The current food crisis is yet another reminder of the feminisation of poverty. Women produce most of the food in poor countries, yet they have less access to seed, fertilisers and extension services. They are also the most hungry -- about seventy per cent of the people who do not have access to enough food are women and girls.

Women form the bulk of the working poor -- they toil long hours without reaping enough to enable them to climb out of the dollar-a-day absolute poverty bracket. In some countries women widowed by HIV and AIDS are routinely disinherited, and in these and many other countries women's lower cultural or legal status means that they do not own the land they till. The food crisis has inevitably taken a greater toll on women, and consequently the well-being of whole communities is affected.

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For millions of rural Indian women, organic agriculture offers escape from the three demons of debt, disease and destitution,says Bhavdep Kang, but despite all the evidence they have gained little support from government.

In an arid corner of Rajasthan, Anand Kanwar of Laporiya village recalls how, when she was an adolescent, the entire village would be decimated by drought. Crops would fail, cattle would die and people would have to migrate to cities in search of work.Today, thanks to a community-driven watershed management-cum-organic farming project implemented over 15 years, the village manages two crops a year and at least one crop even in a really bad drought year and maintains large herds of milking cattle. No one ever goes hungry or thirsty, she says.

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Have you ever stopped to wonder where flowers in our supermarkets come from in the middle of December? How are the shops always full to the brim on Valentine's Day or Mother's Day? Also how can supermarkets reduce prices to £2.99 a bunch and still see them as one of their most profitable items? The truth is that these things are only possible at the expense of the health and dignity of workers in Africa.

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Despite the progress in food production and availability, nutrition levels of women and children in South Asia remain exceptionally low. This paper explores various aspects of the relationship between women and food security in the region that may contribute to this discrepancy. It finds that embedded social values negatively impact on women’s economic contribution to society, her nutrition and her health status, and by extension, that of her family and society at large.

Adequate nutrition outcomes cannot be assured without breaking down the complexities of the gender-food security link. Women’s acceptance of their status as inferior members of the family and society underlie the deep inequity in access to nutrition therefore the key to resolving the hunger challenge in South Asia is gender empowerment.

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WFP work for the rights of women working on farms that grow produce for UK markets, including fruit, vegetables and flowers.

The vision of WFP is an engendered society that treats women who live and work on farms with dignity and respect in accordance with the constitutional rights guaranteed to all South African citizens.

We envisage a society where:

• Equality, respect and dignity are afforded to all women within the economic, social and political institutions, as well as in the community and home.

• Women play a leading role in sustainable agricultural production and are ensured of access to secure agricultural employment, food, land and housing, while preserving the natural environment for future generations.

• Access to affordable basic services such as water, health and electricity are assured and rural women are active in securing these services.

• Women lead the restoration of the social fabric of rural and agricultural communities so that respect, tolerance and accountability prevail. Our vision is of an alternative South African rural landscape in which women play active leadership roles within family, community, labour, economic and government structures.

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Women need to be recognised for their role in securing food supplies and fighting climate change, ActionAid told G8 environment ministers meeting in Italy today (22nd April) ahead of this year's summit in July.

"It is women farmers in developing countries who are the true custodians of genetic varieties on which the human food chain depends," said ActionAid's food policy adviser Magdalena Kropownicka.

Agriculture is particularly vulnerable to climate change - seventy per cent of the world's extreme poverty is found in agricultural areas where farmers depend on rain for their harvests. And it is estimated that yields from rain fed agriculture could drop by 50 per cent in some African countries by 2020.

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