Country gender assessment of agriculture and the rural sector in Fiji

Book excerpt: This Country gender assessment of agriculture and the rural sector provides in-depth insights into the gendered dimensions of agriculture and rural development in Fiji. The policy environment in rural sector ministries is supportive of gender mainstreaming, with clear paths to link policy direction on gender equality to programmes. Recommendations are formulated to progressively advance gender equality and support the empowerment of rural women through policy. In the short term, recommendations are oriented toward community programming that is more equitable, practical and beneficial for women. Developing infrastructure to reduce women’s workloads and facilitate their ability to engage in the cash economy could enhance women’s economic opportunities and contribute to improved family welfare. Promoting the use of radio, texts and social media to allow women to share information on weather, prices, economic opportunities and savings and banking can empower women to make more informed decisions about their activities. Building the gender analysis capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) working in rural sectors on climate change, disaster management and sustainable development will support the engagement of women in community-based decision making. To address gender inequalities in the rural sector and support the empowerment of rural women, a set of concrete recommendations is given. These range from promotion of policy research and analysis to inform policies and strategic planning on gender equality and rural women’s empowerment in ARD to putting in place concrete measures for the improvement of rural women’s access to services, technology, finance, markets and resources.