Brussels, 16/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - In response to the Commission's decision to integrate equal opportunities for men and women in all Community policies, the Council's Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) tackled application of this decision in the agricultural sector during its meeting on 6 May. The Presidency is preparing Council conclusions on the economic participation of women in the rural world, and the SCA will discuss the matter again at its meeting on 21 May. We recall that, when there are economic problems in the rural world, it is generally the women who leave farming to work in the towns, not the men, at a time when one hopes to encourage the multifunctionality of agriculture (protection of the rural world through diversification) through a new European policy in which women have a role to play. The nature of the work in the rural world is changing, but this kind of work is not always done by men. Such is the case, for example, of agricultural tourism which is often ensured by the women. It is therefore important to develop indicators that allow one to determine how the mainstreaming policy may bear fruit in this sector.