Food production and urban living with key challenges Essay - 1

Food production and urban living with key challenges - Essay Example This essay discusses that If thoughtfully implemented, community-based sustainable initiatives can open new doors of opportunities for women (IAASTD, 2009, p2). Women’s involvement in agricultural production ranges from 20 to 70% globally; their participation is rising in many developing countries, especially because of the popularization of export-oriented farming. Although such developments have benefited women, the still larger proportion of rural women faces deteriorating health and work environment because of a number of factors like low education, etc. A policy that takes into account interest of women while formulating sustainable agriculture can be very effective.In Canada, agriculture is a $50-billion-a-year industry, employing directly and indirectly 14% of Canada’s workforce and contributing about one-third of the nation’s trade surplus. According to IAASTD, the commitment of the government in implementing any project is of vital significance. In North America in particular, implementation of sustainable development would require mobilizing citizens and states to empower all forms of community capital. If sustainable community- based initiatives are applied creatively with the active involvement of stakeholders, misuse of natural resource can be reversed, leading to the judicious use of water bodies, land, and ecosystem as a whole. Any long-term strategy for sustainable development would require linking the ‘three pillars’ of ‘sustainable development,’ namely ‘economic, environmental, and social.’