Jump to main content
Taiwan co-organized APEC workshop on women and smart agriculture wraps up
2019-10-05

Dr. Unga Kalay Joy Lin (right), a member of the Cabinet-level Gender Equality Committee, speaks about Taiwan’s success in promoting woman’s participation in smart agriculture at a workshop Oct. 2 in La Serena, Chile. (Courtesy of GEC)

Dr. Unga Kalay Joy Lin (right), a member of the Cabinet-level Gender Equality Committee, speaks about Taiwan’s success in promoting woman’s participation in smart agriculture at a workshop Oct. 2 in La Serena, Chile. (Courtesy of GEC)
 

A Taiwan co-organized Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation workshop on women’s participation in smart agriculture wrapped up Oct. 2 in La Serena, Chile, spotlighting the government’s work on promoting gender equality and boosting exchanges among fellow member economies.
 
Overseen by the Cabinet-level Gender Equality Committee in collaboration with Chile’s Ministry of Women and Gender Equity, the event showcased the success of an APEC-funded project “APEC GIFTS A+: Promoting Gender Inclusion in Smart Agriculture.” Attendees included officials, experts and business representatives from Australia, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
 
According to the GEC, women’s ability to participate in smart agriculture is hindered by a failure to tailor technological innovations in the industry to their needs. To resolve this, the government is committed to ensuring a working environment that is inclusive and supports sustainable development, the committee said.
 
At the workshop, Taiwan’s delegation presented a toolkit devised through partnership with fellow member economies Chile and the Philippines to promote women’s participation in smart agriculture. It includes suggestions on effective measures and serves as a reference for policy makers throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
 
A video co-produced by Taiwan and the Philippines highlighting both sides’ implementations of the toolkit titled “Women Sparkling in Smart Agriculture - Gendered Innovations Trigger Ambition” was also shown at the workshop. It featured women, especially in rural and indigenous areas, using the latest agricultural technology for tasks such as organic farming and tissue culturing, as well as employing smart management systems utilizing big data analysis to monitor soil conditions.
 
Since joining APEC in 1991, Taiwan has made substantial contributions to the regional economic forum. These span a broad spectrum of areas such as disaster prevention, food security, small and medium enterprise development and women’s empowerment. (YCH-E)