It is imperative that agricultural and natural resource programs address the gender issue. In Uganda, women produce 80 percent of the food, according to the vice president. This represents a 50 percent increase for women over the past 20 years, compared with a 30 percent increase for men. Despite women's critical roles in rural agriculture and household food security, cultural, political, and economic inequities continue to prevent women from reaching their full potential. Compared with men, women have less land, capital, technology, and education throughout the developing world.
Some religions forbid women from owning or inheriting land.
Local custom can also stand in the way, such as in Sub-Saharan Africa, where women must have the consent of a male relative to use land. Since land is a major source of collateral in developing countries, women's lack of land rights also keeps them from obtaining credit, an issue that won a great deal of attention in Beijing. Among the other obstacles to women's agricultural productivity are a lack of appropriate technology, exclusion from most agricultural extension programs, and fewer educational opportunities than men. The Beijing platform specifically addresses these concerns, according to Kindervatter. The document targets gender equity in basic and primary education worldwide, urges more women's involvement in scientific and technical fields, and calls for greater women's access to extension services.