text: JNITED .ATIONSA General Assembly Distr. GENERAL A/40/239/Add.l 3October 1985 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH Portieth session ~genda item92(a) IMPLEMENTATION OFTHEPROGRAMME OFACTION FORTHESECOND HALF OFTHEUNITED NATIONS DECADE FORWOMEN National experience relating totheimprovement ofthe situation ofwomeninruralareas NotebytheSecretary-General Addendum 1.TheGeneral Assembly, initsresolution 39/126. requested the Secretary-General tocompile theobservations andcomments madeonthereportof theInterregional Seminar onNational Experience relating totheImprovement ofthe Situation ofWomeninRuralAreas(A/40/239) attheWorldConference toReview and Appraise theAchievements oftheUnitedNations DecadeforWomen. andtosubmit 'themtotheGeneral Assembly atitsfortieth session. 2.Intheircountry statements delivered intheplenary meetings ofthe Conference, several delegations addressed theissuesraisedintheabove-mentioned report. Theydescribed thesituation ofruralwomenintheircountries. reported ontheprogress madeduring theDecade, andoutlined thestrategies andpolicies adopted tocontinue theadvancement ofwomeninthisarea. Thesecomments and observations arecompiled andsummarized below. 3.Amongthemainobstacles totheimprovement inthesituation ofwomeninrural areas.several Governments listedthelackofsystematic andreliable information onruralwomen,particularly onthe.quantity andtypeofwomen's production. This awareness wouldeventually leadtotheincorporation ofwomen's concerns in national andsectoral planning. 4.Aboveall,emphasis wasplaced ontheneedtoincrease theproductivity of ruralwomeninalleconomic activities: agriculture, handicraft andsmall-scale 85-27045 l290r(E) I ...A/40/239/Add.l English Page2 industrial production. Tothisend,delegations proposed several policies, of whichtraining wasamongthemostoftencited. Delegates statedthat,intheir countries, training wasprovided infarming techniques, animal husbandry, in traditional crafts, marketing, vegetable andfruitpreservation, andinindustrial skills, foremployment inexport-free zones. Owingtoexisting cultural norms restricting men'smobility amongwomenthrough practices thatencourage sexual segregation, manydelegations thoughtitnecessary totrainfemaleextension workers totrainwomenfarmers. 5.Womenalsohadtobegranted accesstothevitalresources andfactors of production. Theextension oflandownership amongwomen,obtained, whennecessary, byenacting andimplementing appropriate legislation andbyinforming womenof theirrights, wasconsidered bysomeasapre-condition formotivating womento increase theproductivity oftheirlabour. 6.Theselection andprovision ofappropriate technology towomenfarmers wasa priority objective insomecountries, whilealready anongoing policy andpractice inothers. Appropriate technology wasimportant becauseitreduced women's work-load, inaddition tousinglocalandnational resources. Several speakers bemoaned thedoubleortripleburdenofruralwomenresulting fromthefactthat ruralwomenworkedinthefields, athome,andintheirvillage communities. Planners hadtoensurethatagricultural development programmes wouldnotincrease women's work-load andthatthechoiceofappropriate technologies torproduction andfordomestic workwasrelevant toachieving thispurpose. 7.Theprovision ofcredittowomenwasamongthemostoftenquotedpolicies to improve theproductivity, income·level andstandard oflivingofruralwomen. Ina fewcountries, credit wasoffered towomenfarmers andbusinesswomen ina decentralized anddiffused waythrough localbanksandthelocalbranches of national banks, andatconditions suchasreducing theneedforcollateral, lowering interest rates, andextending repayment schedules thatwerefavourable to women. Also,themethodofassigning responsibility forrepayment ofbankloansto groupsofwomencollectively ratherthantoindividuals wasproving tobe successful inmanycaseSa 8.Inaddition toeconomic measures, delegations statedthatsocialdevelopment
analysis: The text appears to focus on the empowerment of rural women, discussing ways to improve their situation and productivity, particularly in agricultural and economic activities. The emphasis on training, access to resources, credit, and technology suggests that economic development is a crucial aspect of this issue. Furthermore, the text highlights the importance of cultural and social factors, such as gender roles and responsibilities, which are also relevant to economic development.