April,  2005
Women Feeding Cities
Throughout the history of the human species, women have had a vital role in nurturing for their families. In the rural settings the connection women have to the Earth and to food production is very prominent. This connection women have is no different in urban settings, except they have to deal with the complexities of cities. Therefore, the awareness of different gender roles in food production, distribution, processing, and marketing is valuable in order to comprehend food security in an urban setting. The international workshop on gender in the urban food production and food security system, co-organized by Urban Harvest (UH), Resource Center on Urban Agriculture and Forestry (RUAF) and International Water Management Institution (IWMI), was held September 18-24, 2004. The participants came from the African continent, Latin America, Asia, and Europe and they presented fifteen papers. The aim was to address the role of both women and men in the production of food in urban areas and their different roles in the processing and marketing of food.

At the workshop the research indicated that gender roles are highly variable in agriculture and food marketing. Some cases have shown that men predominate in cultivation and women in marketing, although in other areas the reverse occurs. Moreover, there is a general tendency for women to be more associated with providing for the household while men are associated with the production for the market. As cases show this is not universal, the Philippines show different patterns. Essentially this indicates that gender roles are socially defined, constructed, and not universal. 
The workshop enabled RUAF and UH and UH partners to exchange experiences; identify key issues; enhance the capacity of the partners; find effective strategies for future research, training, capacity and policy development; and planning and action programs regarding gender in urban food production and food security. The workshop was seen as a great leap to highlight the issue of gender equity and food security in an urban setting.

 

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Urban Harvest would like to recognize their investment partners for making all possible.BMZ, CIDA, DFID, IDRC, INIA, World Bank, Comunidad Madrid