Issues of women’s employment should be resolved: EU

Access to employment for women is a critical issue that needs to be addressed for achieving gender equality, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Frank Hess said.

Speaking at a two-day training programme on the integration of women in the agriculture sector which was held from September 17-18, Mr. Hess said integration of gender into national agricultural and natural resource policies is an important step forward.

“It will help women increase their contribution to agricultural production and rural development, while improving the quality of their lives,” he said.

In a statement, the EU Embassy said representatives of Ministries, the private sector, civil society, academia, and development partners took part in the training programme which looked at strengthening the capacities of participants, particularly those from agriculture-related Ministries dealing with planning, budgeting and policy development, for designing, implementing and monitoring sectoral programmes and policies.

“The participants had the opportunity to learn about gender concepts, analyse gender roles, and identify gender gaps in the agriculture and rural sector tools used for planning, budgeting and policy development,” the statement said.

The training is an integral part of the FAO-EU FIRST Policy Advice Facility and the Technical Assistance to the Modernisation of Agriculture Programme. The first programme support to Sri Lanka amounts to EUR 400,000. The Technical Assistance to the Modernisation of Agriculture Programme, worth EUR 4.2 million aims to contribute to a more productive, diversified, marketoriented, and equitable agriculture sector in Sri Lanka.