Did you know that women make up 43 percent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries? Did you know that because they are women, their access to resources and opportunities are limited?

This clip is from a press conference at FAO headquarters to release FAO’s new State of Food and Agriculture 2010-2011 report focusing on the gender issue in agricultural development.

Listen to the speakers – FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf, Deputy Director-General Ann Tutwiler and Ms Bina Agarwal, Director, Institute of Economic Growth, University of Delhi. They talk about key findings from the report such as the fact that giving women the same access as men to agricultural resources could increase production in developing countries by 20 to 30 percent and raise total agricultural production by 2.5 to 4 percent.

This is a great introductory audio clip to understand why it is crucial to close the gender gap in agriculture to eradicate hunger.