KENYA: Empower Women to Curb Food Insecurity, Says Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth

African women farmers could increase agricultural yields
significantly hence curb food insecurity in the continent if accorded same
access to resources such as education and finance as their male counterparts,
says Chairman for Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC)-Kenya Conference
of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) Most. Rev. Zacchaeus Okoth.

Delivering his key note address during the National
Conference on Climate Change and Food Security at Catholic University of East
Africa (CUEA) on 18th, September, 2014, Archbishop Okoth confirmed
that in Africa women produce 60% to 80% of food, despite owing only 10% to 20%
of the farms.

He urged Governments to invest in successful techniques of
food production that have worked elsewhere to support its small scale famers
who make a major contribution to food security; guarding them against immoral
practices like GMOs that only benefit big companies that produce seeds.

“Farmers must also be climate smart” said the Archbishop of
Kisumu adding that “This would increase the productivity of land and intensity
of farming, while the negative environmental impacts are diminished.”

The Archbishop said that there must be solutions which are drawn
from the knowledge of local communities and can be put into practice by small
scale farmers by whom majority are women.

The two day conference was attended by more than 500
delegates drawn from civil society, universities, government agencies and faith
based organization.