2009 As a result of a gender-based analysis, gender equality is integrated into CIDA’s Food Security Strategy, with a focus on smallholder female farmers, and CIDA’s Children and Youth Strategy, with an emphasis on maternal health and girls. 2010 The Minister of International Cooperation announces support to the United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM, as a means to support the rights of women and girls, a key objective of CIDA’s Gender Equality Policy.

(a) measures to improve access in particular of small-scale and female farmers to locally adapted, sustainable agricultural inputs (tailored to the optimum use of local resources) and services (extension, vocational training), existing local markets and existing infrastructure, including fertilizers and seeds, as well as preferential measures to activate and involve local, regional and supra-regional producers in the developing countries; agricultural inputs and services must as far as possible be locally purchased, the negative impact of importing inputs and services on local producers and markets must be prevented and dumping excluded ...[+++];

Furthermore, with reference to women farmers, training and the development of managerial and entrepreneurial skills should be targeted primarily at new holdings run mainly by women as:

I will mention a few: first of all, to focus on research and replacing old technologies as part of a strategy to win new markets; to promote and support human resources training; to ensure the continued development and growth of agri-food businesses; to readjust existing income security programs based on production costs; to develop income security programs compatible with the rules of international trade; to promote financing for farm operations and the transfer of same without incurring massive debt; and subsequently, to consider assistance for conversion within the sector of operations that are not viable and help farmers who leave the profession (2040) The federation of the Union des producteurs ...[+++]agricoles du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, in its activity report for 1992-93, has also changed its strategy and talks about winning new markets.

The Trois-Rivières summit, an unprecedent exercise for Quebec, produced a series of commitments which included the following: to increase research and technology transfers as part of a strategy for acquiring new markets; to recognize, promote and support the need for human resources training; to guarantee the continued existence, development and growth of agri-food businesses; to revamp existing income security programs based on production costs by emphasizing risk sharing, productivity of farm operations, sustainable development and an awareness of market signals; to develop income security programs compatible with the rules of inte ...[+++]rnational trade; to promote the financing and transfer of farm operations in such a way as to prevent massive debt; to consider assistance for non-viable operations that could be reoriented within the industry and help farmers who retire from the industry.

Between 1981 and 1986, while the total number of farm operators in Canada fell by 8 per cent, the number of female farm operators increased by 18 per cent. Farm women are suddenly in startling numbers becoming co-managers with their husbands or becoming sole operators.