The World Trade Organization Public Forum 2021 organized a virtual parallel session on “Rethinking trade and value chains sustainably to benefit both farmers and consumers, while bringing them closer” at Geneva, Switzerland. A large number of prominent co-operators including the only Indian co-operator Dr Nandini Azad, President, Indian Co-operative Network for Women and Working Women Forum India, addressed the session, informs a press release issued by the organization.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Nandini Azad talked about the cooperative contributions of women farmers trade sustainably and in an inclusive manner. She also shared her experiences from the field of the Indian Cooperative Network in India in promoting trade relationships among farmers and consumers.
Dr Azad said that “women make strong contributions to agricultural activities, food security and nutrition at both households and community levels. ICNW plays a key role in closing the gender gap by facilitating their financial resources, gender awareness, capacity building, income, the entitlement of land rights especially to women farmers targeting gender-based inequities.”
“Women farmers are the future, as they cultivate, produce, market, connect and communicate even through mobile phones (60%), etc. Taking over the farms that were completely managed by men now migrating to urban areas i.e., de facto leadership. Women farmers on the margin have begun to eradicate poverty giving them experience in Agriculture, Dairying fisheries, sericulture etc from ICNW cooperatives’ ‘, underlined Dr Azad.
Dr Azad also emphasized that to achieve economies of scale on the production side, the three new agricultural laws promote farm producers’ organisations and cooperatives to stimulate farm sector growth, which will ease investment flows, build the needed post-harvest infrastructure and open market access for small and marginal farmers to achieve better income.
“The multilateral trading framework under the WTO also provides a forum for technical assistance for capacity building. Capacity building and infrastructure development are the need of these (MDC, LDC) economies, including India, for a level playing field in international trade in agriculture” stated Nandini.
There was an open and fruitful exchange of thoughts from speakers on how to better link farmers and consumers directly to drive actions towards sustainable trade focusing, among other things, on innovation, education, direct access to markets and food, the balance between short and long supply chains.