FOOD SECURITY AND THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF THE PEASANT WOMEN FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE RURAL FAMILIES RESPECTING THE ACCESS TO FOOD

In the search to guarantee Food Security during the 70s, it was believed that it would be enough to increase the productivity of agro-industry in the world. However, the work of Amartya Sen was fundamental in clarifying the concept of Food Security and showing that the death of thousands of people during the famines in Bengal, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, was due to a lack of access to food, and not because of their insufficiency. These testimonies, together with the dimensions of Food Security, shaped the concept, stressing with it the importance of guaranteeing food regardless of the political instability of the countries or natural disasters that may occur.

Beyond the formality of the concept developed by FAO, rural women have been a very important group in guaranteeing Food Security in families in rural areas. Rural women work double and triple shifts, since they carry out the functions of the reproductive, productive and communal spheres. In addition, the working conditions of women are precarious and most of the work they do is without financial remuneration in a large percentage, added to the fact that they are invisible and socially undervalued.