Written by Monique van Wijnbergen, Natural Habitat’s Sustainability & Corporate Communications Director and spokesperson for Palm Done Right.
In terms of income and perspectives for new generations, the agricultural sector is an unequal sector of the economy. While palm oil development has fueled economic growth and reduced poverty in rural areas, its benefits are distributed unequally across and within palm growing countries.
The International Institute for Sustainable Development published and interesting article about the role of agricultural trade in reducing inequality and how agricultural trade can mitigate inequalities: “One factor to ensure broad-based benefits from agricultural trade is guaranteeing equal access and economic opportunities for women, youth, small farmers, and other vulnerable groups. To reduce the potentially negative effects of exposure to greater competition from food imports, smallholder farmers need access to finance, inputs, knowledge, markets, and viable opportunities for diversifying sources of income, including off the farm.”
