How Climate Change and Globalization Worsen Food Insecurity for Women in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

02/06/2023

Ilona Barrero

Small Island Developing States (SIDS)^[1]Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cabo Verde, Comoros, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haïti, Jamaica, … Continue reading comprise several islands geographically located mainly in the Caribbean, the Pacific, the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and the South China Sea^[2]United Nations. (n.d.). About Small Island Developing States | Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. … Continue reading. These islands face many unique challenges because of their environment, geography, and relationship to the global economy, and were recognized as a special case by the United Nations in 1992^[3]United Nations. (n.d.). About Small Island Developing States | Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. … Continue reading. Due to their geographic location and difficulty competing in the international agricultural market, these nations suffer from a prevalence of food insecurity, and women see themselves most affected by this phenomenon. Women face both structural and cultural inequalities in the forms of unpaid agricultural labor along with pressures to be primary caregivers, as well as higher rates of malnutrition-related illnesses^[4]FAO. 2021. Poverty, malnutrition and food security in Pacific Small Island Developing States. Bangkok.. Furthermore, how does the intersection of climate change and globalization affect food insecurity levels for women in SIDS?

Food insecurity stemming from climate change disproportionately affects women

Climate change and the artificial warming of the Earth’s temperature have already begun to have a detrimental human cost. Harsh weather events due to climate change are beginning to result in lower yields of key crops such as maize and wheat. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that in order to ensure food security, food production must increase by 60 percent^[5]United Nations. (2011). The World’s Food Supply is Made Insecure by Climate Change. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/worlds-food-supply-made-insecure-climate-change.. Climate change has both short and long-term impacts on food security, with SIDS being most vulnerable to these changes because of their unique situations. In the short term, climate change causes extreme weather events which can decimate crops, and in the long term, factors such as rising sea and CO² levels, water scarcity, and disease control^[6]IPCC. (2019). Chapter 5 — Special Report on Climate Change and Land. Ipcc.ch; Special Report on Climate Change and Land. https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/chapter/chapter-5/.. As with much of the world’s issues, the impact of these phenomena is gendered. It is no secret that women around the world play a key role in food security and are simultaneously the most impacted group by food insecurity. Of the 345 million people who are severely hungry in the world, nearly 60% are women and girls. On that note, women do 2.6 times more unpaid care and labor than their male counterparts. Furthermore, the situation in SIDS is of particular attention because of their geographic location and difficulty accessing foreign markets^[7]World Food Program USA. (n.d.). Gender Inequality is Causing More Women to Suffer from Hunger. World Food Program USA. https://www.wfpusa.org/drivers-of-hunger/gender-inequality/..

The contextual vulnerability of women in relation to food insecurity and climate change is higher because of differentiated power structures and managing responsibilities at the household, job, and community levels^[8]World Food Program USA. (n.d.). Gender Inequality is Causing More Women to Suffer from Hunger. World Food Program USA. https://www.wfpusa.org/drivers-of-hunger/gender-inequality/.. In the context of SIDS, women and girls play extremely important yet unpaid jobs in agriculture^[9]FAO. (2021). POLICY BRIEF: Food security challenges and vulnerability in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).. Women provide monetary income for their families through physical labor on farms, by planting, weeding, harvesting, and threshing crops while also processing said crops for their sale. In the case of SIDS in the Pacific Ocean (Fiji, Palau, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, etc) women make up an estimated 52% of the agricultural workforce, yet have diminished access to productive resources to maximize their efficiency in agriculture and get remunerated for their labor because of how neglected agriculture is as an economic sector^[10]FAO. 2021. Poverty, malnutrition and food security in Pacific Small Island Developing States. Bangkok.. This is also present in Caribbean SIDS, such as Dominica, Antigua, and Tandon. Women in these islands are key contributors to food security in the household and national scheme, but they go systematically unpaid, unrecognized, and undervalued while working in agricultural sectors that are repeatedly neglected^[11]Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre. (2013, October 29). Food Security, Small-scale Women Farmers and Climate Change in Caribbean SIDS. Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC). … Continue reading.

The fact that women are expected to act as primary caregivers for their children compounded with the expectation to provide unpaid labor outside the home in SIDS makes them incredibly vulnerable to bearing the highest brunt of food insecurity. SIDS are also mostly classified as low and middle-income countries by the United Nations, and as with many other issues, women’s food insecurity becomes exacerbated by high poverty indicators^[12]FAO. 2021. Poverty, malnutrition and food security in Pacific Small Island Developing States. Bangkok.. In the case of Pacific SIDS, women and children are especially prone to malnutrition and related health issues, and low access to improved drinking water increases food insecurity for vulnerable populations^[13]FAO. 2021. Poverty, malnutrition and food security in Pacific Small Island Developing States. Bangkok.. This same study concludes that in Pacific SIDS, food insecurity is greater among women living in poverty or in rural areas. Despite many SIDS urbanizing at high rates, many islands remain largely rural, with poor healthcare systems^[14]FAO. (2021). POLICY BRIEF: Food security challenges and vulnerability in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).. Furthermore, in Caribbean SIDS, women are seen to work extensively along with their male counterparts in farms and fisheries, in addition to raising cattle and poultry, but the burden of planning and providing household meals falls on women^[15]Centre for Inclusive Growth. (2012). Food Security, Women Smallholders and Climate Change in Caribbean SIDS. https://ipcig.org/sites/default/files/pub/en/IPCPolicyResearchBrief33.pdf..

As previously mentioned, many SIDS rely on the “blue economy” (fisheries and marine economic sectors to provide sustenance) for their food supply, a sector heavily threatened by climate change. Women also face food insecurity as heads of the household because of social and cultural norms, such as the belief in some SIDS that having women near fishing ships brings bad luck, excluding women from paid activities^[16]Jenkins, O., & Brown, G. (2023). Women’s economic empowerment in the blue economy in Small Island Developing States. In … Continue reading. Social norms often come from the law, and in Caribbean SIDS, many gender-discriminatory laws are still in place, most notably in Haiti. For example, women in Haiti do not enjoy the same property rights as men, which becomes a barrier for women working in agriculture^[17]Jenkins, O., & Brown, G. (2023). Women’s economic empowerment in the blue economy in Small Island Developing States. In … Continue reading.

From cultural norms and unpaid agricultural labor to discriminatory gender laws, the factors outlined above showcase the importance of gender mainstreaming agricultural and climate change policies in SIDS around the world. Women will continue to suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition if individual governments do not take steps to create and implement gender-focused policies in various economic sectors. Moreover, in 2022, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)  released a three-pronged approach to gender mainstream climate policy in SIDS nations^[18]The plan was intended for all SIDS nations who wish to implement it, yet the UNDP provides data for only a few of them. which includes effective governance, integrated policies, and inclusive planning. Fortunately, many SIDS have begun approaching gender mainstreaming in climate change policies to mitigate food insecurity. Due to the high economic, geographic, and cultural diversity between SIDS, policies need to be extremely tailored to each country’s needs. Many SIDS have been successful in implementing gender-focused policies in the past couple of years to combat food insecurity, such as in Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands. These nations partnered to implement a resilience program, which became invaluable in helping to make gender protection central to climate change and risk-informing development. In Cuba, the Basal Project was a collaboration from 2012 to 2020 between the Environmental Agency, the Tropical Geography Institute, the Ministry of Science and other stakeholders, which designed “gender-sensitive climate change communication strategies”, increasing awareness on the important role women play in local agriculture^[19]UNDP. (2022). TECHNICAL PAPER ON GENDER RESPONSIVE CLIMATE ACTIONS IN SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) (p. 12). … Continue reading.

Progress in gender mainstreaming climate change policies varies largely across different SIDS because of socio-political and economic factors. Nevertheless, SIDS have shown great promise in their commitment to including gender provision in conscientious climate change policies. There is much work still to be done, and it is of utmost importance that any policies passed to uphold gender equality and protection against food insecurity caused by climate change have institutional support to be effectively implemented.

Globalization and food insecurity in SIDS

Although climate change is a large culprit for food insecurity faced by women in SIDS, the rapid globalization of the international market in the past 100 years has severely affected access to nutritious foods in these nations. The physical distance of SIDS from large agricultural markets undermines exports and prioritizes imports. Farming is largely small-scale and family-oriented, as the agriculture sector as a whole in these islands sees itself neglected by governing bodies^[20]FAO. (2021). POLICY BRIEF: Food security challenges and vulnerability in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).. The contribution of agriculture to different SIDS GDPs varies, but it ranges as low as Antigua and Barbuda’s 1.9%, Sao Tome and Principe’s 11.8%, to Dominica’s 22.3%^[21]CIA. (2022). Countries – The World Factbook. Www.cia.gov. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/..

Food insecurity manifests itself in a myriad of different forms aside from the previously mentioned undernutrition. One of the main challenges facing the people and women of SIDS is obesity, of which women suffer higher rates than men. In Caribbean SIDS, 33% of adults are obese, with twice as many obese women than men. These nations are characterized by the highest rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the world. Obesity comes with its own long string of health complications, especially because obesity rates in SIDS are associated with deficiencies in key micronutrients^[22]Massa, I. (2021). Food security challenges and vulnerability in Small Island Developing States. United Nations.. The lack of access to healthy, nutrient-dense foods in SIDS makes them food deserts, where women essentially only have access to highly processed imported foods.  This affects mainly women because they are often placed with the burden of providing food to their households, and are likely to prioritize their household member’s nutrition over their own. Micronutrient deficiencies and serious illnesses due to poor nutrition are especially prevalent among women of reproductive age, increasing the likeliness of mortality and decreasing quality of life^[23]Massa, I. (2021). Food security challenges and vulnerability in Small Island Developing States. United Nations..

Over the past three decades, because of decreasing import prices, dietary customs in SIDS have drastically changed to consuming foods high in saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium, particularly from ultraprocessed and processed foods^[24]Hickey, G. M., & Unwin, N. (2020). Addressing the triple burden of malnutrition in the time of COVID-19 and climate change in Small Island Developing States: what role for improved local food … Continue reading. In the case of Pacific SIDS, women and children are also especially vulnerable to NCD-related risk factors^[25]These include diabetes, anemia, obesity, digestive issues, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality. associated with malnutrition, such as maternal mortality. This is especially bad for women living in poverty and/or in rural areas, where access to health services and healthy food can become more complex^[26]FAO. 2021. Poverty, malnutrition and food security in Pacific Small Island Developing States. Bangkok.. Furthermore, the prevalence of NCDs in women has extremely negative impacts on advancing gender equality for women and girls. As previously mentioned, women in many SIDS are expected to be primary caregivers regardless of their own health situations, making them carry the added burden of domestic work and reducing their ability to pursue economic, academic, or productive endeavors^[27]Massa, I. (2021). Food security challenges and vulnerability in Small Island Developing States. United Nations..

The economic situation regarding food imports and exports in the Caribbean SIDS is similar. For instance, the highly unstable Haiti imports at least 60 percent of its food. Haiti is also one of the countries most vulnerable to rising food prices because of structural adjustment conditions from International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans, making it cheaper to buy United States’ agricultural imports than some local produce^[28]Centre for Inclusive Growth. (2012). Food Security, Women Smallholders and Climate Change in Caribbean SIDS. https://ipcig.org/sites/default/files/pub/en/IPCPolicyResearchBrief33.pdf.. Interestingly, Haiti also has one of the highest rates of female participants in rural agriculture, but they do not enjoy the same inheritance rights as men. Local conditions combine with international food export and import practices to put women, especially poor women, at risk of food insecurity and related illnesses. Prioritizing agriculture in Caribbean SIDS could be incredibly helpful in tackling food insecurity faced by women. In the Commonwealth of Dominica, village women grow most of the vegetables and local produce, yet are still forced to rely on foreign imports for key ingredients like flour, because they are not able to grow these key crops at home. Furthermore, these village women living in rural areas are heavily involved in merely subsistence farming (farming done only to sustain dietary needs and not for a profit), while the country imports about US $24 million worth of food per year^[29]Centre for Inclusive Growth. (2012). Food Security, Women Smallholders and Climate Change in Caribbean SIDS. https://ipcig.org/sites/default/files/pub/en/IPCPolicyResearchBrief33.pdf.. The level of investment in food imports does not match the cultural importance of fisheries and farming, especially in poor communities which further puts women at risk of not having access to healthy food or even enough food. If the government of Dominica were to invest some of its financial resources in local agriculture instead of paying for imports, women farmers may be able to grow wheat or other crops to sustain themselves and their families without relying on foreign food products. 

It has been established that SIDS face many challenges when attempting to compete in the international market, forcing them to import the majority of the food they consume. Tariff and non-tariff barriers, poor infrastructure, and high logistical costs all contribute to the obstacles faced by SIDS to sell their markets globally. Furthermore, agricultural practices in these nations often go underfunded, especially when most of the work is done by women. This is why SIDS must implement policies and programs to mitigate malnutrition-related illnesses and invest in gender-focused agricultural policies to promote the consumption of local produce. The responsibility falls on SIDS governments to revamp agricultural programs in their nations to support local farm families and lift the burden off of women’s backs to juggle all responsibilities regarding their and their family’s food security. As proposed by the UNDP, the main action that must be taken is increasing women’s access to productive resources in the agricultural realm. By overturning misogynistic policies and increasing women’s ability to access credit, land ownership, and technological advancements in agriculture not only saves time but also contributes to the economy and revitalizes local agriculture to combat malnutrition^[30]Habtezion, S. (2016). Gender, climate change and food security (pp. 6–8). UNDP. … Continue reading.

On that note, SIDS governments must ensure that novel technology caters to women’s needs. The introduction of certain crops, machines, or irrigation practices must be suitable for women’s necessities and preferences since they are the majority of unpaid farmers in SIDS^[31]Habtezion, S. (2016). Gender, climate change and food security (pp. 6–8). UNDP. … Continue reading. These proposals all tie back to the principle of strengthening local food production networks and their relationships with governing bodies. In a study done on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Fiji, results showed that in both islands the Ministry of Agriculture is key in offering assistance to local farmers in the form of subsidizing farm equipment and soil assessments, but little was discussed on including gender provisions to agricultural policy^[32]Guell, C., Brown, C. R., Navunicagi, O. W., Iese, V., Badrie, N., Wairiu, M., Saint Ville, A., Unwin, N., Kiran, S., Samuels, T. A., Hambleton, I., Tukuitonga, C., Donato-Hunt, C., Kroll, F., Nugent, … Continue reading. Gender mainstreaming these branches of the government is the most important step for SIDS to take in order to bridge the gap in understanding women’s needs and government policy. Therefore, gender inclusion-focused committees and educational programs must be created to create a synergic flow of information between central governments and rural female farmers to promote local food production.

Many of the goals outlined above have been envisioned and even begun to be implemented in some SIDS, especially in the Pacific and Caribbean. However, it must be noted that education is the foundational pillar for any and all of these programs to be successful. Implementing massive agricultural and policy reforms without first undergoing educational initiatives in schools, local businesses, public institutions, and especially rural areas would create obstacles in understanding why gender mainstreaming in agricultural policy is important in combating food insecurity in SIDS. Gender equality also means inclusivity in education, and people need to be sensitized to the fact that women take on more physical and emotional labor than their male counterparts, suffer from higher rates of malnutrition, are at higher risks of mortality from malnutrition-related illnesses, and that they still face social stigma in fishing and agriculture practices.

Looking towards food security for women in SIDS

Globally, women are more prone to suffering from food insecurity than their male counterparts, a phenomenon especially true in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). These islands are extremely vulnerable to climate change and have a difficult time competing in the international agricultural market, which has created conditions of extreme situations of food insecurity, especially for women who have intersectional factors of poverty, head of household status, or live in rural settings. Globalization and climate change interlace and create food insecurity for women in these nations, and more tools need to be developed to combat this issue. The most important reform is gender mainstreaming in climate change and agricultural policy, in order to take into account women’s experiences and necessities when strengthening local food production in SIDS territories. Finally, in order to make sure all these initiatives are successful, individualized educational initiatives must take courses to create awareness of the issues women face in SIDS in achieving food security.  At the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP), the President of Tuvalu gave his speech knee-deep in the ocean to bring attention to the international community of the challenges SIDS are facing in regard to climate change. With climate change comes food insecurity, and puts millions of women at risk of poor development, which is why the international community must cooperate to aid these nations in their fight for food security and gender equality.

To quote this article: Ilona Barrero, “How Climate Change and Globalization Worsen Food Insecurity for Women in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)”, 02.06.2023, Institut du genre en géopolitique. igg-geo.org/?p=12721 

The statements in this article are the sole responsibility of the author.