ECCAS delegates meet in Brazzaville to discuss gender, agricultural action plan
Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - Delegates from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) met here Friday to validate the organization’s gender and agriculture action plan, state-run radio reported.
“The validation of the gender and agriculture action plan of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) will enable to promote gender for social justice and fight against poverty for sustainable development,” said Florent Balandamio, chief of staff of the Congolese minister of health, populations, women promotion and integration for development,
According to him, “it is our duty to support women so they have access to information, training and financial means for quality and sufficient agricultural production in our country,” Balandamio said at the opening of the validation workshop of the ECCAS.
The action plan, elaborated within the framework of the execution of the Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) between FAO and ECCAS, advocates improving the efficiency of dialogues and encourage the extension of the gender-based planning and budget tools, as well as the effective application of the needed judicial and political instruments established by member governments.
The ECCAS gender department chief, Isabelle Boukinda Nzaou, said the examination of the action plan would ensure the improved consideration of gender in the present and future national and regional policy frameworks.
“Programmes must be formulated and resources mobilized to implement the priorities of the plan to be validated. It will also be about extending opportunities in an accelerated and inclusive agricultural growth within the ECCAS region through their economic empowerment in the agro-sylvo-pastoral and halieutic channels of value,” she said.
Achille Olloy, FAO representative, said women represented 70 percent of people carrying out transformation and primary trading activities of products; however, they were less productive than men.
“The cause, they don’t have access to the same means of production such as land, finances, services, inputs and technologies,” he said.
At the end of the session, the participants will validate the action plan and movement order for its adoption.
-0- PANA MB/BEH/MSA/RA 28Feb2020
