NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Background

Despite progress in several areas, the Asia-Pacific region has still witnessed insufficient advancement in addressing GBV in Agri-food systems, especially amidst rapid climate change. This situation has been further compounded by the negative impacts of multiple crises, which have disproportionately affected women and girls from rural and agrarian societies. The continuation of GBV and worse still, its invisiblization, is detrimental for food security and climate mitigation not only in the region, but also globally. In line with the theme of this APFSD, which focuses on advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda and aligning with this year’s APFSD’s emphasis on SDGs 3, 5 and 17, among others, this side event will examine the critical challenges faced by women and girls in agrarian, rural areas due to their enhanced vulnerability to GBV especially in the face of climate change  and ways to generate and curate evidence and partnerships  to prevent GBV in agri-food systems.

Key Questions and Outcomes

This side event will examine the following key guiding questions:

1. What is the expanse of GBV in agri-food systems? Do we have enough data on its prevalence and its adverse effects on productivity and compromising food security?

2. Why does GBV in agri-food systems, remain under-researched and invisiblized? How is it worsening with climate change?

3. What are the possible and practical pathways and approaches necessary to bring attention to GBV in agri-food systems and curate evidence and partnerships to influence policy and practice?

Bringing together a diverse panel, this side event aims to draw attention to growing GBV in agri-food systems amidst climate change and practical ways of curating evidence and partnerships to inform policy and practice to prevent GBV in agri-food systems. By the conclusion of the session, participants should be able to understand that:

1. GBV is intensifying with the advent of climate change.
2. It is essential to act on it urgently in order to lower its impact on agricultural productivity and food security.
3. Impactful evidence generation and synthesis, and multi-stakeholder partnerships can help prevent GBV in agri-food systems.

For more information, please contact Benu Verma, Associate Scientist, IRRI, CGIAR GESI Accelerator, at b.verma@irri.org