Agricultural and food security trends worldwide, an overview, cap.1 women’s contribution to agricultural production and food security, current status and perspectives, cap.2 factors and constraints affecting women’s roles, cap.3 regional trends, cap.4 overview of ngos working for women and development in africa, cap.5 inadequate policy support and impact of sectorial and macro policies on production and trade, cap.6 rural women in asia, current status, cap.7 rural women’s access to productive resources, cap.8 impact of asian macro transitions on rural women, cap.9 institutional support to asian rural women, cap.11 food security, cap.11 pacific islands resources, cap.12 pacific rural women in agriculture, cap.13 pacific rural women’s access to productive resources, cap.14 macro transformations influencing rural women’s food sector roles, cap.15 organizational support to pacific rural women, cap.16 agriculture, food systems and nutrition, cap.18 women in the farming sector, cap.19 pluriactivity in farm adjustment, cap.20 environment, ecological agriculture and green consumerism, cap.21 the context of rural development, cap.22 the overall situation of rural women in latin america and the caribbean, cap.23 the situation of rural women by sub-region, cap.24 the social situation, cap.25 experiences in formulating policy targeting rural women, cap.26 international cooperation initiatives, cap.27 food security in the near east region, cap.28 women’s roles in food production and food security, cap.29 constraints faced by women farmers, cap.30 conclusions and recommendations in an evolving landscape, cap.31