By FRANK RAI
A LOW-key celebration marked the World Rural Women’s Day yesterday.
With the theme “The right to food: rural women produce and provide,” the event aimed to remind the people and governments of the real living conditions of women farmers around the world and the imperative need to give them the much-needed support to improve their living conditions.
Maria Linibi, interim president of PNG Women in Agricultural Development Foundation (PNGWADF) and Karen Serres, chairperson of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) had urged the Government to take all appropriate measures to support women farmers in the country.
“This is a challenge we are ready to meet but it is absolutely necessary to give women farmers a profitable selling price if we want them to continue feeding others,” they said in a joint statement.
Mrs Linibi said the objective of setting up the women’s foundation was to facilitate, develop and carry out programmes and projects for women and girl farmers who are suffering from subsistence farming.
The two women said “it is about time that they are elevated to semi-commercial and commercial scheme of production to enable them to enjoy decent income from the land”.
“Our vision is to promote and strengthen women’s participation in integral human development programmes and to promote their participation in agricultural, livestock and other natural resource development activities to enhance their status through economic development,” Ms Linibi said.