Hunger and poverty are not accidents—they are the result of social and economic injustice and inequality at all levels.
Ending hunger and malnutrition amid a changing climate hinges on our ability to address inequalities in food systems.
CARE’s “SuPER” approach encourages investments in agriculture that promote:
- Sustainable agricultural systems grounded in healthy ecosystems, stable, accountable and enduring institutions and sustainable financing;
- Productive, (including profitable, and nutrition-sensitive) intensification interventions that are ‘climate smart’ and increase returns on investment for farmers;
- Equitable outcomes in smallholder agriculture by enabling access to equal rights, opportunities, resources and rewards, taking into account the needs and constraints of women farmers, and supporting access to affordable nutritious food for all;
- Resilient i.e. able to withstand and bounce back from environmental and economic shocks and stresses, including those exacerbated by climate change.
Source : CARE International. FAO, “The SuPER approach to smallholder agriculture.”
The reality of inequality is no truer than for women. Representing half the world’s population, women control far less than their fair share of the world’s resources. Inequality shapes who has access to food and the resources to grow it and buy it. It governs who eats first and who eats worst. Inequality determines who can adapt to a changing climate.
Smallholder farmers, especially women, must be at the centre of our efforts to ensure the availability of quality food and livelihood opportunities for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Appropriate policies and funding mechanisms can help these farmers contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation, while building more resilient communities around the world.
Download CARE Canada’s Food and nutrition security and climate change policy brief [PDF]
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations underscore critical approaches by which the Government of Canada can support more sustainable, productive, profitable, equitable and resilient food systems, to help communities build resilience and adapt to climate change, while simultaneously mitigating their greenhouse gas emissions.
- The Government of Canada should adopt a food systems policy centered on the potential of women smallholder farmers to stimulate economic growth, strengthen community resilience, and promote climate change adaptation and mitigation.
- The Government of Canada should promote more sustainable, productive, profitable, equitable and resilient food systems by putting end-users at the centre of agricultural innovation creation processes, and by working with farmers’ organizations as mechanisms for promoting local governance systems’ responsiveness to farmers’ interests and needs.
- The Government of Canada should support time-saving and value-adding post-harvest systems and technologies for women farmers.
- The Government of Canada should support initiatives that promote women-led social enterprises involved in the production and sale of safe, sustainable and affordable fuel energy units.
LATEST NEWS & PUBLICATIONS
She #CanAdapt. You can help her.
Canadian climate finance must reach world’s poor.
Beyond Productivity: Delivering Impacts on Food and Nutrition Security in a Changing Climate (pdf)
Cultivating Equality at COP22: Food and Nutrition Security in the UNFCCC (pdf)