“Working Women’s Forum (WWF) and Indian Cooperative Network for Women (ICNW) have proven how civil society and NGO can provide best solutions for climate change & poverty through financial inclusion & indigenous methods to the poor women farmers” said Dr Nandini Azad speaking during the COP 27 being held in Egypt.
Dr Azad was invited to present “Gender Financing for Climate Change and Food Systems Resilience: Case of the Indian Cooperative Network for Women – Working Women’s Forum” on the panel Gender Considerations & Gender Responsive Action for Resilient & Climate Friendly Food Systems in The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 27th session on Conference of the Parties (COP 27) which was held in Egypt recently.
“Ayurveda is the biggest defence for our mankind, not war but the science of plants and our emphasis in COP 27 is to show how Cooperatives organise the way to resilience, poverty reduction along with withstanding climate change”, underlined Nandini. The news of Dr Azad presenting Indian experience before the global audience was covered extensively by Indian media including The Hindi and The New Indian Express.
Speaking on the panel, “Gender Considerations & Gender Responsive Action for Resilient & Climate Friendly Food Systems”, she spoke on the best practices of WWF-ICNW poor women in food systems to bring in climate friendly regenerating strategies.
Nandini highlighted the supply chain management in the Fisher women cooperative branch in Adiramapattinam (Tanjore), where poor fisher women in coastal areas challenged the supply chain disruption with financial intervention of WWF-ICNW by creating their own supply & value chains.
In another instance, fisher women who sold fish in the streets transformed to export fish to market. Many women won Dr Jaya Arunachalam Awards by inspiring other women members, starting with the loan amount of 10$ with the 15 loan cycles educating their children as doctors, engineers, nurses etc., creating assets, expanding business & generating employment. She added that the poor can help themselves, rather the rich should not exploit their growth, by taking away.
In the COP 27, there are 9 constituencies of which farmers are one of the largest constituencies i.e., World Farmers Organisation (WFO), (women & youth are other constituencies). ICNW was the only mass cooperative from Asia while Dr. Azad was convener of global cooperative policy (WFO), one of 2 cooperative leaders.
Dr. Azad, was also on the other panel on the day of Food security & Agriculture, the 1st speaker in the Global Farmer’s Market (India was given the 1st chance out of 25 countries globally). ICNW presentation highlighted to rich countries how India & innovative financial institutions of poor women are providing climate friendly strategies. For eg, several case studies from the grassroots like in fisheries, agriculture, poultry, non-farm sectors, climate friendly gender equal strategies were presented.
