussed at the U.N. global climate talks and
elsewhere focus on new technological developments, like genetically
engineered crops. But these approaches are based on still unproven
claims and do not fully consider their impact on the natural world.

In a new paper,
IATP's Shiney Varghese examines proven agricultural practices that
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen resilience to climate
change through a case study of the Tamilnadu Women's Collective in
India. The collective, a federation of village-level women's groups with
over 150,000 members--the majority of which belong to the lowest
caste--follow three principles for food security: 1.) empowerment of
women; 2.) democratic local governance; and 3.) multifunctional
agriculture.

Shiney will present her findings at the United Nations in New York on February 22 as part of a workshop,
titled "Climate Adaptation Challenges from a Gender Perspective." The
workshop is expected to contribute towards the fifty-fifth session of
the U.N.'s Commission on the Status of Women.
You can learn more about how the Tamilnadu Women's Collective is using
traditional knowledge and practices to increase food security and
climate resilience by reading the full paper here and at www.iatp.org.