Economic and social advancement requires people to have access to efficient and affordable fuel. However, more than two billion people in the world rely on inefficient biomass fuels such as firewood, which take time to collect. Poor rural women have primary responsibility for collecting and using this fuel, which has several consequences for their health and opportunities to earn income.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calls for policymakers and planners to pay greater attention to women’s needs in energy planning and development. In most parts of the developing world, women spend a large proportion of their time collecting fuel. This leaves little time for more productive, income generating activities. It also has health impacts: smoke from cooking stoves in the home is a major cause of the most prevalent respiratory diseases among women and children. In many developing countries rural women do not have the social or economic power to invest in more efficient stoves or other technologies.

More accessible, affordable, efficient and healthy fuel sources would improve health and help reduce poverty. Girls’ time, now spent on fuel collection, would be freed to attend school. Greater efficiency would also mean less use of declining natural resources.

Few developing countries have a rural energy agenda. The focus is on urban areas and extending the electricity grid, which is not economically viable for small rural communities. Rural poverty rates are very high and rural people spend a high proportion of their income on energy supplies. While the importance of energy for development is now largely recognised, few energy strategies realise the importance of gender considerations:

• Most energy projects take a technological, supply driven approach, rather than responding to people’s needs, especially those of women who mainly collect and use energy supplies.
• Energy specialists often do not see the relevance of gender considerations while gender specialists rarely focus on energy.
• Informal, home based income generation (such as preparing food for sale and making clothes) is often ignored but can provide important income for women, giving them decision-making power. Many such activities require fuel.
• Local sustainable energy schemes have potential but there are many barriers to their development, including access to credit, information and skills. These especially apply to women.

Efficient energy sources and technologies are central to rural development. To improve the situation for women and girls, planners and policymakers should:

• Integrate gender analysis into energy programmes so that women’s needs are heard and met. Energy programmes should also be integrated with other rural development programmes to ensure they respond to local needs rather than to technology supply.
• International meetings and agreements are now beginning to recognise the importance of gender for energy policy, but further advocacy is necessary at meetings such as the Commission on Sustainable Development and the Clean Development Mechanism.
• More research is needed to highlight good practice and develop training resources for gender analysis in energy programmes.

Source(s):
‘Energy and gender in rural sustainable development’, FAO: Rome by Yianna Lambrou and Grazia Piana, 2006 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: Food and Agriculture Organization

id21 Research Highlight: 11 October 2007

Further Information:
Yianna Lambrou
Gender, Equity and Rural EmploymentDivision
Economic and Social Development Department
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome
Italy

Tel: +39 06 57054550
Fax: +39 06 57052004
Contact the contributor: yianna.lambrou@fao.org

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations

Other related links:
'Powering the MDGs: development targets unattainable without energy'

'Cutting household smoke to improve quality of life'

'Putting energy at the heart of poverty reduction'

'Time to integrate energy development in Africa'

'Helping to light up Africa'