A short presentation by Elisapeththu Hoole (PhD Candidate, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge) on Supporting women farmers: optimizing climate-adaptive organic agriculture policies in Sri Lanka’s Dry-Zone followed by a Q&A and discussion with the speaker.
Coffee Break Seminars are a relaxed online learning and discussion platform for our food security community that take place every Friday during term time at 2pm, UK time.
Please mail coordinator@globalfood.cam.ac.uk to register your interest in attending.
Abstract:
Agricultural gains towards food self-sufficiency in Sri Lanka are threatened by climate change. While biodiverse dry zones are where the majority of agricultural production takes place, the climatic shift towards aridification is disrupting the fundamental interactions between humans and nature for food production. Recent climate change projections indicate that food production will be impossible across large parts of Sri Lanka’s dry zones by mid-century. Recent political and economic turmoil from Sri Lanka’s abrupt shift to organic farming create further challenges to policy makers seeking to adjust the course of agricultural development.
Women, who operate around 30% of Sri Lanka’s farms, face unique challenges in grappling with environmental, political and economic risks. This session explores how women farmers in Jaffna address gender-specific challenges as they undertake green farming at commercial scales. The session also identifies that current policies neglect to identify and respond to challenges and opportunities women face as organic farmers, and provides recommendations for policy makers for optimizing policies in support of women.
Speaker:
Elisapeththu Hoole is a PhD student in the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge. Her research is entitled, 'Towards a Feminist Green Revolution: Optimizing policy conditions for women as commercial agents under the framework of climate change'.