Food & Business Knowledge PlatformGender - Food & Business Knowledge Platform

Digital cash transfers in the time of COVID-19: Opportunities and considerations for women’s inclusion and empowerment

F&BKP Office — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 09:54:39 +0000

This paper (PDF) by CGAP, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank Group and Women’s World Banking, on gender intentional digital cash transfers in the time of COVID-19, offers guidance and considerations for policymakers to support women’s inclusion and empowerment. If the risks faced by women are not actively addressed, the COVID-19 crisis is likely to widen already existing gender inequalities. The digitization of cash transfers has emerged as an attractive policy solution for countries seeking to expand social assistance to alleviate the economic hardships created by COVID-19 and to advance financial inclusion. However, there are a number of barriers for women, including gaps in financial access, official IDs, mobile phones, failing program design and insufficient gender data and analysis. Deliberate programmatic and policy decisions can proactively empower women and support their inclusion during, and well beyond, the COVID-19 crisis. The D3 framework outlines pathways to address gender inequalities via three basic prolongs: 1) Digitize: to reach remote people at low cost. Recommendations include the distribution of mobile phones, private sector partnerships, reduced transaction costs, and broader agent networks. 2) Direct: provide cash transfer into an account registered in a woman’s name and to which she has direct access. Recommendations to make it work include to make women the default recipient of cash transfer schemes, ease know-your-customer requirements, leverage official identification systems and seek to enable women’s onboarding. 3) Design: programs should aim to enhance prospects for women’s economic empowerment. To do so, recommendations include to relax conditions, expand and adapt social registries and management information systems, work with local offices, and use diverse methods of communication. More broadly, women should have space and a voice at the table. It is critical that women are heard in positions of leadership in order to influence and inform the design, implementation and adjustments of programs.

Left out and left behind: COVID19, hunger, and gender inequality

F&BKP Office — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 09:50:01 +0000

This report (PDF) by CARE demonstrates how women and girls are disproportionately affected—as producers, providers, and consumers of food—and systemically excluded from response reports and plans related to food and nutrition security during the COVID-19 pandemic. CARE interviewed more than 4,500 women from 64 countries about how the pandemic is affecting their livelihoods, and ability to feed their families. The most immediate priority was food and income, and the biggest challenge is the increasing burden on women. Food insecurity is already hitting women in severe ways. Women eat less and last. CARE is already seeing this tendency in the COVID19 pandemic. In Bangladesh, for example, 33 percent of women cut down on their own food intake in an attempt to hold on to their savings. These inequalities are no less true on the global level. Whether intentionally or by omission, global responses to COVID-19 and related hunger crises are either ignoring women and girls or treating them as victims who have no role in addressing the problems they face. To curb the hunger pandemic and address its disproportionate effects on women and girls, CARE recommends: 1) Governments immediately scale up gender-responsive social safety nets; 2) All donors commit that all funding supports gender equality ; 3) Governments include at least one gender expert on all of their COVID-19 response teams; 4) All COVID-19 coordination, planning, and priority-setting platforms be gender-balanced; 5) All donors recognize women and girls as leaders in food systems; 6) The UN Secretary General’s Policy Brief on the Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition be updated to include gender inequality.

Gender in urban food systems

F&BKP Office — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 15:23:08 +0000

This Urban Agriculture magazine edition (PDF) of RUAF identifies the ways in which gender and inclusivity have been neglected in urban food policy, practice and research. The food system has an endemic gender problem. There are significant barriers to participation in food value chains due to socially determined identities, roles, rights and obligations of women and men, and structural inequalities embedded in the system. Most work on gender inequalities has focused on rural areas, but there are vast gendered disparities in urban food systems too, which have been largely neglected by city officials, economic planners and development practitioners. For instance, women more often work in informal stalls and perform double work (earning income and responsible for the household). Women and girls are more likely to face hunger and malnourishment and climate related shocks can exacerbate pre-existing city region food system vulnerabilities. However, men and boys face inequality in areas lik educational attainment, dropout rates, criminal activities, violence and employment. Thus, there is no universal urban food experience. An intersectional gender lens shows where certain inequities are present within a city, and considers how to improve the situation for all urban residents. Bold ambitions must be pursued through policies and programmes throughout urban food systems. Moreover, the state of the art on how to achieve equality and empowerment has evolved in the last decade. Firstly, concepts such as gender awareness and mainstreaming do not go far enough. Secondly, there is greater recognition that gender discrimination in urban spaces and food systems is not homogeneous. There is an urgent need for many more cities and city regions to work on issues surrounding all genders in urban food systems. It is crucial that responses do not just involve application of technocratic frameworks and that they move beyond gender awareness and mainstreaming to enablethe reversal of pervasive and systemic intersectional inequalities.

Dairy livestock interventions for food security in Uganda: What are the implications for women’s empowerment?

F&BKP Office — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 08:53:40 +0000

This study in the Rural Sociology journal examines how development interventions that target women affect household well‐being, especially food insecurity, empower women, and transform gendered power relations. Women are increasingly the target of agricultural development programs aimed at reducing poverty and food insecurity, especially in sub‐Saharan Africa. Some feminist scholars argue that such efforts are driven more by concerns about the efficient use of resources than the rights of women and do little to transform gendered power relations. The methods include the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index survey and in‐depth interviews of women farmers and key informants, within the EADD program. The authors argue that the livestock sector provides critical insights into women’s empowerment because livestock are not “socially neutral” in their gendered effects. The study found that: (1) ownership of dairy cows enhanced important dimensions of women’s empowerment and gender equity that benefited women and households; (2) women’s labor responsibilities for dairy cows disempowered some women by increasing their time poverty and; (3) ownership of dairy cows provided a means for women to disrupt entrenched social norms related to gender roles within the household and agriculture.

How to integrate gender equity strategies into horticulture value chains

F&BKP Office — Mon, 25 May 2020 13:25:50 +0000

This webinar by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture introduces key definitions of gender equity and strategies for implementing gender equity approaches into projects. Topics include integrating gender into research, sensitizing staff, developing an actionable gender strategy and designing activities that address women’s needs. The workshops discusses key definitions of vocabulary to effectively integrate gender equity into projects, including sex, gender and gender integration. A key distinction among definitions is that gender roles, norms and constraints can be changed. Women’s empowerment is a critical aspect of gender integration in horticulture as women make up a large percentage of farmers and are a key linkage to household nutrition. One framework that is used in agriculture is the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, incorporating five domains that help projects promote women’s empowerment. These are: Decision-making power over agricultural production; Access to and ownership over resources; Sole or joint control over income and expenditures; Leadership; Time allocation. Integrating gender into research is a critical step to ensuring that research has been appropriately designed for the communities it is being conducted in. Conducting a gender analysis can be one strategy for better understanding roles and constraints. It is important to consider staff members’ knowledge and understanding of gender dynamics. Sensitizing thems can be a positive step towards including gender into projects. Considering diversity during hiring can also help establish teams with multiple perspectives and help to promote gender integration. Developing a gender strategy is another approach to sharing a vision throughout the implementing team and taking steps to promote gender integration. Other strategies for gender integration in horticulture include developing a deeper understanding of gender roles and more profitable opportunities for women. Additional resources may be needed to help women move into these roles which organizations can partner in to support their development.

Impact of Covid-19 on women workers in the horticulture sector in Kenya

F&BKP Office — Fri, 15 May 2020 14:11:42 +0000

This report (PDF) of Hivos aimed to establish the impact of Covid-19 on women workers in the horticulture sector, with special focus on employment status, living conditions, shifts in household expenses and outlook for the future. The horticulture sector in Kenya is probably one of the worst hit by Covid-19, with less than 10 percent of its normal operations. A rapid assessment indicates that food security is a major concern mainly due to job losses and increasing food prices. Other findings included the massive layoffs of temporary and seasonal workers and permanent workers sent on unpaid leave, sabotaging women workers’ livelihoods and well-being. Women workers who have lost their jobs have intensified unpaid care work, further compounded by homeschooling. Prices of essential commodities have gone up against diminishing wages. Women workers are struggling with soaring food and house rent bills. Directives on containment of movement pose a starvation risk, forcing women to compromise their safety in search for food. The waning job security agonizes women workers and results in anxiety and mental anguish. Recommendations towards government are: 1) Transparency and accountability on utilization of money freed through salary cuts. 2) Protect labour force and economy through inclusive and sustained interventions. 3) Mass testing in flower companies, provision of free quarantine services, treatment and psychosocial support. 4) Expansion of the government’s cash transfer to workers in precarious employments. 5) Economic rescue and stimulus packages to boost Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. 6) Control of food prices and essential commodities to ease consumption burden. 7) Mass production and free distribution of personal protective equipment to workers. Recommendations towards civil society organisations are: 1) Dialogue within sector for harmonized, inclusive and comprehensive responses. 2) Establish fund basket for food packages, cash transfers, etc. to support strained workers. 3) Bridge information deficits of workers. 4) Lobbying and advocacy on reforms to ensure governments remain accountable in safeguarding human and labour rights. 5) Support youth and women in rural economic livelihoods.

Women’s access to rural finance: challenges and opportunities

F&BKP Office — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 08:38:47 +0000

This paper (PDF) by FAO aims to give an overview of the variety of challenges and opportunities linked to the promotion of women’s access to finance in rural contexts, while also presenting a number of good practices which can be adopted to foster inclusion. Improving rural women’s access to financial services is a proven strategy for contributing to rural women’s social and economic empowerment, as well as improving overall the livelihoods of rural households and communities. However, the availability of financial services is limited in rural areas, and the existing financial services intended for rural communities rarely benefit rural women. Rural women face several constraints that limit their access to financial services, such as sociocultural, economic/legal and in some cases educational barriers. On the other hand, financial institutions also face constraints extending services to rural women. Various good practices can be adopted in order to overcome both the demand- and supply-side challenges in order to improve the provision of financial services for rural communities and underserved groups, such as rural women. Some of these practices include the design of inclusive packages of financial products and services intended for women, as well as the promotion of alternative collateral and the use of ICT. The promotion of access to information and the improvement of financial literacy for women are also key practices. Aside from these strategies, there must be changes in the policy environment and at the institutional level to ensure the sustainability of these initiatives. These changes consist of building capacity and raising awareness for the sustainable adoption of gender-sensitive practices as well as the collection of sex-disaggregated data. All in all, these efforts should aim to ensure that by increasing rural women’s access to finance, their empowerment and wellbeing are likewise strengthened.

Financial services for women: The maize and bean value chains in Rwanda

F&BKP Office — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 12:05:13 +0000

This report (PDF) by NpM, Platform for Inclusive Finance, analyses the position of women in the maize and bean value chains in Rwanda, as well as the current and potential role of financial service providers (FSPs) in strengthening the positioning of women in these chains. Though government policies support inclusion of women, women still experience challenges and constraints. Overall, the study showed opportunities for women in both value chains and women’s empowerment in both chains was noted at household level. However, women may not have the incentive to grow a business when they do not have control over additional income earned. On some occasions, women’s increased earning caused conflict and stress at household level. While women play an important role in bean production, it appears that their role and influence in the maize value chain, especially through cooperatives, is growing faster. This could be because beans are mostly procuded outside cooperative and for home consumption. Overall, financial inclusion in Rwanda is high, even in rural areas. However, fomal lending for agricultural value chains still lags behind. For female producers, financial services are primarily obtained through informal finance. The maize value chain offers women better access to a variety of financial services than the bean chain. A number of recommendations for stakeholders in the value chain to support women participation include the need for a better collection of sex-disaggregated data, an agreement by stakeholders on equal participation, development of approaches for gender participation and strategies to support women. For FSP specifically, the services should be tailored to the needs of women and products that take into account their disadvantages. Moreover, financial products should support the function of women in the value chain. Financing activities should be managed and handled by financial intermediaries or saving groups within cooperatives. New initiatives for reaching out to women with digital financial services should be carefully followed for learning and improvement. Promotion of such systems could be taken up by FSPs, including those that use savings groups and savings and credit cooperatives as agencies in rural areas.

Implementing gender transformative approaches in agriculture

F&BKP Office — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 13:52:44 +0000

This discussion paper (PDF) by the CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research provides an understanding of the Gender Transformative Approaches (GTAs) and highlight implications for their implementations by the United Nations Rome-Based Agencies (RBAs). GTAs are a response to a call for an alternative to the “business as usual” approach to gender integration, which is needed to address structural change, move beyond instrumentalist interventions and to address the underling causes of gender inequality. Key conceptual distinctions of GTAs include understanding gender as a social relation as opposed to focusing solely on gender roles. A main difference between women’s empowerment and GTAs is that GTAs insit on working with both women and men to transform social relations. Three tenets lie behind GTAs as supporters of change: 1) Changes are fostered in three domains: individual capacities, gendered expectations and institutional rules and practices; 2) The changes lead to more and better livelihood choices; 3) The changes lead to an expansion in their potential. The implementation of GTAs has entailed a number of specific methodologies. The first are participatory strategies for implementing GTAs, which are characterized by their potential to encourage critical self‐reflection and selfawareness via social learning. The second concerns capacity-stregthening and organizational learning, drawing on principles of transformative learning. The potential of GTAs lies in the radical proposition of attempting to address the foundations of gender inequity. The paper concludes with a number of implications for development agencies to consider when thinking about adopting GTAs. These include the need for conceptual clarity and integrity; the role of external agents in normative change; approaches to learning about, and capacity‐strengthening for, implementing GTAs; problematizing the scaling of GTAs; and the need for organizational introspection and preparedness.

Gender toolkit

F&BKP Office — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 12:44:40 +0000

This toolkit (PDF) by IDH showcases ways to integrate gender aspects into supply chain approaches, through nine practical cases. Women are key to drive growth and sustainability. However, the
possibilities for women to engage in supply chains is currently limited. This toolkit aims to raise awareness, encourage, and inspire to integrate gender aspects into supply chain approaches. The first section describes practical case examples for ways in which gender has been addressed in sustainability projects. They focus on changing business practicess, improving sector governance, and increasing field level sustainability. The second section, the gender guide, explores opportunties to integrate gender aspect in different programming steps of projects and inventions. The guide and follows 6 steps in programming, during which opportunities arise to integrate gender aspects that may positively influence and leverage greater impact of a program or interventions. When planning to integrate gender in your intervention, it is recommended to carry out a gender analysis or scoping before following the 6 programming steps. The 6 steps are: 1) Strategy development; 2) Stakeholder engagement; 3) Governance structure; 4) Proposal development; 5) Implementation; 6) Learning & innovation. The publication defines two different gender approaches. Gender sensitive approaches, which ca be easily integrated into existing training structures on other topics since they do not require underlying gendered behavioral patterns to be addressed, however, they can fall short of alleviating systematic inequalities. Gender transformative approaches, which are characterized by explicityly centering gender norms and are thus common for interventions that have the primary goal of addressing gender issues and transforming gender relations to promote equality.

Reach, benefit and empower women with financial services

F&BKP Office — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 11:11:04 +0000

This paper (PDF) by NpM analyzed three cases on women’s access to financial services in agriculture, in three different countries. Women always played a key role in agricultural production, however currently women do not have the same access to financial services, as well as agricultural extension and business development services, as men. Appropriate access to finance will allow the women to accelerate agricultural growth. Examples of ways to increase the number of female clients are to provide financial services close to home, to use a network of (female) fieldworkers, to link saving and lending groups, and to create women groups. For women to benefit from the loans, these must be large enough to cover all costs of the agricultural season. Women also benefit more if additional services are provided to develop their businesses, alongside with the loan. The cases showed that women are empowered by access to financial services. The paper finishes with a number of recommendations for the inclusive finance sector, which include: 1) Develop a focus on female clients, starting by a proper market analysis. 2) Adjust product design to ovecome barriers for women to reach more female clients. 3) Use communication channels that women are familiar with. 4) Develop strategies not only on the supply side but also on the capacities of female customers to use the financial service. 5) Involving men at different levels is very important in order to contribute to women’s economic empowerment. 6) Collect and analyse gender-segregated data. 7) Monitor how women are reached by, benefit from and are empowered by the financial service

Make hay while the sun shines

F&BKP Office — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 14:22:20 +0000

This working paper (PDF) from KIT discusses the interface between gender and agricultural innovation systems. More specifically, it investigates how gender norms and roles influence social relations between actors in forage innovation systems in rural Afghanistan. Findings presented draw on a study analysing gendered barriers and opportunities for innovation in the forage system in the three Afghan provinces of Baghlan, Bamyan and Nangarhar. In particular, the working paper is embedded in solicited diaries written by five women that are all active players in their respective forage innovation systems. From the study, four key lessons can be learned: 1) It is critical to understand how gender relations shape how and why actors in a given innovation space value and promote certain kinds of innovative activity and “innovators”, while devaluing and even actively discouraging others; 2) Understanding gender roles involves looking beyond male-female dichotomy, since that can wrongly portray women as a homogenous group in which all women face the same challenges and opportunities. Over-generalization of the positions and conditions of women in agricultural innovation systems could grossly undermine policy relevance and planning; 3) Researchers and practitioners take into consideration both women and men’s lived experiences when designing their research and/or programmes and projects aiming at supporting agricultural development and innovation; 4) The paper calls for exploration of the ways gender roles, norms and relations influence socio-technical structures “beyond” innovation spaces in agricultural innovation systems, namely regimes and landscapes. Thus, this paper highlights that gender relations, norms and roles are dynamic and change over time due to factors external to a given innovation space, such as armed conflict. Therefore, it is important to consider how and why the wider social, political and economic environments are influencing, positively and negatively, actors in innovation spaces.

Gender in climate change, agriculture, and natural resource policies: Insights from East Africa

F&BKP Office — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 09:36:12 +0000

This article (PDF) in the Climatic Change journal analyzes the extent of gender integration in agricultural and natural resource policies in Uganda and Tanzania, and how gender is budgeted for in implementation plans at district and lower governance level. Effective gender mainstreaming requires that gender is sufficiently integrated in policies, development plans, and implementation strategies, supported by budgetary allocations. The results show that whereas there is increasing gender responsiveness in both countries: 1) Gender issues are still interpreted as “women issues”, with very little attention to men’s vulnerability to climate change; 2) There is disharmony on how gender is prioritized in policy planning, integrated in policy documents and implemented at local level; 3) Budgeting for gender is not yet fully embraced by governments 4) Allocations to gender at sub-national level remain inconsistently low with sharp differences between estimated and actual budgets; and 5) Gender activities do not address any structural inequalities. So, although there are variations in the extent to which gender is integrated, there is a shift towards integrating gender in policies. However, work remains to be done to move towards more effective execution of gender mainstreaming in policy and practice. To do so, there is an apparent need to improve the understanding of gender (mainstreaming) as well as to build the capacity of policy makers and development practitioners across governance levels. Further, capacity building of government officials and practitioners requires that researchers work with governments and non-state actors to collectively develop tools and guidelines for capacity building and supporting practitioners to apply the acquired knowledge. Lastly, regulatory frameworks need to be supported with gender-responsive planning and coordination tools at local government level so that the secured funds are used appropriately.

Gender and agricultural mechanization: A mixed-methods exploration of the impacts of multi-crop reaper-harvester service provision in Bangladesh

F&BKP Office — Wed, 15 May 2019 11:35:14 +0000

This study (PDF) by IFPRI examined the gendered differences in women’s and men’s involvement in emerging markets for rice and wheat reaper-harvester machinery services in Bangladesh. Farmer hiring of agricultural machinery services is common in South Asia. Informal fee-for-service arrangements have positioned farmers so they can access use of machinery to conduct critical, time-sensitive agricultural tasks. However, both the provision and rental of machinery services are currently dominated by men, and it appears that women have comparatively limited roles in this market and may receive fewer benefits. Despite the prevailing perception in rural Bangladesh that women do not participate in agricultural entrepreneurship, women do not necessarily lack a desire to be involved. The study shows that women benefit from managing and sometimes owning machinery services, as well as from the direct and indirect consequences of hiring such services to harvest their crops. However, a number of technical, economic, and cultural barriers appear to constrain female participation in both reaper service business ownership and in hiring services as a client. In addition, women provided suggestions for how to overcome barriers constraining their entry into rural machinery services as an entrepreneur. Men also reflected on the conditions they would consider supporting women to become business owners. There are important opportunities for development initiatives to build on the women’s roles that are currently socially acceptable, as initial entry points to expand respect for women’s competence, strengthen their asset ownership, and widen the bounds of socially acceptable behavior and engagement in agriculture and remunerative activities. Distinguishing between ownership and the opportunities provided women’s roles is an important place to start, and should be recognized in the design of appropriate public policy and rural development initiatives.

Discursive translations of gender mainstreaming norms: The case of agricultural and climate change policies in Uganda

F&BKP Office — Wed, 01 May 2019 09:10:06 +0000

This paper (PDF) in the Women’s Studies International Forum takes a discourse analytical perspective on gender policy and budgeting and examines what happens to gender issues in agriculture and climate change adapation when they are mainstramed and domesticated in different governance levels (national, district and sub-county). The study finds that while the international norm of gender mainstreaming has been formally adopted in Uganda, its transformational potential was reduced through five distinct processes during norm translation. During the process of drafting policies; 1) certain gender discourses were overlooked or completely ignored (neglecting gender and climate change discourse); 2) gender discourses at sub-national level remained static (gender inertia); 3) prescriptions remained at a very generic level (shrinking gender norms); 4) gender mainstreaming exercises co-existed with certain contradictory normative cultural understandings (embracing discursive hybridity) and; 5) the lack of relevant budgets indicated that gender mainstreaming largely stopped at the discursive level and did not extend to meaningful policy instruments (minimizing budgets). The transformational potential of international norms on gender mainstreaming should however not be taken as given, nor should be stipulated as the only or most obvious source of transformational change in gender relations. The findings suggest that the formulation of a global strategy will likely not suffice in dealing with highly localized and context specific gender dynamics, and in dealing with structurally embedded gender inequalities. The assumption that international gender norms could significantly affect local patriarchal contexts needs to be reassessed. While the institutionalization of gender mainstreaming might be helpful for gaining legitimacy and public awareness on the matter, other strategies will likely need to be in place for its success. Willingsness for gender transformative change and strong gender analysis capabilities from policy makers is still largely deficient in Uganda. Future research should focus on international norm translation, assess what locally-crafted strategies help gender mainstreaming strategies thrive and examine the interactions of non-government organizations with governments for a complete picture of gender norm translation on the ground.

A research highlight of CGIAR has been published here.

Gender and agricultural innovation in Oromia region, Ethiopia: From innovator to tempered radical

F&BKP Office — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 10:37:23 +0000

This article (PDF) in the Gender, Technology and Development journal examined whether the concept of tempered radicals, developed originally to interrogate change processes in organizations, has validity in rural agricultural settings. Tempered radicals are change agents who experience the dominant culture as a violation of the integrity and authenticity of their personal values and beliefs. They seek to move forward whilst challenging the status quo. Findings demonstrate that women and men innovators actively interrogate and contest gender norms and extension narratives. Whilst both women and men innovators face considerable challenges, women, in particular, are precariously located ‘outsiders within,’ negotiating carefully between norm and sanction. So empered radicals interpretative lens indeed allows us to recognize and interpret the strategies used by innovators in a novel way. New insights have emerged that are unique to the literature on agricultural innovators. However, whilst the strategies deployed by the eight innovators discussed here conform to the tempered radicals framework, translating our insights into the development of strategies to identify and support grassroots innovators may be challenging. One implication of our study is that strategies to support innovators, and women innovators, in particular, must be strongly context-specific and they must also be gender-sensitive. Findings further show that single women, existing on the margins of their society, are more likely to be innovators because they have more decision-making power in relation to their own resources than women within male-headed households. There are two implications. First, there is clear scope for developing strategies to support womenheaded households. Second, methodologies aiming to strengthen intra-household bargaining processes could be very useful.

Contract farming in Mozambique: Implications on gender inequalities within across rural households

F&BKP Office — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 14:56:21 +0000

This paper (PDF) by UNU-WIDER analyses the implication of contract farming on gender inequalities, both within and across households, in rural Mozambique. Contract farming is often considered one of the major tools of agribusiness development: it broadly includes those arrangements under which producers commit to provide a pre-defined quantity of crop to a buyer firm. When looking at the participation of female-headed households in contracts, results reveal that a selection out of contracts in rural households where a woman is the household’s head. Further, when analysing intra-household women empowerment, a positive correlation of contract farming with women control over land and production, and a negative one with access to services (extension and associations). After controlling for selection bias, the positive effect on control over resources disappears, as well as the negative effect on the participation in producers’ associations. Contracts, at the same time, have a negative impact on the probability that women receive extension services when their household does. This can have an inequality-increasing effect since extension services can be a source of empowerment and relative bargaining power within the household. In terms of policy this work does not aim at reaching a conclusion on the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of contract farming. It simply underlines that emerging market opportunities per se do not mean that women will be necessarily included and empowered, or that gender inequalities will be reduced. Deliberate actions are likely to be needed in this direction. The analysis of possible actions is an important line of research for future works.

Women’s empowerment in agriculture: Lessons from qualitative research

F&BKP Office — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 09:43:01 +0000

This paper (PDF) in SSRN synthesizes qualitative research conducted conjointly with quantitative surveys, to develop a project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI). There is growing recognition of the importance of women’s empowerment in its own right and for a range of development outcomes, but less understanding of what empowerment means to rural women and men. The challenge of measuring empowerment, particularly across cultures and contexts, is also garnering attention. Despite challenges in translating the concept of “empowerment” across different cultures, the study revealed similarities among perceptions of women’s empowerment across contexts. Economic status was an important component, meaning that empowered women can take care of themselves, their families, and their communities. Women’s empowerment was seen more positively when it was not just an individual attribute, but used to “lift the burden” of others. Both men and women reacted negatively to the notion of women having power over others, especially over men. Results also showed interconnections between different quantitative indicators of empowerment. Women’s workloads and domestic responsibilities often limit their mobility and ability to earn income, two common measures of empowerment. Group membership can be empowering, but time and mobility mediate women’s ability to participate in groups. This study gave three critical insights: 1) It reveals where conceptions of empowerment among researchers may diverge from those of rural women and men in different contexts, enabling future development programming and research to be more sensitive to the norms and beliefs shaping rural livelihoods to improve outcomes; 2) Provide projects with guidance on strategies that can contribute to women’s empowerment, and allow them to interpret quantitative results of pro-WEAI; 3) The importance of qualitative research to provide rich contextual data for assessing empowerment, and a methodology that can be used in this pursuit.

Opportunities for strengthening gender and social equity in Ethiopia’s wheat sector

F&BKP Office — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 16:29:45 +0000

This report (PDF) by CIMMYT and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development outlines how an insufficient focus on the barriers women face continues to have a significant impact on the agricultural productivity, economic growth and food security in Ethiopia. Technologies change fast, innovation is constant, and markets are volatile. Keeping up requires the eﬀort of whole families, which is why the gendered division of labour is more porous. Women’s roles in agricultural development need to be recognized and enhanced in a global economy where migration and sickness means the head of the household cannot always be a man. Evidence collected throughout this project suggests that many government and project partners do not know how to assist with the social and gender norm changes necessary to ensure women can benefit from development equitably. Stakeholder interviews revealed confusion about gender main-streaming. More internal reﬂection on gender and learning throughout organizations is required. Additionally, more funds need to allocate toward gender research. The report comes with a list of recommendation. A recommendation for the government is to oﬀer more gender-sensitive support tailored to female farmers to address their unique barriers. Research centres should develop minimum standards for agriculture research that specify the need for inclusive survey designs that purposively sample excluded population groups. These standards should be audited and linked to incentive funds for good performers. Donors ought to give women opportunities to engage in off-farm and higher-value work and increase their business acumen.

Gendered ownership of aquaculture resources: Insights from two villages in Bangladesh

F&BKP Office — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 11:23:16 +0000

This brief (PDF) by CGIAR-Fish uses a gender lens to understand the nuanced gaps, perceptions and practices of ownership in aquaculture in Bangladesh. Ownership rights are crucial for increasing women’s decision-making power and empowerment outcomes, which in turn will impact household efficiency in agricultural productivity. In Bangladesh, however, there remains a large gendered gap in asset ownership. Ownership is perceived and experienced differently by men and women: women more often experience psychological ownership while men more frequently claim legal ownership. Factors ranging from property laws to age, experience and wealth also determine to what extent men and women are able to influence decisions. Finally, the study revealed gendered implications for women, whether they attain legal ownership or continue to experience psychological ownership. Recommendations in the design and implementation of gender-sensitive aquaculture projects are: 1) Projects should recognize joint ownership as a significant barrier to women’s capacity to innovate; 2) Ownership is important to combat women’s future insecurities. Projects need to ensure powerful owners are involved and consulted in the extension process so that women are better able to access and use the resource; 3) Ownership is linked to decision-making: women who contribute financially in acquiring resources or own a resource have better abilities to negotiate and to decide on usage and benefits derived from a resource; 4) Women’s knowledge of aquaculture influences their ownership, so transferring knowledge and building skills can have positive impacts on women’s control; 5) Since young women are especially vulnerable to ownership gaps, targeting them is necessary, and assertiveness, self-confidence and negotiating skills should be built into the extension process; 6) Social norms around what roles are deemed appropriate for women can hinder their capacity to use and benefit from a resource. Therefore, aquaculture projects should take steps to build family and community acceptance around new roles for women.

Equity, empowerment and gender relations: A literature review of special relevance for climate-smart agriculture programming

F&BKP Office — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 15:49:08 +0000

This brief (PDF), by CCAFS, summarizes the results of a literature review on equity, empowerment and gender relations for climate-smart agriculture (CSA) programming. The impacts of climate change are hitting all walks of life. These impacts, however, vary between women and men. Women make up most of the world’s poor sector. They rely more on natural resources, earn less and are more likely to become economically dependent than men. As a results, they suffer more from the undue impacts of natural disasters, severe weather events and climate change. The review found out that a wider and more equitable gender sensitivity is now seen amongst policy makers and local government, with a corresponding enhanced and out-scaled uptake on CSA. The issue of how climate-smart agriculture can advance equity and empowerment of women and their inclusion in disaster and climate adaptation programs could be addressed via community-level research studies (i.e., the engagement of farm women in the design, management, and implementation of enterprises in homesteads and family farms). The increased control of production assets by women and a responsibility (value chain-oriented) for establishing and managing links with markets is by itself empowering. Improved access to resources, information, markets and decision-making opportunities of women will bring them on par with men as equal partners in climate change and disaster risk reduction efforts. Applying social learning improved the adaptive capacities of women. The research impacts/influences on the institutional infrastructure (at community and local government level) will contribute to improved equity, economic empowerment and social inclusion of farm women and a future generation of young girls/women in rural communities.

Intra-household dynamics and dietary diversity

F&BKP Office — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 12:34:53 +0000

This technical paper (PDF) by SNV, the Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation, part of WUR (CDI), Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), summarises key findings and lessons learnt from applying an intra-household dynamics lens to nutrition. The paper focuses on unpacking how intra-household dynamics shape the links between production and consumption and how these dynamics affect the nutritional status of household members. Even though women play a key role in care practices and also as mothers, women do not always have the resources and decision making influence to perform these roles effectively. The results highlight the importance of longer-time frame and value of targeting different household members to change deeply entrenched norms which impact women’s decision making around what food is prepared. Furthermore, it is evident that access to and control over resources, and decisions made by certain members influence the distribution of food for the whole family. The paper comes with six recommendations for policy makers and governments: 1) Ensure that gender analysis informs the scope of nutrition programming within a given context. 2) Invest in testing and piloting of what Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) messages and implementation modalities work best with different household members to motivate positive change. Priority could be given to to approaches with schools to engage both boys and girls. 3) Invest in strategies to reach and motivate men. Engaging support from local political leaders could serve as male role models. 4) Invest in more research and learning in nutrition programmes to better understand the gender dynamics around the agriculture nutrition pathways. 5) Ensure routine M&E includes a component promoting regular learning and reflection on changing intra-household dynamics, and 6) Support capacity building of front-line staff and addressing intra-household dynamics.

A summary version with the policy recommendations can be found here.

Women’s empowerment in agriculture and dietary quality across the life course: Evidence from Bangladesh

F&BKP Office — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 14:51:42 +0000

This article (PDF) by the Food Policy journal examines the relationship between women’s empowerment in agriculture and indicators of individual dietary quality, in Bangladesh. The findings suggest that women’s empowerment is associated with better dietary quality of individuals within the household, but the strength of this association varies across the life course. Women’s empowerment is correlated with more diverse diets of children under five, but empowerment measures are not consistently associated with increases in nutrient intake for this age group. Rather, maternal schooling and household socio-economic status play a more important role for younger children. Women’s empowerment is positively and significantly associated with adult men’s and women’s dietary diversity and nutrient intakes. Empowerment does not benefit all individuals within the household equally, with gender bias emerging in adolescence. Results suggest the emergence of strong preferences for adolescent boys. These variations have implications for the design and targeting of interventions to improve dietary quality, particularly of women, children, and adolescent girls. Future research could focus on the pathways through which empowerment may influence diet quality. Policies designed to empower women and improve nutritional status need to be based on an understanding of which specific domains of women’s empowerment matter at different stages of the life course. A multi-pronged approach consisting of appropriate women’s empowerment interventions bundled with agricultural interventions and nutrition behavior change communication may be useful in improving diet quality of all household members. Social norms, particularly those related to son preference and old age support, affect the extent to which women are willing to use their bargaining power for different members of the household. government and civil society interventions should not only attempt to empower women as individuals, but also address structural and societal factors to make women less economically and socially dependent on sons, husbands or brothers.

Overcoming gender gaps in rural mechanization: Lessons from reaper-harvester service provision in Bangladesh

F&BKP Office — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 11:25:43 +0000

This policy brief (PDF) by Feed the Future explores gender dynamics in emerging markets for agricultural machinery service provision in Bangladesh. Custom hiring of labor- and cost-saving agricultural machinery services is increasingly common in South Asia. Results show that women benefit form managing and sometimes owning machinery services, as well as from the direct and indirect consequences of hiring such services to harvest their crops. However, a number of technical, economic and cultural barriers constrain women’s full participation in these benefits. For example, the lack of access to finance to invest in a machine, restrictions to be in public places to learn about new technologies and publicize the availability of reaper services, male operators refusing to work for women and a lack of family and community support. The policy briefs comes with a few suggestions to close the gender gap in machinery service provision: 1) Joint ownership and training to strengthen women’s business skills and self-confidence; 2) Leveraging women’s networks to expand the client base; 3) Well-targeted, smart subsidies to encourage women; 4) Leveraging credit, providing loans coupled with business support; 5) Group ownership of machines; 6) Mobile payments reducing travel time and risk collecting payments and; 7) Encourage men’s support for women in agricultural trainings and advertisements of machinery services. For reaper services, similar gender-based challenges are present: unequal opportunities to learn about services, gender restrictions in contacting service providers, and women are not prioritized by service providers. Joint learning, women’s groups, collective hiring and lower service provision costs are key. Others working on gender, agricultural technology, and rural entrepreneurship should all strengthen the inclusion of women, of example by considering joint ownership and training for husbands and wives, or by tapping into women’s networks to boost technology adoption.

What is the role of men in connecting women to cash crop markets? Evidence from Uganda

F&BKP Office — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 09:36:44 +0000

This paper (PDF), by IFPRI, aims to to shed light on whether an intervention targeted at men can achieve increases in women’s market participation in agriculture. It analyzes a project that sought to increase women’s involvement in sugarcane marketing and sales by encouraging the registration of a sugarcane block contract in the wife’s name. Programs that seek to increase women’s participation in marketing activities related to the principal household economic activity must involve men if they are to be successful. Overall acceptance of the intervention was quite high. Results show that men who are more educated and live in households with higher wealth and expenditures are more likely to agree to the registration of a contract to a wife’s name. Households with more cane blocks and in which the wife is already more involved in cane activities are also more likely to participate. Overall, take-up is high at 70%, and remains high even in those groups that are less likely to take-up. Additionally, blocks transferred to women are not of lower quality or value than those kept by men, though they are smaller and closer to the home. These results suggest that simple encouragement can be an effective tool to nudge men to include their wives in household commercial activities. It will be interesting to see whether a shift in block management also shifts the balance of responsibilities at home.

Empowering women in integrated crop-livestock farming through innovation platforms: Experience in semi-arid Zimbabwe

F&BKP Office — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 15:33:09 +0000

This brief (PDF) by ICRISAT proposes that engaging women through innovation platforms (IPs) in the inclusive processes of technology and market development can accelerate transitions
towards greater sustainability, food security, nutrition, education and health. In rural Zimbabwe, women farmers face multiple challenges such as degraded soil, lack of labor, inaccessible/far-off markets to sell their produce/livestock, inadequate supplies of resources (seeds/fertilizers), as also climate change-related issues such as frequent droughts and dry spells. Innovation platforms that support integrated crop-and-livestock systems and particularly increase women farmers’ ability to grow and monetize high-value crops and livestock, empower women in agriculture significantly. They can amplify their voice in exploring opportunities, find solutions to their challenges and ultimately improve their competence, confidence, and standing in their community and family. Market development can reduce gender inequalities. When women have better access to markets, inputs, machinery and knowledge, their position is reinforced. Their contribution to total incomes increases, as does their decision-making power and confidence. Sustainable development comes with greater gender parity in farm and household management. Gender-sensitive innovation platforms support sustainable rural development as they not only build more productive and resilient farms, more profitable and inclusive value chains, but also stronger families and communities. Farming communities, local government, development and research are beginning to realize the potential for economic growth and women empowerment. It is proposed to promote the cascading effects in a market-oriented context. Market incentives must stimulate farmers working together and minimizing transaction costs. Better organized farmers will become more attractive partners for the private sector. Governments should be convinced to reduce cost of compliance, and support and generate significant revenue from value chains. Innovation platforms are important to keep the dialog open among women and men farmers, traders, extension personnel, government and research, providing feedback for planning and adaptation processes in the longer term.

Women’s empowerment in agriculture and agricultural productivity: Evidence from rural maize farmer households in western Kenya

F&BKP Office — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 10:09:10 +0000

This study (PDF) in PLOS ONE examines the effects of women’s empowerment in agriculture on maize productivity at farm- and plot-level, where women’s empowerment may have differential effects on such productivity depending on whether a plot is managed jointly by a man and a woman, or individually by either a man or a woman. This paper documents a positive relationship between maize productivity in western Kenya and women’s empowerment in agriculture, measured using indicators derived from the abbreviated version of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index. Women’s empowerment in agriculture significantly increases maize productivity. Although all indicators of women’s empowerment significantly increase productivity, there is no significant association between the women’s workload (amount of time spent working) and maize productivity. Furthermore, the results show heterogenous effects with respect to women’s empowerment on maize productivity for farm plots managed jointly by a male and female and plots managed individually by only a male or female. More specifically, the results suggest that female- and male-managed plots experience significant improvements in productivity when the women who tend them are empowered. These findings provide evidence that women’s empowerment contributes not only to reducing the gender gap in agricultural productivity, but also to improving, specifically, productivity from farms managed by women. Thus, rural development interventions in Kenya that aim to increase agricultural productivity—and, by extension, improve food security and reduce poverty—could achieve greater impact by integrating women’s empowerment into existing and future projects. More research, using nationally representative and repeated data from Kenya and elsewhere in SSA, is needed to fully understand the relationship between women’s empowerment and maize yield.

Identifying pathways for more gender-sensitive communication channels in climate services

F&BKP Office — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 10:28:18 +0000

This brief (PDF) by USAID and CGIAR-CCAFS, highlights some key challenges to achieving socially inclusive access to climate information ad present promising pathways for developing gender-sensitive communication channels. Access to accurate and useful climate-related information is a prerequisite for smallholders farmers to use and benefit from climate services with respect to both agricultural and livelihood decision-making. Gender-based factors can influence differing access to communication channels for women and men. Restrictions in group participation, limited access to ICT and media, and limited levels of schooling and literacy can impede access of rural women to climate services. Four different pathways forward to develop gender-sensitive communication channels are highlighted. First, identify context-specific communication channels for socially inclusive delivery. An assortment of communication challenges that suit the varied needs of local women and men farmers should be identified. By identifying gender-specific needs and barriers to access, practitioners can ensure more inclusive and effective climate information delivery. Second, utilize women’s groups to boost information-sharing. The use of womens’ groups as a communication channel can address institutional biases and gender-based differences in access to group processes that limit womens’ access to technical information, training and support. Furthermore, women communications and gender-sensitive techniques can facilitate womens’ access to climate information. Third, develop media and ICT-based channels tailored to womens’ needs. Acknowledge the methods and circumstances by which women access information using such technology. Services must align with women’s livelihood objectives and include time-saving mechanisms. Fourth, partner with gender-sensitive local organization, to engage with existing sociocultural norms around gender roles and behaviour. Increasing womens’ access to male-dominated groups and environments may depend upon significant changes in social processes and shifts in power dynamics at different levels.

Gender norms and agency in the Ethiopian agriculture sector: Policy brief

F&BKP Office — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 13:46:41 +0000

This policy brief (PDF) by CIMMYT examines gender norms relating to behaviour, innovation, technology, and agency in four Ethiopian wheat growing villages. Addressing gender in agriculture is of importance since female household heads face greater barriers than their male counterparts. When people are held back by unequal behavior norms, their incentives to work harder are reduced because – regardless of the effort they put in – they will not succeed on par with those who are fully included by society. Over time, their opportunities and motivation reduce, and fatalism ensues. A key message of this brief is that investment in robust studies are needed to strengthen the body of evidence and facilitate gender mainstreaming in agricultural development. Further, restrictive gender norms remain one of the most significant obstacles for women’s agricultural innovation. Moreover, inequitable intra-household resource allocation affects food security at the households and national level. When women try to innovate they are watched more keenly and judged more harshly than men, and are less likely to be reached by extension workers due to social norms. Another key message is that transformative methodologies create more egalitarian gender relations and social harmony and should be used in the agricultural extension system. Lastly, strengthening women’s ability to make effective choices and transform those choices into desired outcomes will bring positive changes to household food security and agricultural productivity. So gender inequality negatively impacts the national economy, food and nutrition security, women’s wellbeing, and child welfare, but can be reduced by building on existing good practices and creating equitable learning and sharing platforms. As part of this, extension workers, policymakers, and researchers need to more comprehensively address gender inequities in their work.

Woman in agriculture, and climate risks: Hotspots for development

F&BKP Office — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 10:03:09 +0000

This study (PDF), in the Climatic Change journal, presents a methodology to identify hotspots where climate change adaptation and gender based interventions could be prioritized. There is rising interest among research and development practitioners to arrive at impact driven solutions in the field of gender and climate change adaptation. Climate change adaptation interventions can be better targeted by being linked with a type of climatic risks experienced by women farmers, their social profile and their needs based on the role they play in agriculture. First, female participation in agriculture is defined as the absolute number of females whose major economic activity is working in agriculture, which was derived by compiling rural level data. Second, three types of climatic risks (drought, extreme rainfall and heat waves) were mapped using gridded data. Lastly, female participation was overlayed with climate risks using a geographic information system (GIS). 36 hotspots were identified, including 14.4% of the women farmers. Socio-economic characterization of the hotspot population highlights barriers, such as labor, credit and market access, and lower wage rate for female farmers. The potential of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices to assist female farmers to adapt to climate change, while trying to address constrained they face, are emphasized. Furthermore, there is potential to learn from current efforts for efficient scalability of gender and climate change adaptation interventions. These results can be used as an input for planning gender-based policies to enable streamlining priorities. This may be done by including special provisions as part of the women specific state, or national level policies for the hotspot regions, or allocating resources for activities especially targeted at these hotspots. The hotspot identification needs t be followed by further examination of gender issues in each hotspot to formulate suitable adaptation options. Assessment of the socioeconomic characteristics of the hotspot population can help in further reforming interventions.

Socio-economic, marketing and gender aspects of village chicken production in the tropics: A review of literature

F&BKP Office — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 09:01:04 +0000

This literature review (PDF) by ILRI focusses on the socio-economic, gender and marketing aspects of chicken production in the tropics. Chicken production is the main stay of livelihoods of most rural households in developing countries, especially for the disadvantaged groups and less favoured areas of rural Africa and elsewhere in the world. Chicken production contributes significantly to food security, poverty alleviation, promotion of gender equality and assists in the mitigation of adverse economic impacts. Chickens are also key in a number of social and cultural functions, hence have the potential to increase social well-being. Large number of women in the household often with assistance of children, are actively engaged in chicken production, which helps them to generate revenue and/or complement the nutrition requirements of the family. Most of them used their own indigenous chicken breeds, and local knowledge of chicken management. Ownership of rural chicken, decision-making regarding selling and consumption was not consistent; sometimes its plural, sometimes male or women dominated. Project intervention that identifies and supports women’s roles in the chicken value chain by strengthening their decision-making power will help rural women to break the poverty cycle. Chicken marketing, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is not booming well, and inefficient. Biological aspects of chicken production (feeding and breeding) are efficient if accompanied by efficient marketing system, since it is rewarding to all agents in production, marketing and consumption of chicken. Therefore, an efficient marketing system has paramount importance in the chicken production. There are also some other constrains to the development of smallholder poultry production. Some of the main challenges include disease control, genetic improvement, access to production inputs. Policies and actions need to focus on reducing the constraints related to chicken production.

Empowering women in agribusiness through social and behaviour change

F&BKP Office — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 12:18:05 +0000

A publication series by SNV on the EOWE programme shares the experiences and initial impact of the first round of gender-transformative Household Dialogues conducted in Kenya and Vietnam in 2017. Gendered-specific behaviour and roles influences women’s decision-making power and control of resources and business assets. Tackling the inequalities between men and women in rural agricultural societies therefore requires a change in the gender norms that are at the root of these inequalities. To reflect on and transform restrictive gender norms and power relations, EOWE developed a contextualised Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) strategy in order to create more equal income and business opportunities and a socially enabling environment for women entrepreneurship in agricultural value chains. The SBCC strategy consists of interventions at household and community level. At household level, the programme organised facilitated Household Dialogues among targeted family and/or community members to critically reflect and discuss on norms that prevent women from fully participating in and benefitting from economic activities. The multi-country publication (PDF) reveals that the gender-transformative household dialogue sessions impacted on rural women and men in both Kenya and Vietnam that they are now open to reflecting on and rethinking gender norms. The household dialogue sessions also facilitated positive shifts towards gender equitable attitudes, relations and behaviour in the households that participated in the sessions. The couples indicated that the changes in behaviour led to substantial benefits on a social and economic level for both men and women, which offers motivations to keep implementing gender equitable behaviour. However, there is a risk that the women and men who participated in the household dialogues fall back in old behaviours if the gender norms in their communities, which affect the way people act, feel, and think, remain unchanged.

What happens after technology adoption? Gendered aspects of small-scale irrigation technologies in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania

F&BKP Office — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 13:10:09 +0000

This paper (PDF) in the Agriculture and Human Values journal complements the literature on gender and technology adoption, which largely focuses on reasons for low rates of female technology adoption, by shifting attention to what happens within a household after it adopts a technology. Diverse agricultural technologies are promoted to increase yields and incomes, save time, improve food and nutritional security, and even empower women. Yet a gender gap in technology adoption remains for many agricultural technologies, even for those that are promoted for women. Understanding the expected benefits and costs of adoption, from the perspective of women users in households with adult males, can help explain observed technology adoption rates and why technology adoption is often not sustained in the longer term. The paper develops a framework for examining the intrahousehold distribution of benefits from technology adoption, focusing on small-scale irrigation technologies. The framework contributes to the conceptual and empirical exploration of joint control over technology by men and women in the same household. The framework defines a bundle of rights: 1) Use rights; the right to use; 2) Management rights: The right to make decisions how, when and where to apply the technology; 3) Fructus rights: the right to the products, increase or profits of the resource; 4) Alienation rights: the right to encumber or dispose op property through donation, sale, destruction. In this study women hold management and fructus rights. Use rights seem to strengthen fructus and alienation rights. None of the women cited example of successfully negotiating for fructus rights. Efforts to promote technology adoption for agricultural development and women’s empowerment would benefit from an understanding of intrahousehold control over technology to avoid interpreting technology adoption as an end in and of itself.

A related blog can be found here.

Making gender work: Cultivating diversity

F&BKP Office — Wed, 16 May 2018 09:38:25 +0000

This magazine by AgriProFocus on gender in the agrifood sector focuses on the practical implementation of the available tools and knowledge. What are the obstacles in implementing gender strategies and how can we overcome these? What are the success stories and what can we learn from them? The magazine shares views of experts from all four sides of the Dutch Diamond. The magazine includes an interview with a member of the Task Force for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the policy on gender in development cooperation by the ministry. Furthermore, it describes a round table by three gender specialists that discuss the many ways to persevere and enjoy success in implementing a gender perspective in programs. Moreover, six tips are provided on how to seriously address gender in projects and programs. The magazine also describes cases studies that illustrate what different approaches to gender, can mean for women and the value chain. Finally, it reveals how business benefits from including women.

Gender and food loss in sustainable food value chains

F&BKP Office — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 09:37:27 +0000

This guiding note (PDF) by FAO aims to conceptualize and raise awareness on the nexus between gender equality and food loss while offering practical guidance on and tools for integrating gender concerns into the carrying out of food loss case studies and the planning and implementation of reduction strategies and interventions. By overlooking the importance of gender dynamics and operating gender-blind, food loss reduction may be less effective and even exacerbate gender inequalities along the food value chain. Linking key concepts from gender-sensitive value chain development and the issue of food loss, it emerges that gender inequalities affect the overall efficiency of the food value chain, from production to consumption, and generate a poor performance that may cause produce to be removed from the chain. In order to be effective and have a long-lasting impact, food loss reduction strategies and interventions must from the onset take into consideration the underlying socio-cultural factors and systematically integrate gender equality concerns. This guiding note suggests a four-step approach for gender-responsive food loss reduction including practical tools for its implementation: (1) Gender-sensitive value chain mapping and the locating of critical loss points; (2) Identification of gender-based constraints linked to food losses; (3) Identification of entry points and solutions for gender-responsive food loss reduction; and (4) Verification and social risk assessment of the proposed solutions to food loss.

How to do note: Design of gender transformative smallholder agriculture adaptation programmes

F&BKP Office — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 09:32:09 +0000

This How To Do Note (PDF) by IFAD is intended to provide guidance on how to design smallholder agriculture adaptation programmes that consider the differential impacts of climate change on women, men and youth smallholder farmers. This includes recognizing that programme interventions – from design to staffing to capacity development of beneficiaries and local organizations – need to consider how gender will affect sustainability and impact. The experiences, social positions and differing access to resources of marginalized populations are fundamental considerations in the design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of gender transformative smallholder agriculture adaptation programmes.While programmes designed with a deliberate focus on gender equality are better able to adapt to the needs of women, men and youth, a sound gender analysis conducted at the start of a programme can ensure that the programme’s theory of change addresses changing and contextspecific social structures, policies and social norms that perpetuate gender inequalities. A key concept is that a gender transformative programme is one that actively seeks to build equitable social norms and structures in addition to individual gender-equitable behavior, giving sufficient attention to the specific needs of men, women and youth, and their limited access to resources, including capital, land, time or even the right to make decisions. Furthermore, it is recommended to include a gender focal point with responsibilities to support gender-mainstreaming. Without a focal point, commitments to gender equality in the programme design may be seen as the responsibility of everyone and may, therefore, not be prioritized for action within the programme, especially in the early days of implementation in complex programmes.

Gender-equitable pathways to achieving sustainable agricultural intensification

F&BKP Office — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 09:30:23 +0000

This brief (PDF) by CGIAR-WLE has identified promising strategies for transforming inequitable social structures, norms and practices by increasing women’s access to resources, services and technologies as well as to decision making. The objective has been to enhance the ability of women to productively invest in sustainable technologies and practices and reap the benefits from these investments for themselves and their children. Increased gender equity in agriculture is both a practical and a social justice issue: practical because women are responsible for much of the production by smallholders; and social justice because in many cases they currently do not have rights over land and water resources, nor full access to markets, and often they do not even control the crops they produce. The authors have set up a number of recommendations to promote gender equity in policy or interventions. One of these recommendations is to invest in studying the social, economic and agroecological context to understand gender roles, the extent and depth of gender inequality, the main barriers to women’s participation, and the opportunities for promoting equality. These findings can be used during the implementation process. Another recommendation is to use systematic participatory methodologies to effectively support diagnosis of gender roles and thus enable decision makers to achieve greater gender equity. A final example of the recommendations is to ‘think out of the box’ and identify potential livelihood opportunities both off as well as on farm, for both women and men.

Gender Toolkit

F&BKP Office — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 13:57:42 +0000

This Gender Toolkit (PDF) of IDH was developed to address concerns of the limited possibilities for women to engage in supply chains. The toolkit aims to raise awareness, encourage, and inspire to integrate gender aspects into supply chain approaches. The toolkit illuminates the problem of gender inequality through case studies in different commodities. The first commodity is changing business practices to address unequal working conditions disadvantaging women, resulting in increased market share and reduced costs. The second is to improve sector governance. By accounting for gender in standards, policies, and public commitments, new markets, increased resilience of value chains, improved livelihoods and working conditions are achieved. The last commodity is increasing field level sustainability. By addressing women’s unequal access to knowledge, resources and decision-making through targeted activities and services, farmers and workers achieve increased incomes and better working and living conditions. Case studies are presented for each commodity to outline how improving gender equality has a positive impact on business outcomes. The Gender Guide (PDF) goes into more practical detail by outlining key steps to critically reflect on the role of gender in existing interventions or interventions under development. This process can be initiated by considering key questions throughout program implementation (Who does what in the value chain? Female/male farmers, workers, managers). Furthermore, there are 6 programming stages that have opportunities to address gender and the guidance provided: strategy development, stakeholder engagement, governance structure, proposal development, implementation and learning and innovation. The Gender Guide outlines these stages and sheds light on how and why gender should be factored into developing programs and interventions in all sectors and impact themes.

Gender and aquaculture value chains: A review of key issues and implications for research

F&BKP Office — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 09:32:59 +0000

This paper (PDF) in the Aquaculture journal aims to elucidate current knowledge of gendered engagement in and returns from aquaculture value chains. It presents a review of existing evidence on gender issues in aquaculture value chains along five key dimensions: gender division of labor, distribution of benefits, access and control over assets and resources, gender and social norms, power relations and governance. Subsequently, it present the potential results for value chain performance and potential upgrading pathways. Although aquaculture is the fastest growing food producing sector in the world and generates significant employment opportunities at multiple scales, men and women are not necessarily able to participate in aquaculture value chains in the same way, and benefits may not be evenly distributed between them. There is limited data available on gender and women participation in aquaculture value chains. However, existing evidence indicates gendered imbalances in all five dimensions assessed, with formal and informal barriers, including gender norms, limiting women’s equal engagement and returns. Limited evidence was also available for the impact of gender inequity on value chain performance. While the upgrading pathways as described in the literature may result in economic upgrading, they may have limited effect on improving inequity or social conditions in the chain, if they do not take underlying inequities in institutions into account. Concluded is that research is needed to elucidate practical ways to increase women’s engagement in and returns from aquaculture value chains through addressing formal and informal barriers to women’s control over assets, including shifting underlying gender norms and relations towards gender equality

Mapping cassava food value chains in Tanzania’s smallholder farming sector: The implications of intra-household gender dynamics

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 15:16:35 +0000

This article in the Journal of Rural Studies shows a gendered mapping of the structure and coordination of traditional cassava value chains in Kigoma, Mwanza, the coastal region, and Zanzibar Island in Tanzania. In contrast to global high value chains, traditional food value chains and associated gender relations as well as power dynamics within households have received little attention. The results of the study revealed that there are weak linkages within the cassava value chain, which is highly gendered. While production and processing nodes of the chain, which commenced from villages, were dominated by women and children, women were not well-integrated within high value nodes such as marketing in urban areas and cross-border trading, which were dominated by men. Transportation of cassava to highly lucrative markets was also dominated by men. Cassava processing was conducted at the household level as well as within small-scale cooperatives, with the major portion of this work being done by women. Supporting institutions were found to be involved in the supply of planting material, training, and the provision of processing equipment. In general, men played a prominent role in the control of resources, marketing, and income. In conclusion, the mapping of cassava value chains could help to identify avenues for understanding of poverty, enhancing food security, upgrading capacities, reducing gender inequality, and enhancing women’s participation in marketing and income control in the cassava value chains.

Women’s empowerment in the context of food security and nutrition

Ati van der Honing — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 15:42:42 +0000

This report (PDF) was presented in preparation for the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Forum on Women’s Empowerment in the context of Food Security and Nutrition. This forum brought together a wide range of stakeholders to discuss the challenges that remain in realizing women’s empowerment and to promote a shared understanding of the need to achieve gender equality and the full realization of women’s rights in the context of food security and nutrition. The structure of this background document mirrors the expected outcomes and seeks to support the Forum’s discussions by providing a context analysis, a thematic review of the challenges and examples of how they can be addressed, and key learnings and policy considerations. Four main thematic areas are identified as highly relevant in the context of the agriculture and agrifood sector: 1) Women’s participation in decision-making, public policies, partnerships and leadership roles; 2) Women’s access to and control over land, natural resources, inputs and productive tools; 3) Women’s access to decent working conditions and adequate wages; and 4) Women’s capacities to access markets. For each of these themes the challenges to women’s empowerment as well as strategies that seek to overcome these challenges are discussed. This report (PDF) discusses the outcomes of the Forum. It shows that CFS should recognize that achieving food security and nutrition is not possible without the realization of women’s rights and empowerment. Recognition of the right to adequate food and the principle of food sovereignty; support to women’s grass-root organizations and political will at the country level were mentioned as priority actions. Strong collaboration among the Rome Based Agencies was also mentioned.

Gender and social inclusion

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 15:23:01 +0000

This chapter in the book ‘Climate-smart agriculture manual for agriculture education in Zimbabwe’ (PDF) by the Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN) addresses the critical links of gender with climate change and agriculture. In Zimbabwe and the rest of the developing world, both women and men are smallholders, yet the role that women play is often unrecognized. Globally, women make up 43% of the agricultural labor force, and in Zimbabwe they provide 70% of agricultural labor. Women face structural barriers that create gender gaps and inequalities. Women farmers in southern Africa, as a result, face barriers in adopting climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices, including unequal access to credit, technology and agricultural inputs as well as capacity-building. The changing climate is poised to exacerbate these inequalities unless measures are taken to address them. This chapter demonstrates that climate-smart agriculture practices and policies will need to take these barriers into account and develop solutions to address them. Highlighted CSA case studies not only improve food security and increase incomes, but also benefit women and reduce gender barriers. Finally, the chapter emphasizes the importance of developing and implementing gender-responsive climate change and agricultural practices, and of mainstreaming gender into academic curricula.

Read also this blog by the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) which discusses the chapter.

Changing gender roles in agriculture?: Evidence from 20 years of data in Ghana

Ati van der Honing — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 14:29:39 +0000

This discussion paper (PDF) by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) provides a unique overview of changes in gender patterns in agriculture during more than 20 years in Ghana. At a time when donors and governments are increasing efforts to mainstream gender in agriculture, it is critical to revisit long-standing wisdom about rural women and men farmers to be able to more efficiently design and evaluate policy interventions. Many stylized facts about women in agriculture have been repeated for decades. This study uses longitudinal data from Ghana to assess some of the facts and to evaluate whether gender patterns have changed over time. There is a focus on five main themes: land, cropping patterns, market participation, agricultural inputs, and employment. Major gender issues persevere in women’s access to land as well as access to input and output markets. Yet once the entry barrier is overcome, women and men seem to follow similar agricultural patterns. Important variations exist at the level of the agroecological zone and women’s positions within households. The evidence provided calls for more nuanced statements about gender trends in agriculture. A larger openness by researchers and governmental and nongovernmental agencies is needed toward what can be detected from solid data rather than what is expected based on commonly voiced gender myths or what would be beneficial to successful fundraising campaigns. More up-to-date genderdisaggregated data that facilitate a more precise analysis and interpretation of gender gaps are imperative.

A qualitative evaluation of gender aspects of agricultural intensification practices in central Malawi

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 10:24:52 +0000

This evaluation report (PDF) by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Africa RISING aims to provide guidance in understanding gender dynamics in central Malawi. This is needed to improve gender integration in agronomic practices and technologies being promoted by Africa RISING. Focus group discussions were held with 148 male and female farmers and complemented by key informant interviews. As to how male and female farmers evaluate new agricultural practices, results showed that female farmers tended to evaluate technologies in terms of household food security (going beyond just maize availability), while male farmers more often opted for technologies/varieties that are demanded by the market. With regards to preferences for adoption of specific technologies promoted by the project, both female and male farmers mentioned a preference for adopting intercropping and doubled-up legumes, among others. However, men and women differed in their choice of crop combinations. Most study participants, particularly females, appreciated the mother and baby trial extension approach of Africa RISING as opposed to the government extension demonstrations. The former allows farmers to learn and practice on the mother plot and implement the technology in their own fields within the same season. The findings of this study make a strong case for the need for projects implementing research and development activities to gain in-depth understanding of gender dynamics and relations at household and community levels as a starting point for ensuring effective uptake of technologies.

Financing women farmers: The need to increase and redirect agriculture and climate adaptation resources

Ati van der Honing — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 12:34:47 +0000

This briefing paper (PDF) by Oxfam finds that governments and donors are failing to provide women farmers with relevant and adequate support for farming and adapting to climate change. Oxfam conducted research on government and donor investments in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania. It found that funding in these countries is significantly lower than commitments that have been made, and there is little evidence of resources and technical assistance reaching women farmers. Female farmers face two compounding layers of exclusion: as smallholder farmers and as women. Low levels of government spending on agriculture and climate change mean that the share of resources that women farmers can receive is already limited. Resources are being diverted to priorities other than smallholder farmers. The authors recommend that governments should support women farmers by: 1) Allocating resources specifically to women farmers, rather than assuming that resources trickle down to women. 2) Collecting gender-disaggregated data throughout agriculture and climate change planning and implementation processes. 3) Targeting gender-based barriers that restrict women’s access to key farm inputs. 4) Supporting the participation of female farmers in local budget decision making. Next to the focus on women, governments should redirect resources to small-scale farming. This can be done for example by aligning funding to areas with high levels of poverty and providing resources to local governments.

Counting the hours: The challenges of measuring time use

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 12 Sep 2017 09:56:25 +0000

This blog by the CGIAR’s research program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) discusses the challenges associated with collecting time-use data in developing countries. Data from Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) surveys in Bangladesh and Uganda are used to compare the most commonly used methods of data collection to measure time: stylized survey questions and time diaries. Stylized questions focus on a specific activity, asking respondents how much time they spent on that activity over a given period. In comparison, time diaries ask respondents to recall all their activities within a given period, such as the last 24 hours. The authors found that the two methods can provide equally accurate answers and take about the same amount of time to administer. Respondents often found stylized question more difficult to answer because they had to recall activities over a longer period. Most time use research focuses on how much time was spent on an activity. However, the authors suggest that future research should develop stronger methods to measure both the quantity and quality of time to better understand how time use impacts well-being. Careful documentation and comparison of these approaches will help to advance the multidimensional measurement of time, in order to identify what time constraints contribute most to gender inequality, and what policies and interventions can be implemented to relieve those constraints.

This blog highlights the paper “Measuring time use in development settings” (PDF). This paper is part of three methodological working papers released by The World Bank, which discuss the challenges of measuring key areas of women’s empowerment.

Women’s economic empowerment and agribusiness: Opportunities for the gender transformative agenda

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 09:07:41 +0000

This report (PDF) by the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development explains the extent to which donor-supported agribusiness initiatives engage with the gender transformative agenda. A methodology for analyzing agribusiness projects from a gender perspective was developed to review gender-related initiatives at the field level and in project management. The most common gender-related field-level activities were; developing women’s technical and business skills and knowledge; strengthening women’s voice and representation in groups and organisations; promoting access to resources, services, markets and employment. In contrast, the majority of projects did nothing specifically to address women’s voice in household decision-making and their well-being. Related to project management, most projects paid attention to the M&E system. Several projects had a gender strategy and allocated funds to support gender mainstreaming activities. Few projects paid attention to ensuring the gender-responsiveness of staffing, partners and procedures. At the agency level the authors recommend to use the methodology to review the agency agribusiness portfolio. As well it is recommended to introduce some of the more innovative field-level gender transformative approaches into the design of new projects or the implementation of ongoing projects. Lastly, it is recommended to strengthen the genderresponsiveness of project management to create an enabling environment for women’s economic empowerment.

Integrating behavioural change to accelerate women’s economic empowerment

Nynke — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 08:35:47 +0000

This blog from SNV elaborates on the how behavioral change within the household can accelerate women’s empowerment. For development interventions to be successful people need to behave and choose in certain ways. For example, for new advanced agricultural practices to provide benefits, farmers must adopt and use them. Behavior thus affects whether the provision of advanced farming technologies have the effect they are intended to achieve. Whereas increasing access to inputs, finance, markets and knowledge for female farmers makes sense in areas where access is lacking, it is also important to examine factors that could influence whether female farmers will actually make use of this access and benefit from it. To get a better understanding of the barriers that female farmers and entrepreneurs face, various gender studies were done by SNV in Kenya and Vietnam. These studies show that women entrepreneurs in agriculture indeed lack access to resources and business assets, but it also shows that gender norms and intra-household power relations influence female farmers’ control over resources and decision-making power in their households and the community. The SNV project therefore complements its business support and policy influencing interventions with activities that focus on transforming key gender norms and power relations that prevent female farmers and agri-business entrepreneurs from equally participating in and benefiting from economic activities. Both in Vietnam and Kenya, time-use turned out to be the biggest barrier for women to equally participate and compete in economic activities. In both countries, taking care of household chores is perceived a women’s job, with women spending four times more time on household chores than men.

The blog is based on a study carried out under the ‘Enhancing Opportunities for Women’s Enterprises’ (EOWE) programme, which is being implemented between 2016 and 2020 in Kenya and Vietnam with funding from the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the ‘Funding Leadership Opportunities for Women’ (FLOW) framework.

Gender mainstreaming in agribusiness partnerships: Insights from 2SCALE

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 11:30:43 +0000

This paper (PDF) by IFDC shares 2SCALE ‘s approach to gender mainstreaming, highlights case studies, and outlines lessons learned. Since its inception in 2012, 2SCALE has made significant progress in getting the whole program team to mainstream gender in their activities, for example through capacity building of women; interventions to promote labor-saving technologies; fostering women’s entrepreneurship and working with successful female entrepreneurs; and strategies to improve women’s inclusion in farmer-based organizations. However, there are still gaps and possible improvements to be made. These include the need for more systematic and detailed reporting on achievements and challenges regarding the integration of women into the clusters and value chains to draw additional lessons and improve further. Based on experience with private partners, 2SCALE also aims to make gender- and youth-related targets a non-negotiable condition for program support at the onset, not implicit/secondary or negotiated. Targeting smallholder farmers and SMEs is not enough; there must be an ambitious and explicit target for women and youth integration in every partnership. Moreover, building on the gender approach and tools, 2SCALE intends to develop similar methodology and materials for youth, aligned with the specificities of young farmers and rural entrepreneurs. Last, as any program has staff turnover, training and coaching of the field team must be continuous.

Addressing gender in agricultural research for development in the face of a changing climate: where are we and where should we be going?

Ati van der Honing — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 09:03:52 +0000

This article (PDF) in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability reflects on key findings from integrated quantitative and qualitative analyses at the nexus of gender, agricultural development, and climate change. The results highlight significant and nuanced gender differences in adaptive capacity of individuals and communities to respond to climate change. The gender gap is also substantial in exposure to climate change and its impacts, and uptake of new practices that lower vulnerability. Women in agriculture will remain largely neglected by information and service providers unless their differing needs, access to, and control over resources are considered at policy and project design stage. Agricultural development efforts that do not address persistent gender gaps miss opportunities for greater impact. Yet clear guidelines for addressing the needs of both men and women in different environments and agricultural systems are still lacking. Participatory ‘action research’ approaches with a focus on co-learning, and using innovative cell phone or social media-based approaches offer exciting new opportunities. Such efforts can further enhance understanding of gender and climate change issues, while building capacity in local partners. Agricultural development decision-makers and project designers need to ‘design with gender in mind’. Equipping them with tools and knowledge of innovative gender-transformative practices and intervention options and creating accountability for serving women and men will be key.

In this related article (PDF) in the journal Agriculture for Development argues for genderresponsive climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies to close the gender gap.

Challenges and opportunities for women’s economic empowerment in agriculture

Nynke — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 10:32:51 +0000

This blog (PDF) by Raymond Brandes from SNV elaborates on the challenges and opportunities for women’s economic empowerment in agriculture. Brandes is global programme manager of SNV’s ‘Enhancing Opportunities for Women’s Enterprises’ (EOWE) programme, which is funded by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the ‘Funding Leadership Opportunities for Women’ (FLOW) framework. Brandes states that over the past several years, there has been increasing evidence regarding the importance of women’s economic participation, both for the advancement of women’s rights and gender equality, as well as for the economic well-being of families, communities, sectors and nations. In the blog Brandes elaborates on the intervention strategy of a programme that builds on the Balancing Benefits framework which is developed by SNV as a gender-transformative, integrated fourfold approach which stimulates household and community dialogue to challenge gender norms that shape resource allocation patterns. Men are engaged in the dialogues too, and role models and community influencers are identified to act as change agents. Brandes argues that to make the shift away from “gender neutral” (but really gender blind) service provision, companies need to disaggregate client data by sex, so that they can identify and differentiate women’s market segments. Only then can organisations begin to understand women’s specific needs and constraints, whether they’re seeking access to farm equipment or financial services, and design and deliver products accordingly.

Gender analysis of women’s economic empowerment: summary of findings Kenya

Nynke — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 12:55:40 +0000

This learning document (PDF) from SNV describes the outcomes of a gender analysis of women’s economic empowerment in Kenya. The analysis was carried out under the ‘Enhancing Opportunities for Women’s Enterprises’ (EOWE) programme, which is being implemented in Kenya and Vietnam and funded by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the ‘Funding Leadership Opportunities for Women’ (FLOW) framework. The analysis aims to establish: the socio-economic, cultural, religious and legal factors that underlie differential gender position on economic development; the consequences of the differential gender position on women’s access to economic opportunities, knowledge and markets; and the opportunities and constraints that affect women’s effective participation in businesses, producer organizations or cooperatives, markets, leadership. Some of the key findings of the analysis were: women have a larger workload than men; women do not usually control productive assets; women involved in group enterprises do control assets and income, however the control and access to resources is affected by culture, literacy and location. In addition, men tend to advise women on what economic activities to engage in and men made most of the decisions on use of assets and incomes in households. Recommendations from the programme were, among others: reduce women’s time spent on domestic chores; develop mentors for women entrepreneurs; invest in group enterprises to bring credit within reach of women; improve access to markets for women; encourage male engagement in women’s empowerment; and utilize technology and innovative methods to improve women’s access to information on pricing and markets.

Painting by numbers: The big picture for gender equality

Nynke — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 12:25:51 +0000

This blogpost by Hazal Belford from IFAD highlights the challenges related to sex-disaggregated data collection and the limited availability of accurate statistics that reflect the reality of women in poor, rural parts of the world. However, Belford argues that the 2030 Agenda will ensure a focus on gathering reliable statistics segregated by sex. In the blog, some data is shared that is relevant to IFAD’s mission related. Subjects that are discussed are: economic empowerment, women’s workload, women’s influence, and gender-based violence. The post also states that there are no clear and consistent global statistics available on women’s land use and ownership and that the statements related to the statistics that are often used (for example “less than 2% of the land is owned by women”) are being challenged by researchers. Nevertheless, the data that is available does show that women are at a disadvantage when it comes to land ownership. The author concludes that while statistics are important to make a case and draw attention to gender inequality, data and statistics must always be seen in their wider context, factoring in the complexity behind the numbers.

Cultivating opportunities for women in agriculture

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 10:14:20 +0000

This blog by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) explores opportunities for women in agriculture using two national surveys of smallholder households in Mozambique and Tanzania. These suggest that women face several barriers, which may prevent them from diversifying their sources of income both within and away from agriculture. Their lack of access to formal financial services may be one of these barriers. In both Tanzania and Mozambique, female smallholders appear to be as active as men in the use of financial services, when considering both formal and informal finance mechanisms. However, women rely almost exclusively on informal options. This implies that it is harder for them to access financial products that informal providers do not offer, such as insurance and long-term loans. This, in turn, limits their financial options to make important investments and improve livelihood management strategies. However, the opportunity exists for financial services providers to design products and delivery channels that allow women to seize opportunities and thrive beyond what current financial options make possible. The national surveys also show that smallholders who use digital financial services are more educated than those who do not. Also among smallholders with mobile money accounts, fewer women use their accounts to access additional digital financial services. Policy makers must take note of such results and they must also consider the constraints women face in land and property rights.

Strengthening sector policies for better food security and nutrition results: Gender equality

Ati van der Honing — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 13:29:57 +0000

This policy guidance note (PDF) by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Directorate for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO) of the European Commission seeks to facilitate policy dialogue on how to synchronize gender equality policy objectives and food security and nutrition ones. The aim is to enhance coordination between the two policy domains, and ultimately enable women on an equal basis with men to realize their potentials as key partners in improving food security and nutrition. The gender and food security policy domains are generally disconnected: food security and nutrition objectives are rarely reflected in gender-related policies, and gender equality concerns are often missing in food security and nutrition policies. However, they both have an important role to play in advancing food security and nutrition for all. To overcome this disconnect, cross-sectoral collaboration is needed so that institutions and stakeholders working on gender equality and women’s empowerment become more systematically engaged in the food security and nutrition policy debate. This will foster greater policy coherence and ensure mutually reinforcing measures which can advance both the gender equality and the food security and nutrition agendas. Generating and disseminating evidence on gender-based opportunities and constraints is key to raising awareness and supporting the development of policies and programs that coherently integrate gender equality with food security and nutrition objectives.

This guidance note is part of a policy guidance series. Each note provides guidance on how to sharpen the focus of sector policies in order to achieve sustainable food security and nutrition outcomes. Some of the sectoral issues discussed are land tenure, livestock, and climate change.

The women’s empowerment in agriculture index: Results from SPRING/Bangladesh’s farmer nutrition schools

Ati van der Honing — Wed, 24 May 2017 13:29:53 +0000

This report (PDF) by the Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally project (SPRING) studies whether women who have participated in Farmer Nutrition Schools in Bangladesh are more empowered than women who have not. For this the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) tool was used. Although lessons in the schools did not specifically address empowerment, they did focus on indicators of empowerment, such as production decision making, community leadership, and control over the use of income. Findings reveal that female participants had higher empowerment scores than non-participants. The women in the schools also made greater improvements in empowerment over time. Although the intervention did not specifically target men, it is important to consider greater involvement of men to accelerate women’s empowerment. The end result is that both women and men gain skills around more than nutrition and food production; it helps women become more confident and productive, more empowered and better able to lead their communities. Thus, the authors recommend that other projects seeking to affect empowerment do so through a similar “bundled“ approach.

This research is also discussed in a webinar covering the WEAI tool and experiences with food and nutrition schools. The presentation slides can be found here.

From awareness to action: Knowledge sharing for more gender-responsive animal and plant breeding

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 15 May 2017 13:40:00 +0000

This action plan brief (PDF) by CGIAR Gender and Agriculture Research Network illustrates the type of strategic knowledge sharing in gender research, with the example of the integration of gender into animal and plant breeding. Many breeders in CGIAR are aware of how gender differences can influence variety adoption and the impact of plant and animal breeding programs. However, the problem is that not enough is known about practical ways to make breeding programs more gender responsive. During a CGIAR workshop on gender, breeding and genomics, the key features of a gender-responsive breeding program were discussed. For example, the target population should be clearly defined at the outset of the breeding program as well as the social and physical environment. Sampling should be used to ensure that the gender differences to be addressed by breeding are representative of social target groups. This should be followed by characterizing and prioritizing traits desired by different target groups. Trait values should be defined by measuring priority traits, determining whether they are heritable, and assessing the genetic, economic, and cultural trade-offs. Multi-season selection should be managed to identify the desired genotypes more precisely and to accelerate selection. For this, farmer-participatory breeding trials should be part of the process. During the workshop it was recognized that gender-responsive breeding programs depend on a collaborative approach to targeting, implementation, and monitoring that involves multi- or trans-disciplinary teams.

Integrating a gender perspective to help scale Africa RISING technologies and practices: Requirements for proposal development and implementation

Ati van der Honing — Wed, 03 May 2017 07:43:30 +0000

This short guide (PDF) by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) helps to properly address gender issues in proposals and interventions. The guide focuses on scaling of technologies that improve food, nutrition and income security, particularly for women and children. Gender equality is central to sustainable scaling since gender norms and inequalities within the cultural context of scaling, influence the uptake of technologies. This tool describes how gender issues should be addressed in each step of the intervention designing process. First the gender goals and objectives of the program should be set, supported by a gender analysis. Then for developing activities and approaches, gender should be either mainstreamed or integrated into everything that will be done. In addition, specific gender activities should be developed to compensate for women’s lack of equality. The proposal should explicitly state who the target beneficiaries are, how they are going to be involved on an equal and fair basis, and how they are going to benefit, preferably substantiated by the gender analysis. A gender-balanced team and partnering with organizations with the mandate and skills to deliver on gender are recommended. Gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation is central to documenting the outcomes of gender-responsive technologies and how these are achieved. The budget should specify the financial and human resources needed for gender-related activities, which should be at least 10-30% of the budget.

Despite hardships: Women running own households provide model of empowerment and innovation

Ati van der Honing — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 09:15:55 +0000

This blog by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) discusses stories of resilience, change and achievement emerging from the testimonies of women running their own households. These stories were found during a recent study exploring gender and innovation processes in villages in maize farming regions of Ethiopia, Malawi, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. It showed that many of the “unattached” women in the sample rated themselves as strongly empowered by their experiences with running their households and with managing their own farms and livestock and petty trades. Also, many widows innovate in their agricultural livelihoods and work their way out of poverty. These findings are consistent with wider trends underway in sub-Saharan Africa where women-headed households are experiencing faster poverty reduction than male-headed households. It seems there is a distinction between the more fluid gender norms that apply to widows and other women who head their households in comparison to the more restrictive norms for married women. One of the most unexpected findings is the disproportionate numbers of women who report heading their households in the study sample of women identified as “innovators.” The research suggests that women heads of households may offer entry points for strengthening agricultural innovations at the local level as they can provide role models which may help to shift local normative environments for other women and men.

He says, she says: Exploring patterns of spousal agreement in Bangladesh

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 17 Apr 2017 14:31:53 +0000

This discussion paper (PDF) by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) examines differences in spouses’ answers to questions regarding who participates in decisions about household activities, who owns assets, and who decides to purchase assets in Bangladesh. Participation in household decisions and control over assets are often used as indicators of bargaining power. Yet there is not necessarily spousal agreement and provide different answers to questions about these topics. Disagreement is substantial and systematic, with women more likely to report joint ownership or decision making and men more likely to report sole male ownership or decision making. Analysis of correlations between agreement and women’s well-being (including food security) finds that agreement on joint decision making/ownership is generally positively associated with beneficial outcomes for women compared with agreement on sole male decision making/ownership. In general, women benefit even more when their husband also acknowledges their role. This should encourage development programs to promote greater communication between couples regarding wives’ contributions. The results also show the importance of including women’s perspectives when collecting survey data. Given the strong positive association between a woman’s recognition of both her role in decision making and her control over assets and indicators of women’s bargaining power, the results support their usefulness in understanding intrahousehold decision-making dynamics.

Please find related research within the F&BKP on the influence of intra-household dynamics through impact pathways from agriculture to nutrition here.

Transforming gender constraints in the agricultural sector: The potential of social protection programmes

Ati van der Honing — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 09:53:09 +0000

This article in the Global Food Security Journal discusses role of social protection programming design and implementation to ensure gender equality in food security and agricultural productivity. Gender inequality continues to constrain women’s opportunities in the agricultural sector, both in terms of achieving food security and increasing agricultural productivity. However, investment in gender-responsive programming which promotes women’s empowerment can help to overcome these constraints. Results show that a large part of social protection programming remains focused on supporting women’s domestic and care roles and responsibilities. They also continue to reach women primarily as consumers and beneficiaries rather than producers. Part of the problem is that cash or in-kind transfers remain too small and/or irregular. They fail recognize the gender norms that limit women’s access to productive inputs and resources, which means that gender-blind programmes too often benefit men only. However, there are also important advances in thoughtful programming which supports more transformative changes in women’s roles as producers. These types of programmes typically recognize the multiple risks and vulnerabilities that women face, both in their reproductive and productive roles. They also aim to overcome these through integrated programming, combining support for basic needs as well as broader empowerment goals. The development of integrated programming that supports not only women’s access to productive resources but also supports women’s agency is therefore vital in future social protection and agricultural programming.

Gender [im]balance in productive and reproductive labor among livestock producers in Colombia: Implications for climate change responses

Ati van der Honing — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 08:30:21 +0000

This info note (PDF) by CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), provides an account on gender division of labor in livestock production and household activities in Colombia. Even though men and women undertake the production in the livestock sector jointly, the roles and responsibilities in livestock production and household maintenance are segregated along gender lines. In general, men’s labor participation is higher in pasture management, livestock care and management, production of meat and buying and selling of animals. Women combine livestock production, particularly, milk processing activities with the responsibility of household and care work. Therefore, men’s and women’s indirect contribution to the household and care provision to family members is crucial for healthy and smooth functioning of livestock productive activities, this must be accounted for in policy decisions, including those related to changing climate. As a response to climate change induced drought, men, and particularly women, are investing their labor in alternative sources of income to pay for water provision services to meet the water demands of their animals. For women who already face the double burden of productive and reproductive work, this coping mechanism may deepen their time poverty. These preliminary findings on the gender division of labor have important policy implications. The policy consideration of both men’s and women’s direct and indirect contributions to livestock production is crucial to avoid any unintended climate change policy consequences and ensure successful response to technology adoption.

Gender and inorganic nitrogen: what are the implications of moving towards a more balanced use of nitrogen fertilizer in the tropics?

Ati van der Honing — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 13:47:25 +0000

This article (PDF) in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability discusses the gender dimensions of moving towards a more balanced use of nitrogen fertilizer. For agriculture to play a role in climate change mitigation, strategies are necessary to reduce emissions from inorganic nitrogen fertilizer through more balanced and efficient use. Such strategies should align with the overarching principle of sustainable intensification and will need to consider the economic, environmental and social trade-offs of reduced fertilizer-related emissions. However, the gender equity dimensions of such strategies are rarely considered. The case studies cited in this paper, from India, Lake Victoria in East Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, show that the negative externalities of imbalanced inorganic nitrogen use in high- and low-use scenarios impact more strongly on women and children. Through a literature review, the relative wide spread cooperation in household bargaining processes in low nitrogen use scenarios are examined to assess the degree to which they impact upon nitrogen use. The authors suggest that gender-equitable strategies for achieving more balanced use of nitrogen will increase the likelihood of attaining macro-level reductions in greenhouse gas emissions provided that they secure equity in intra-household decision-making and address food security. Gender-equitable nitrogen use efficiency strategies will help to integrate and assure gender and social equity co-benefits at local scales. However, change will ultimately be reliant on significant shifts in locally specific deep structures informing gender and social norms.

Gender in the farmed fish value chain of Bangladesh: A review of the evidence and development approaches

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 07:29:19 +0000

This publication (PDF) by WorldFish analyzes gender relations in fish farming and value chains in Bangladesh, based on a literature review. To better appreciate the situation, it is important to understand the underlying social and gender norms that determine what women and men can and should do if the aim is to engage women, in particular, as more effective value chain actors. The authors state there are considerable differences in the ways and degrees to which men and women participate in the aquaculture value chain in Bangladesh. These differences are rooted in and perpetuated by social and gender norms and relations. These gender issues have received significant attention in the literature on the Bangladesh aquaculture sector, but have focused mainly on the producer node of the chain. The key gender differences are in the division of labor, access to and control over resources and benefits from aquaculture, and levels of decision-making power. Their workload in reproductive roles limits women from full participation, while a lack of access and control over assets and resources, as well as a lack of decision-making power, constrain opportunities and incentives for investment and upgrading. Many aquaculture development projects in Bangladesh have taken gender into account to varying degrees, although our review was unable to assess to what degree of success. The approaches used by these projects show a progression over time with gender issues and their complex nature being increasingly recognized in project design and implementation. There is also growing recognition that project teams must be well aware of gender issues and embody the knowledge and skills to address these in their work, and that project teams themselves should be gender balanced. New aquaculture value chain projects could benefit from these lessons and take them onboard from the outset.

Cost-effectiveness of community-based gendered advisory services to farmers: Analysis in Mozambique and Tanzania

Ati van der Honing — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 09:53:03 +0000

This discussion paper (PDF) by IFPRI conducts cost-effectiveness analyses of interventions that bring a gender lens to community-based advisory services in rural areas. Cost-effectiveness analysis subjects both the cost side and the effects side of agricultural interventions to technical scrutiny and unifies both sides in order to compare the relative cost-effectiveness of different modalities of a program, of efforts to reach different target groups or achieve different outcomes. Specifically, the study considers two programs: one in Mozambique in which such advisory services aim to improve sustainable land management practices, and the other in Tanzania to advise farmers on their land rights. The former enables the comparison of two modalities: a gender-sensitive and a basic modality. It was found that the gendered modality is consistently more cost-effective than the basic modality when considering varied outcomes and target groups. However, both studies show it is more cost-effective to improve outcomes for men than for women. This may be due to gender differentials in the depth of knowledge and literacy at the outset. Further a simulation of how cost-effectiveness would change if the program were scaled up geographically shows that expansion of the basic modality of the sustainable land management program leads to improvements in cost-effectiveness. Inconsistently, the gendered modality displays nonlinear changes in cost-effectiveness along the expansion path, first worsening with initial scale-up and subsequently improving with further expansion.

Inclusive development from a gender perspective in small scale fisheries

Nynke — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 15:14:30 +0000

This article in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability argues that gender inequality and discrimination challenge the social economic and environmental sustainability of the global small-scale fisheries sector in achieving inclusive development. The absence of a gender-aware perspective in fisheries research is often justified from the premise that fisheries are a male-dominated sector. However, millions of women are engaged in small-scale fisheries and their work has been systematically discounted and devalued. This article reviews the gender literature on small-scale fisheries to elaborate on the gender discrimination on; labor division, accessibility, and power relations, which hinder the sustainability and development process in marginalized communities. Ironically, women often contribute to such discriminatory processes in access and control of resources and decision making thus directly affecting on household and community well being. The article concludes that gender sensitive research can help to ensure that the conditions for achieving the sustainable development goals are met especially in the context of expected global stress on fisheries from climate change and development processes.

Coffee and cocoa value chains: Gender dynamics in Peru and Nicaragua

Nynke — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 15:49:54 +0000

This report from CIAT assesses women’s and men’s participation in coffee and cocoa value chains in Latin America in order to identify key considerations and next steps for the development of research, policy and practice on value chain upgrading for enhanced smallholder prosperity. In particular, the report analyzes the differential roles that women and men play and the benefits they perceive from their participation in coffee and cocoa value chains. It also considers the role of producer organizations in limiting or enhancing women’s participation and benefits from coffee and cocoa value chains. The report reviews existing studies of gender and coffee and cocoa value chains in Latin American countries in order to identify principal trends. The paper focuses on Peru and Nicaragua as two country cases. In general, the report demonstrates that while factors such as labor burdens, access to productive resources, and socio-cultural norms can limit women’s participation in and returns from coffee and cocoa value chains in comparison to that of men, varied initiatives have sought to address these restricting conditions via producer organizations. The extent and circumstances of their success in advancing gender equality in coffee and cocoa value chains will be an important area for future analysis.

Women in agriculture: Four myths

Ati van der Honing — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 15:40:27 +0000

This article (PDF) in the journal Global Food Security analyzes four gender myths about women, agriculture, and the environment persist. 1) Women account for 70% of the world’s poor. The main justification is the alleged predominance of poor, female-headed households, but it is not based on individual level data or analysis. 2) Women produce 60 to 80% of the world’s food. The kernel of truth in this myth is that women are important for food security. However, the challenge is how to attribute a share of the food that is produced to women as most smallholder production relies on the labor of both men and women. 3) Women own 1% of the world’s land. The myth embodies the truth that both the legal systems and patriarchal gender norms may prohibit or make it difficult for women to acquire and retain land. When trying to establish the numbers behind this myth, two challenges emerge: what we mean by ownership, formal land ownership amongst women is low, but so is it for men; and how to handle land that is jointly owned by a man and a woman. 4) Women are better stewards of the environment. The problems with this myth are that it relies on a selective reading of the evidence and it treats women as a homogenous group and simplifies the relationship between women and nature. To develop effective policies to promote food security, it is necessary to have appropriate data on women’s and men’s roles in food production and natural resource management and the gendered constraints that they face.

Agrarian transformation(s) in Africa: What’s in it for women in rural Africa?

Nynke — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 15:25:23 +0000

This article published in Development argues that while Africa is undergoing agrarian transformation(s) women are not benefiting equally compared to men. Transformations are characterized primarily by policy formulations at both regional and national levels that are primarily pushing for large-scale commercial agriculture, fragmented and excessive individual property rights and Foreign Direct Investments from multi-national agri-business companies. While rural African women in particular are posited as the main beneficiaries of these policies, the picture emerging is that of the privatization of the commons, privileging international, and to some extent local, private commercial agri-business interests over those of smallholder farmers, mostly women. The authors argue that these developments are promoting the rapid destruction of ecosystems and the increase in conflicts and displacements affecting the rural poor.

How to green food systems in a gender-smart way: A matter of insight and smart interventions

Nynke — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 12:55:16 +0000

This paper (PDF) by Groverman & Van der Wees elaborates on the relation between food systems and gender equality building on knowledge, experience and good practices in the field of agriculture, climate change, food security and value chains. The authors argue that since the current food systems poses serious problems of sustainability, a solution should be sought in greening of these systems which refers to investments to improve human well-being and social equity, reduce environmental risks and ecological scarcities. The authors use a model of gender asymmetries (in access to assets, markets, technology etc.) to increase insight into how gender inequality impacts on the functioning of food systems. For every asymmetry, the authors included good practices to address gender imbalances and improve social equity within food systems. Critical for any intervention is that it is grounded in the local culture and social context. That requires institutional capacity of companies, institutes, and organisations involved in greening of the food systems to ensure that needs, priorities, opportunities and constraints of female and male farmers are being considered and that both participate in interventions and development of new practices or chain activities. To address the gender asymmetries presented in the paper, the authors introduce a community-led planning methodology called Gender Action Learning System (GALS). The paper concludes with several interventions that promote a sustainable food system with a strong social equity dimension, in other words, gender-smart greening of food systems.

Developing gender-sensitive value chains

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 11:23:49 +0000

This report (PDF) by FAO tries to facilitate in the systematic integration of gender equality dimensions into value chain development programmes and projects. It raises awareness on gender inequalities and discusses the importance of addressing these dimensions in value chain development, while also building a common approach for work on gender-sensitive value chain development. The report brings together key concepts from value chain development and gender and by providing concrete guiding principles for the integration of gender concerns into value chain development projects and programmes. Despite the many advantages of addressing social inequality, gender dimensions often remain overlooked in agricultural development programmes. Value chain development practitioners may find it challenging to mainstream gender within their work, either because they underestimate or are unaware of the relevance of gender dynamics to value chains, or because they need technical support in translating gender equality objectives into concrete actions in the implementation of programmes. This FAO framework on gender-sensitive value chains aims to respond to this gap and provide technical support to VC practitioners and decisionmakers in developing sustainable and gender-sensitive agrifood value chains. It does this by providing concrete guiding principles for the integration of gender concerns into value chain development projects and programmes (the framework is complemented by the Guidelines for practitioners that provide specific tools to support practitioners in designing, implementing and monitoring gender-sensitive value chain programmes).

Towards gender responsive policy formulation and budgeting in the agricultural sector: Opportunities and challenges in Uganda

Nynke — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 15:42:25 +0000

This publication (PDF) from CGIAR-CCAFS focuses on Uganda’s approach towards gender responsive policy formulation and budgeting in the agricultural sector. The publication assesses, through a grading system, the level of gender integration of 83 agri-food policies and strategies at national, district and sub-county levels. The study also draws attention to the way men and women are characterized throughout the policy documents. While Uganda is progressively strengthening the gender component of its agricultural policies and strategic planning documents, a sizable proportion of policy documents remain gender blind. Gender issues in policies are largely equated to “women’s issues”, with women generally portrayed as vulnerable and marginalized by society. These stereotypical characterizations might reinforce gender inequalities and even become counter-productive. For an improved exercise of gender mainstreaming, gender issues in agricultural policies should incorporate men’s, women’s and youth challenges, opportunities, perceptions and preferences. Gender allocations in budgets at sub-county and district level remain low, with fluctuations from year to year and with sharp differences between estimated and actual budgets. The authors recommend the central government to encourage local gender planning processes and increase allocated budgets. Gender activities planned and implemented at district and sub-county level remain largely informative and need to be aimed at gender transformative strategies.

Exploration of cultural norms and practices influencing women’s participation in chickpea participatory varietal selection training activities: a case study of Ada’a and Ensaro districts, Ethiopia

Ati van der Honing — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 09:28:45 +0000

This article (PDF) in the Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security describes the reasons why women in Ethiopian communities did not take up training opportunities. In order to encourage gender equality in delivery of varietal knowledge to male and female farmers in Ada’a and Ensaro districts of Ethiopia, chickpea breeders set a policy that each male farmer would bring along his wife to participatory varietal selection sessions. Women farmers did not attend planned trainings as expected. Using small-n approach, the reasons women in these communities did not take up the training opportunities were explored. Vignettes designed to depict the lives of a typical Ethiopian couple were used to exploring negotiations between husband and wife on ‘participation’ decisions. Short radius of movement, labour burden, sex of extension agents, intimacy and harmony in the home emerge as key factors considered by women. The authors propose dialogue between men, women, the old and the young to initiate transformation of gender relations to cede ‘space for women’, to build capacities to support chickpea production, and agriculture in Ethiopia.

Practical Notes: Critical elements for integrating gender in agricultural research and development projects and programs

Ati van der Honing — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 10:52:22 +0000

This paper (PDF), published in the Journal of gender, agriculture and Food security answers the question on how to integrate gender in agricultural research, development projects and programs. Gender integration has become a common topic within research and development circles. Most people now recognize that agriculture research and development must be gender responsive and must address the needs of both men and women, while recognizing and addressing the unequal access to resources and differential levels of productivity between men and women. As a result, organizations have developed strategies to integrate gender in their work and to ensure they are empowering women. More often than not however, most organizations have struggled to identify what the entry points for gender integration might be and how they can make the process more systematic and the integration more meaningful. Many organizations and programs have as a result ended up with gender policies and strategies that are broad, not clear on actions and therefore not implementable. This paper provides four entry points that provide guidance to research organizations or research programs looking for a systematic process for gender integration. Namely; 1) The focus of the research and expected outcomes; 2) Gender sensitive research; 3) Capacity building in gender integration and gender research; 4) Tracking and holding staff accountable for gender outcomes.

Investing in women along agribusiness value chains

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 15:06:18 +0000

This report (PDF) by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank calls upon the private sector to invest in closing gaps between men and women in agribusiness, in each stage of the value chain. The IFC sees potential benefits from closing gender gaps for companies. Due to the challenges the agribusiness sector will face in the coming years, there is a need to seize new ways of increasing the productivity and efficiency of agribusiness value chains. One solution to the challenges is to improve women’s access to assets, enabling them to fully participate in all aspects of agribusiness. The report focuses on four different stages of the value chain: 1) Input provision (provision of seeds and fertilizers, for example); 2 Production; 3) Post-harvest processing and storage; 4) Transportation, sales, and marketing. For each stage in the value chain, the report identifies potential benefits from closing gender gaps through reviewing women’s contributions and constraints and providing recommendations for the private sector. For example, gender-smart solutions in transportation, marketing, and sales include buying from and paying women directly; building on women’s strengths in indigenous, local, and organic crops; marketing investments in gender-smart solutions; and supporting investment climate reforms. The business rational is that this will lead to: concentrated supplier networks; transparent and reliable supply chains; and new markets for agricultural goods. The report outlines solutions for the private sector in every stage of the value chain, demonstrates the business rationale for making gender-smart investments, and presents best-practices.

The importance of gender in policy processes related to the right to food: The cases of Senegal and Togo

Nynke — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 11:35:14 +0000

This report in french (PDF) from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations elaborates on the importance of gender in policy processes related to the right to food. The purpose of the study is to identify potential entry-points for the development of activities on the right to adequate food in both countries. It analyses the importance of gender issues in key dimensions of national policy and legislative processes currently ongoing and that are considered viable opportunities to initiate or strengthen the implementation of the Right to Food Guidelines at country level. The study provides an overview of some key areas where women are generally discriminated against, that influence the realization of the right to adequate food in West Africa and explores the importance of gender issues in political and legal processes related to the right to adequate food for each country. It concludes by focusing on positive experiences that could be scaled-up and concrete opportunities to further integrate gender components that will contribute to the realization of the right to adequate food in Senegal and in Togo.

Summaries of the cases of Senegal (PDF) and Togo (PDF) in french are also available. The FAO has also published a similar case study on Cambodia in May 2016 (PDF).

Involving men in nutrition

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 11:53:45 +0000

This note (PDF) by GFRAS argues that it is important to include men in nutrition initiatives to turn around food discrimination. Men often have priority when it comes to food: they may eat before everyone else and enjoy the most nutritious food. Women and children can be left with smaller portions and less nutritious meals. This exposes women and girls to a range of harmful physical and emotional health outcomes. When women face food discrimination on a national scale, the human capital of the nation is put at risk. Integrating men in nutrition initiatives helps turn this situation around. By virtue of their power and privilege, men are in a prime position to tackle malnutrition in their own homes and in the broader community. In many households and communities, men make key decisions about what to grow and which animals to raise. They often decide what to sell, how much to store, and what foods to buy. However, many initiatives target women and girls, and ignore men. Women may learn a lot from courses on good nutrition, but excluding men means that women may not be able to act on their improved knowledge. Men may feel angry because their own nutritional needs are ignored.

“As a husband I will love, lead, and provide.” Gendered access to land in Ghana

F&BKP Office — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 08:19:40 +0000

This paper (PDF) in the World Development Journal, argues that gender relations are more than the outcomes of negotiations within households. It explains the importance of social norms, perceptions, and formal and informal rules shaping access to land for male and female farmers at four levels: (1) the household/family, (2) the community, (3) the state, and (4) the market. The framework is applied to Ghana, using the results from qualitative field work. Norms on household and family organization and on men’s and women’s responsibilities and capabilities play a key role in gendered allocation of resources. However, these norms and perceptions are dynamic and evolve jointly with the development of markets and changes in values of inputs such as labor and land. Theoretical models that represent the gendered distribution of assets as the result of intrahousehold bargaining should be revised, and extrahousehold factors should be included. From a policy perspective, laws that ensure gender equality in terms of inheritance and a more gender-equitable distribution of property upon divorce can play a key role in improving women’s property rights. Yet, their impact may be limited where customary rights dominate and social norms and rules continue to discriminate according to gender.

Transforming gender and food security in the Global South

Nynke — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 09:37:47 +0000

This book (PDF) published by Routledge and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) provides empirical evidence and conceptual explorations of the gendered dimensions of food security. It investigates how food security and gender inequity are conceptualized within interventions, it assesses the impacts and outcomes of gender-responsive programs on food security and gender equity, and addresses diverse approaches to gender research and practice that range from descriptive and analytical to strategic and transformative. The chapters draw on diverse theoretical perspectives. One chapter focuses on women’s participation in food marketing as traders of forest foods in Cameroon instead of the more traditional focus on agricultural production and farming. Another chapter focuses on rural indigenous fishing communities in Bolivia and uses a gender transformative approach to identify strategic entry points to leverage positive change. But the book also delves into the gendered adoption of technology in Eastern Kenya and links between nutrition and agriculture in Malawi. Other case-studies are from Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. The report adds important conceptual and empirical material to a growing literature on the challenges of gender equity in food production. An unique feature of this book is the integration of both analytic and transformative approaches to understanding gender and food security. The transformative chapters also document efforts to build durable and equitable relationships between men and women, addressing underlying social, cultural, and economic causes of gender inequality. Taken together, these combined approaches enable women and men to reflect on gendered divisions of labor and resources related to food, and to reshape these divisions in ways which benefit families and communities.

The gender dimensions of global value chains

Nynke — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 13:02:21 +0000

This report (PDF) from ICTSD elaborates on the gender dimension of global value chains since policy makers are increasingly turning to global value chains as a means of driving development, generating employment and raising incomes. However, the access and benefits from participation value chains are closely related to gender issues and opportunities are different for men and women. This results in gender-based segregation and constraints that exist to different degrees in all societies. Without a focus on these inequalities, the effectiveness of trade and development policies can be hindered. According to the authors, taking gender issues into account and addressing them is critical to harness the potential for global value chains to contribute to both sustainable economic and social goals. This paper seeks to integrate gender into the global value chain framework, to assess the gender dimensions of integration and economic and social upgrading in global value chains, and to offer global value chain related policy recommendations that support economic and social development.

Gender dimensions on farmers’ preferences for direct-seeded rice with drum seeder in India

F&BKP Office — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 09:05:29 +0000

This study (PDF) by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), measures the willingness of male and female farmers to pay for climate-smart technology in rice. Rice is the most important crop in India in terms of area, production,and consumption. It is also the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions among all crops. Direct-seeded rice (DSR)with drum seeder, a climate-smart technology, requires less labor and water and is more climate friendly than transplanted rice; yet, its adoption is slow in India. The authors of this study carried out a discrete choice experiment with 666 farmers from the Palghar and Thane districts of Maharashtra to measure their willingness to pay for drum seeders—a key piece of equipment for adopting DSR. Both male and female farmers were surveyed to capture the heterogeneity in their valuation of the key attributes of drumseeders. Although both male and female farmers prefer cheaper drum seeders, the marginal valuation of different attributes of the drum seeder varies by the farmers’ gender. The authors also used the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), developed by IFPRI, to collect self-reported data on the role and say of women in agriculture. The respective gender roles in the family and on the farm seem to explain some of this difference. Men have a greater say over how the family spends the cash. Accordingly, men tend to have a higher willingness to pay for attributes that increase income (increase in yield) or reduce cash costs (reduction in the seedrate). Women contribute a large share of the labor for transplanting rice, much of whichis unpaid work on family farms. Not surprisingly, therefore, women seem to value labor saving significantly more than their male counterparts. Further, theWEAI data show that although men in the family have more say, women do have an influence on decisions regarding crop production and the adoption of new technologies,to an extent. Therefore, to enhance the adoption of drum seeders, the product designers and extension workers should also target women.

Assessing gender inequality in food security among smallholder farm households in urban and rural South Africa

F&BKP Office — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:15:57 +0000

This study in the World Development Journal, extends existing knowledge on household food (in)security by assessing gender inequality among smallholder farm households in urban and rural areas of South Africa. In doing-so, the authors use the gender of the head of household and treatment effects framework. With the ongoing changes in climate, household food insecurity is likely to be more widespread in most smallholder and subsistence farm households in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the existence and extent of gendered household food security—or lack thereof—remains unclear. The results show that male-headed households are more food secure compared to female-headed households, with the latter depending more on agriculture to increase household food levels. They further find that the household food security gap between male- and female-headed households is wider in rural than in urban areas, where rural male- and female-headed households are more likely to report chronic food insecurity, i.e., are more likely than their urban counterparts to experience hunger. Interestingly, the effects of climatic characteristics on household food security are more apparent in rural than in urban areas. Their findings suggest that household food security initiatives are likely to be more effective, in closing the gender gap in household food security, if aligned with policies on urban and rural agriculture and development.

Gender-based constraints and opportunities to agricultural intensification in Ethiopia

Ati van der Honing — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 07:11:56 +0000

This literature review (PDF) by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) provides a holistic perspective of the stock and interaction between the capitals required by men and women farmers for effective engagement in agricultural intensification in Ethiopia. Although land reform has enhanced women’s access to land, participation in decision-making and asset control are yet to be achieved. Female-headed household farm sizes are smaller compared to those of male-headed households and they possess less livestock. Women work longer hours compared to men, affecting their decisions to adopt time and labour intensive technologies. Due to cultural norms, there are discrepancies in access to information, extension services and credit. This lowers women’s access to farm inputs to invest in irrigation, soil fertility and land improvements. Women have lower membership to farmer-based organizations. When this would be higher, women can achieve economies of scale in access to markets, build confidence, and leadership. The Ethiopian government has plans to develop the agricultural sector and gender equality is one of the pillar strategies. Policy enforcement, transformation of gender constraining norms, gender capacity development, development of women’s social capital, increasing women’s access to and control over resources and benefits from their investment will minimize the inequalities.

Also see this article in the Community Development Journal that explores the factors of enhancing or constraining women’s access to resources required to participate and benefit from small ruminant value chain activities in Ethiopia.

Gender inequality in agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

F&BKP Office — Mon, 05 Sep 2016 08:28:45 +0000

In this study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (spanish only), the value chains of cassava (Belize), quinoa (Bolivia), corn (Guatemala) and the regional cultivation of cotton are examined from a gender perspective, to enhance their sustainability. The FAO study notes that participation of women is more pronounced in activities that involve time and physical effort, such as planting, weeding and harvesting. According to FAO, the strategic integration of the gender perspective in national agrifood systems can lead to a substantial improvement in the competitiveness of markets, particularly those where women can offer their products without the intervention of intermediaries. The gender perspective applied to value chains can recognize the different roles assumed by women and men in the various links in the production chain and their impact on countries agrifood systems.

Women in non production roles in agriculture: A literature review of promising practices

Nynke — Sun, 21 Aug 2016 08:55:01 +0000

This review of literature (PDF) published by USAID reveals that there are many opportunities to increase women’s economic empowerment beyond interventions focused on production. While there is a wealth of information related to women’s economic empowerment through production, there is limited available data related to best practices and promising approaches for women’s empowerment at other value chain levels. This literature review aims to fill this knowledge gap by examining approaches to empower women or increase their incomes in four phases of the value chain outside of production: input and service provision, post-harvest handling, processing, and the marketing of agricultural goods. Overall, projects at all four value chain levels tended to direct women’s empowerment efforts and activities through producer groups or cooperatives. The review states that there is evidence that interventions have successfully generated social and economic gains for women by working through producer groups of varying sizes. This literature review points to quite a few good practices that generate positive socioeconomic impacts for women. These include the creation or strengthening of women’s groups; strategies to increase women’s participation in mixed groups; technical trainings for women; the provision of post-harvest or processing technology for women; collective marketing; and the inclusion of specific gender trainings in post-production interventions. The review focuses on three specific value chains: maize, groundnut, and horticulture (defined as fruit and vegetable production). Projects span the continents of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Gender differences in climate change perception and adaptation strategies: A case study on three provinces in Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta

Nynke — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 16:18:01 +0000

The info-note (PDF) from CGIAR-CCAFS presents insights on current climate change perceptions and adaptation strategies and gaps between male and females farmers in three selected provinces across the Mekong River Delta (MRD) in Vietnam. Perceptions of climate change in Vietnam do not appear to be individual but rather dis-aggregated at the household level or possibly at the landscape level. The findings of the study affirm that there is no gender imbalance in terms of awareness and understanding of climate change issues between male and female rice farmers in the MRD. However, this study finds differences in the coping and adaptation strategies between male and female. Also, since the perceived impacts of stress by male and female respondents are quite similar, this may indicate that stress is managed at the household level rather than at the individual level. The authors recommend that further gender research in Vietnam should focus on adaptation and coping strategies during climate change stress as it appears that gender differences are most present in this area. In addition, they recommend to include spatial analysis in future climate change studies, since challenges related to climate change faced by individual households are likely to be the same challenges as their neighbors.

Intervention guide: for the women’s empowerment in agriculture index (WEAI)

Ati van der Honing — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 10:54:43 +0000

This Intervention Guide for the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) (PDF) by USAID provides guidance to donors and implementers of agricultural market development programs on how to translate into practice the evidence and insights gained from the WEAI survey results. The WEAI was developed as a direct measure of economic empowerment and gender parity at the individual and household levels. The guide assists practitioners in selecting and designing evidence-based interventions that are the most relevant to the domains of empowerment prioritized in the WEAI, using a market systems and gender-responsive approach. The guide begins with an overview of the WEAI and some of its recent evolutions and then outlines when practitioners should use the guide in the project life cycle. Next, readers will find an overview of the inclusive market systems and genderresponsive approaches that form the foundation of the suggested interventions, followed by specific techniques for how to operationalize market facilitation and communication techniques to implement the proposed interventions. The guide then presents the interventions, which are organized in five domains of empowerment. This is the second edition of this guide. It has been updated to include more examples of how to implement the interventions, gender analysis questions, social and behavior change communication techniques.

Gender, climate change and agriculture

Nynke — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 13:27:14 +0000

This special issue of Gender Technology and Development explores gender-based disparities in resource access and its contribution to uneven production levels between men and women. As farmers continue to develop methods of climate change adaptation, unequal access to resources could prevent women from adapting at the same pace as their male counterparts. Findings presented in the special issue demonstrate that providing women with engagement opportunities and adaptation resources will greatly reduce the variance in agricultural productivity between men and women, which currently range from four to 25 percent globally. For instance, research shows that in comparison to men, women have limited access to irrigation, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and extension services. Furthermore, the available agricultural technologies do not take into account the specific needs of women. Technologies that focus on large-scale agricultural enterprises, for instance, are often not appropriate for women, who are more likely to be in charge of smaller plots of land. The issue contains articles on the role of mobile phones to improve climate information services in a gender-inclusive manner; the importance of of the role of men in households and communities when improving food security and building adaptive capacity; on the possibly negative impact of gender-sensitive climate change adaptation technologies on traditional gender roles.

Adressing women’s work burden: Key issues, promising solutions, and way forward

Nynke — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 10:27:50 +0000

This factsheet (PDF) from FAO, IFAD and UNIDO discusses women’s triple work burden in the household, as producers and at community level. The competing demands linked to this triple role make women time poor. This affects their quality of life and decision making, puts their health at risk and prevents them from taking full advantage of economic opportunities through engagement in income generating activities. The factsheet also introduces good practices, like labor saving technologies (for example, water wheels), community managed multiple use water systems (MUS) and energy multi platforms. The last page shows how the approaches of FAO, IFAD and UNIDO can be complementary when tackling this triple work burden of women.

How much of the labor in African agriculture is provided by women?

Ati van der Honing — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 14:32:46 +0000

This article (PDF) by the Worldbank Group is a product of the “Agriculture in Africa—Telling Facts from Myths” project. It challenges the common knowledge of the contribution of women in Africa’s agricultural. The contribution of women to labor in African agriculture is regularly quoted in the range of 60–80%. Using individual, plot-level labor input data from nationally representative household surveys across six Sub-Saharan African countries, this study estimates the average female labor share in crop production at 40%. It is slightly above 50% in Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda, and substantially lower in Nigeria (37%), Ethiopia (29%), and Niger (24%). There are no systematic differences across crops and activities, but female labor shares tend to be higher in households where women own a larger share of the land and when they are more educated. Controlling for the gender and knowledge profile of the respondents does not meaningfully change the predicted female labor shares. The findings question prevailing assertions regarding substantial gains in aggregate crop output as a result of increasing female agricultural productivity.

Gender integration in research: So where do we start?

Nynke — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 11:40:13 +0000

This blog on the website of the Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security elaborates on the practicalities of integrating gender in research. Most people recognize that agriculture research and development must be gender responsive and must address the needs of both men and women, while recognizing and addressing the unequal access to resources and differential levels of productivity between men and women. However, the question often remains of where and how to start integrating. The author, Jeminah Njuki, presents four entry points that provide guidance to research organizations or programs that want a systematic process for gender integration. These entry-points are: 1) start with a good understanding of the needs and aspirations of both men and women smallholder farmers, fisher folk and/or consumers; 2) ensure that there are equal opportunities for men and women in research; 3) build capacity in gender awareness and gender research methods; 4) track and hold staff accountable for gender outcomes.

Promoting gender-transformative change with men and boys

Nynke — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 09:05:24 +0000

This publication (PDF) from Promundo-US and CGIAR is a manual showcasing 13 activity-based group sessions to spark critical reflection on harmful gender norms with men and boys in aquatic agricultural systems. While a lot of workshops on gender focus on empowering women, this manual focuses on involving men and boys and their role in enforcing gender-transformative change. The sessions focus on understanding the ways in which power and gender inequalities perpetuate poverty and harm overall well-being; taking action to create more inclusive environments for women in aquatic agricultural development; promoting shared financial and household decision-making between partners; increasing negotiation and communication skills via cross-gender dialogue; promoting men’s involvement in care work; and understanding how to stop cycles of violence, including economic violence. The manual also contains guidelines and recommendations for facilitation of the sessions. At the end of the manual, there is a tool to guide facilitators in the development of community-based campaigns, should group members wish to take action following the completion of their participation in the group.

Global gender and environment outlook: The critical issues

Nynke — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 13:05:53 +0000

The first Global Gender and Environmental Outlook is a report (PDF) from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that presents an overview of critical evaluations and analyses of the interlinkages between gender and the environment. It shows their importance for gender-sensitive policy-making and actions and provides an overview of existing knowledge on these subjects. The report looks in different chapters at the gender aspects of food production and security, water and sanitation, energy, sustainability, fishing, forestry and at cross-cutting issues, like climate change, conflict and health. The Outlook concludes with an agenda for transformational change and highlights the need for gender-disaggregated data and the gender dimension of sustainable development and policies. A transformative agenda should ensure, among others, that existing environmental an gender commitments are met by governments; that adequate funding is and resources are devoted to implementing gender-sensitive environmental policies; that women’s organisations are supported, and that men and boys are included into the gender-and-environment conversation.

What do we mean by ‘women’s crops’? A mixed methods approach

F&BKP Office — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 09:40:21 +0000

This ICRISAT study (PDF) aimed to revisit this issue of gender and commercialization of crops. They developed a ‘women’s crop tool’ that measures how much control women have over different crops. This tool was used to compare women’s perceived level of control at different stages of commercialization and to compare the perceptions of men and women regarding women’s control. The study reveals interesting insights from both a methodological point of view and in terms of outcomes on strategic, operational and financial control between women and men over 4 crops in Eastern Zambia. The mixed method of quantative household surveys and focus group discussions yielded starkly different results, which are discussed. And mechanization of groundnut shelling and greater commercialization did pull in male labor, but women did not perceive a loss of operational or financial control, although men challenge that. ‘The power to name’ plays an important role in household and community perceptions of power, as do gender roles, cultural norms and conjugal contracts in a balancing act for women.

What do we mean by ‘Women’s crops’? Commercialisation, gender and the power to name

Nynke — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 13:37:48 +0000

This article in the Journal of International Development gives a nuanced analysis of changing gender roles in the commercialization of “women’s crops”. The authors explore the relationship between commercialization and gender for groundnuts in Eastern Province, Zambia, using a mixed methods approach. Women saw themselves as having greater control over groundnuts than other crops, and both sexes saw groundnuts as controlled by women. Machine shelling and higher sales did not reduce women’s perceived level of control over groundnuts. On the other hand, women welcomed greater male participation in machine shelling because it reduced the drudgery of shelling by hand, and were willing to trade some control in exchange for the male labor required to capture the full benefits from commercialization. The authors argue that this suggests the need to re-think the narrative of commercialization and gender as a zero sum game in favor of a cooperative-conflict model where bargaining between women and men can result in higher incomes for them both.

Gender analysis training for EKN projects report

Nynke — Mon, 30 May 2016 15:56:04 +0000

This report (PDF) of an expert meeting initiated by AgriProFocus in cooperation with Dutch embassy in Ethiopia, highlights the importance of gender analysis in each stage of a (development) program/project. It also provides a practical four-step approach to integrate a gender analysis in projects. The workshop focused on analysing the sesame value chain, however, the lessons learned can be more broadly applied. The last appendix provides guidelines to carry out gender-sensitive value chain mapping. This tool is easy to replicate and use.

A crop of one’s own? Women’s experiences of cassava commercialization in Nigeria and Malawi

Nynke — Mon, 09 May 2016 15:07:24 +0000

This article (PDF) in Agri-Gender Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security elaborates on women’s experiences and the benefits from cassava commercialization. Improving the effectiveness of agricultural markets for economic growth and poverty reduction has been a central focus for development initiatives, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Staple crops with low input requirements and drought tolerance, such as cassava, are being promoted for market development due to their accessibility for poor smallholder farmers. Narratives often equate commercialization of cassava to benefits for women. However, little is known about whether or how women can engage with new cassava commercial opportunities and the livelihood outcomes from this, particularly given the importance of cassava for food security. Findings from fieldwork in Nigeria and Malawi identify cassava value chains that offer different opportunities and challenges for women, which are often overlooked in agricultural development narratives. Women can gainfully participate in new commercial cassava opportunities while maintaining, if not increasing, food security. However, this is highly dependent on gender norms and household relations. Greater attention is required to these more difficult aspects of gender analysis in development projects to ensure women’s integration and benefit from agricultural markets.

Rural women’s participation in producer organizations: An analysis of the barriers that women face and strategies to foster equitable and effective participation

Nynke — Sun, 01 May 2016 11:33:02 +0000

This review paper (PDF) in Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security analyzes the factors that hinder women’s participation in producer organizations, and identifies and documents good practice that can be applied by agricultural research and development institutions. In the last decades, participation in producer organizations has become a key principle of development, enabling people’s empowerment, inclusiveness, and facilitating democracy. However, studies show that women and youth often remain excluded from participation and leadership roles, decision-making processes and services. This review identifies several factors as major barriers for women’s participation, including: socio-cultural norms; women’s double burden and triple roles; women’s status, age and previous membership in organizations; access to assets and resources; educational level; organizations’ rules of entry, and; legal and policy environment. It provides strategies for strengthening women’s participation in producer organizations at the household, producer organisation, and policy level. At the household level, strategies to improve individual capabilities and intra-household relations were assumed crucial for promoting women’s participation and leadership. At the producer organizational level, strategies to ensure that the structures and governance mechanisms are more gender sensitive, and promote inclusion, are crucial. Equally important are policies for promoting gender-sensitive producer organizations. The paper also provides a summary of lessons, good practices and lists more strategies for strengthening women’s participation in producer organisations on different levels.

Gender, assets, and agricultural development

Nynke — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:14:16 +0000

This article (PDF) in the World Development Journal elaborates on how ownership of assets by women could positively influence the development outcomes at the household and individual levels. The research draws lessons out of eight mix-methods projects that evaluated the impacts of agricultural development projects on individual and household assets. The projects were done in seven countries in Africa and South Asia. The results show that assets both affect and are affected by projects, indicating that it is both feasible and important to consider assets in the design, implementation, and evaluation of projects. All projects were associated with increases in asset levels and other benefits at the household level; however, only four projects documented significant, positive impacts on women’s ownership or control of some types of assets relative to a control group. Of those projects only one project provided evidence of a reduction in the gender asset gap. The quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that greater attention to gender and assets by researchers and development practitioners could improve outcomes for women in future projects.

Gender, agriculture and water insecurity

Nynke — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 10:29:08 +0000

This report (PDF) published by ODI links gender to agriculture and water insecurity, using desk research and two case studies in Malawi and Ethiopia. The report explains how and why improved water management on the farm matters for women and girls, and what can be done to better support opportunities for them, as well as for men and boys, in the face of climate change. Rural female farmers are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate variability and water insecurity. Thus, policy and programme implementation for water insecurity must consider social norms around gender and other drivers of inequality. Too often, policies and programmes on agricultural water management are gender blind and don’t consider women’s unique needs and experiences. The authors identify three areas where gender-focused programming needs to address the unique vulnerabilities of women to water (in)security: 1) Women are often at the pinch point of water-related tasks in the home and on the farm, with pressure intensifying around seasonal periods of scarcity in many developing countries; 2) Compared to men, women may have less access to or control of assets that can be used to buffer against the effects of rainfall variability; 3) Women often have fewer opportunities to pursue off-farm work or migrate to urban areas as a temporary coping strategy for seasonal food and income shortages, or for shortages caused by droughts and floods.

Bringing gender analysis and resilience analysis together in small scale fisheries research: Challenges and opportunities

Nynke — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:09:54 +0000

This working paper (PDF) from the University of East Anglia scrutinizes the challenges and opportunities for bringing a gender analysis together with an analysis of social-ecological resilience in the context of policy-orientated small-scale fisheries research. The authors argue that whilst the analysis of social-ecological resilience has made valuable contributions to integrating social dimensions into research and policy-making on natural resource management, it has so far demonstrated limited success in effectively integrating considerations of gender equity. They argue that gender analysis and the analysis of social-ecological resilience have divergent epistemological and methodological underpinnings and show how these have shaped the progress in social-ecological resilience analysis in addressing gender, as well as the progress of gender analysis in addressing social-ecological resilience. The authors conclude that rather than searching for a single unifying framework for gender and resilience analysis, it will be more effective to pursue a plural solution in which closer engagement is fostered between gender analysis and resilience analysis whilst preserving the strengths of each approach. The authors believe that fostering constructive debate between analyses of gender and social-ecological resilience has the potential to generate a richer understanding of the ways in which gendered power relations mediate social-ecological resilience.

Food security, gender and resilience: Improving smallholder and subsistence farming

Nynke — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 15:14:08 +0000

This book published by Routledge focuses on how food security and resilience can improve smallholder and subsistence farming and how integration of gender can accommodate this. Through the integration of gender analysis into resilience thinking, this book shares field-based research insights from a collaborative, integrated project aimed at improving food security in subsistence and smallholder agricultural systems. The scope of the book is both local and multi-scalar. The gendered resilience framework, illustrated with detailed case studies from semi-arid Kenya, is shown to be suitable for use in analysis in other geographic regions and across disciplines. The book examines the importance of gender equity to the strengthening of socio-ecological resilience. Case studies reflect multidisciplinary perspectives and focus on a range of issues, from micro-finance to informal seed systems. The book’s gender perspective also incorporates consideration of age or generational relations and cultural dimensions in order to embrace the complexity of existing socio-economic realities in rural farming communities. The issue of succession of farmland has become a general concern, both to farmers and to researchers focused on building resilient farming systems. Building resilience here is shown to involve strengthening households’ and communities’ overall livelihood capabilities in the face of ongoing climate change, global market volatility and political instability.

The way forward: Accelerating gender equity in coffee value chains

Nynke — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 15:39:44 +0000

This report (PDF) from the Coffee Quality Institute tries to respond to key concerns related for addressing gender equity in coffee supply chains and aims to share learning on challenges and best practices. It proposes recommendations for individual companies, public-private partnerships and the coffee industry as a whole, to create a foundation for industry-wide collaboration towards a more resilient coffee supply chain through greater gender equity. An estimated 25 million smallholder coffee farmers produce 80 percent of the world’s coffee. Women do much of the work on smallholder coffee farms, however, despite their contributions they are often excluded from decision-making processes and have less access to resources (land, credit, agricultural inputs, training, information, and leadership opportunities). While some efforts have been made within the coffee industry to address gender equity and women’s empowerment, they are not widespread and systemic. Much more can be done by adapting existing policies, practices, and projects to become more gender aware and equitable, and by investing in programs to improve gender equity. This practical guide provides guidelines, discusses the enabling factors and proposes next steps for partnerships.

Gender, nutrition, and the human right to adequate food: Toward an inclusive framework

Nynke — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 16:25:54 +0000

This book published by Routledge links the themes of gender, nutrition and the human right to adequate food and proposes an inclusive food sovereignty framework. The authors argue that the human right to adequate food and nutrition are evolving concept and identifies two structural “disconnects” that fuel food insecurity for a billion people, and disproportionally affecting women, children, and rural food producers. These are the separation of women’s rights from their right to adequate food and nutrition, and the fragmented attention to food as commodity and the medicalization of nutritional health. Three conditions arising from these disconnects are discussed: structural violence and discrimination frustrating the realization of women’s human rights, as well as their private and public contributions to food and nutrition security for all; many women’s experience of their and their children’s simultaneously independent and intertwined subjectivities during pregnancy and breastfeeding being poorly understood in human rights law and abused by poorly-regulated food and nutrition industry marketing practices; and the neoliberal economic system’s interference both with the autonomy and self-determination of women and their communities and with the strengthening of sustainable diets based on democratically governed local food systems. The book calls for a social movement-led reconceptualization of the right to adequate food toward incorporating gender, women’s rights, and nutrition, based on the food sovereignty framework.

Are there nutritional trade-offs in increasing women’s time in agriculture?

Nynke — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:29:15 +0000

This blog on AgriLinks from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) elaborates on the linkages between women’s engagement in farming and nutrition within rural households. Many studies have shown that one way to improve nutrition among rural households is to increase women’s engagement in farming since increasing women’s control of food production and their power to make decisions, leads to better nutrition for their families. However, increasing women’s time in agriculture may also have adverse effects on their own and their families’ nutrition, taking time away from nutrition-improving domestic work such as preparing food, feeding, childcare, collecting water and firewood, and engaging in good hygiene and sanitation practices. Using time use and nutrition data from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Mozambique, and Nepal, the author argues that there is a difference between asset-rich and asset-poor households. When women in poor households sacrifice domestic and cooking work to other tasks, the quality of their diet—and that of their children—suffers. However, in non asset-poor households, children’s dietary diversity was less sensitive to changes in women’s time in cooking or domestic chores. The author concludes that those designing agricultural interventions should assess the gender roles in agricultural and domestic work, including identifying who controls what in the agricultural process to avoid unintended consequences on nutrition.

Bringing agriculture and nutrition together using a gender lens

Nynke — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 16:41:16 +0000

This paper (PDF) from the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and SNV is a background paper to the Nutrition and Gender Sensitive Agriculture (NGSA) Toolkit. The paper refers to the current discussions on linking food and nutrition security at program level. It looks at the discussions from a gender lens, and how this demands for a different way of program planning. It shows the need to plan programs based on knowledge of the current realities of men and women in a particular context and time. To facilitate this kind of program planning, the toolkit promotes an integrated approach to understand under-nutrition through linking different sectors -namely agriculture, nutrition, WASH- using a gender lens. The toolkit uses qualitative methods and allows for the development of a common approach, while at the same time providing insights for developing context-specific interventions. Therefore, the added value is that methods can be applied and adapted to any context, but may lead to tailor-made interventions. The toolkit is primarily intended for use by field staff engaged in designing, planning and implementing nutrition-sensitive agriculture programmes. The online toolkit consists of eight steps, each providing key questions to consider at different stages of program development, and each including an appropriate combination of data collection, analysis, and community consultation methods. The overall approach is highly participatory, and all steps work towards a community action plan.

Women forging change with agroecology

Nynke — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 14:33:18 +0000

This issue (PDF) of Farming Matters presents stories about women from who forge positive change through agro-ecology on their farms and in their communities. While around the world women leverage change in their communities using agroecological approaches, only little has been written about it. This issue of Farming Matters presents stories and analyses of agro-ecology as a strategy for women to create safe, healthy and just societies. The issue features expert opinions of Pablo Tittonell and Hanny van Geel, but also displays stories from women’s leaders in Asia and Africa, from women working with System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and showcases several agro-ecology initiatives of women in Nepal, Tanzania, Ecuador and Congo. It also includes an article with recommendations for policy-makers to ensure smallholder farmers -especially women- participate in decision-making and can ensure their priorities are reflected in appropriate agricultural policies. In the different articles the links between women empowerment, agro-ecology and food security are paramount.

African rural women hold the key to climate change resilience

Nynke — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 15:24:39 +0000

This report (PDF) by the African Biodiversity Network, The Gaia Foundation and Africa Women’s Development Fund shows the central role of African rural women within agricultural systems and their contribution to diversity, climate change resilience and nutrition. The report focuses on the role of women in knowledge systems of seeds and the challenges they face from agri-business practices and seed monopoly laws. It elaborates on how the complexity of this knowledge has evolved through women’s relationship with land and seed, and their understanding of the nutritional and cultural needs of the family and community. The report highlights how more corporate-driven policies in seed and agriculture, embraced by most African governments, are challenging women’s position in agriculture and their access to seeds. The harmonisation of seed law in Africa seems to favor a select group of corporation and disregard rural women’s role as custodians of seed, land and livelihoods. The report demonstrates that women are able to rebuild resilience through reviving and enhancing their seed and food diversity and their knowledge systems. The authors also appeals for urgent action to support women community leaders and conserve the knowledge they have. Also, they suggest a stronger link is needed between social movements and rural women to ensure their positions are defended.

Enhancing the potential of family farming for poverty reduction and food security through gender-sensitive rural advisory services

Nynke — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 14:55:32 +0000

This paper (PDF) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) elaborates on the role of gender-sensitive rural advisory services (RAS) in addressing gender inequalities. RAS programmes have often fallen short of expectations to design and implement relevant services to help rural women and men achieve food security and generate more income. This paper is based on an examination of a broad selection of existing literature on gender-sensitive RAS. It looks at gender-differentiated barriers in access to RAS and challenges of effectively targeting women family farmers when delivering these services. Examples of good practices are provided that have been successful in responding to women farmers’ specific requirements in supporting their economic empowerment. The paper provides recommendations on what can be done to improve the gender-sensitivity of RAS. It offers a reflection on actions needed to ensure that good practices and lessons learnt translate into the design and provision of demand-driven and gender-sensitive RAS for improved food security and poverty reduction.

Cultivating equality: Delivering just and sustainable food systems in a changing climate

Nynke — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 13:56:23 +0000

This report (PDF) from Food Tank, CARE International and the CGIAR Research program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) shows how inequality determines diets around the world and shapes the ability of farmers to adapt to climate change. Inequality determines who eats first and who eats worst, and how this shapes people’s ability to adapt to climate change. The report argues that solutions around food production are not enough, and demands more dialogue and action to address inequality in food systems. The report concludes with recommendations to actors like governments, private sector, donors and individuals: 1) prioritize women’s empowerment and integrate climate change in all approaches to food and nutrition security; 2) ensure small-scale food producers and women are included in policy decision-making on budgets; 3) commit to ambitious actions to tackle the climate crisis; 4) commit to scaling up of finance to address hunger and climate change; and 5) respect the rights of small-scale food producers and women.

Supporting women farmers in a changing climate: Five policy lessons

Nynke — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 14:12:24 +0000

This policy brief from CGIAR (PDF) tries to focus attention to women farmers in changing climates. Agriculture is one sector that will be particularly hard hit by a changing climate and to respond and adapt to global climate change, agricultural producers (particularly those in developing countries) will need to embrace new, more sustainable technologies and practices. However, when it comes to discussing climate-smart agricultural practices, one group often seems left out: women. The policy brief presents five key policy recommendations to better address women’s roles in both agriculture and climate change adaptation. These range from adapting new technologies and practices for climate change to women’s interests, resources and demands, to recognizing women’s capacities as farmers and innovators. The report concludes that in order to meet all of these recommendations, gender needs to be better integrated into climate change and agricultural policies across all levels, from local community groups to international governing bodies. Women’s needs and priorities need to be taken into account in the design of such policies, and monitoring and assessment of gender inclusion in agriculture need to be stepped up.

The cost of the gender gap in agricultural productivity

Nynke — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 11:38:11 +0000

This concise report (PDF) by UNWomen estimates the monetary value of the gender gap, its associated costs and the effectiveness of certain policies and interventions in agricultural productivity. The report focuses on the countries Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda. However, the analysis can be replicated by policy makers from other countries since the methodology and data used to quantify the costs of the gender gap and to determine to what extend different factors contribute to the gender gap are aptly presented in two Appendices. While women comprise a large proportion of the agricultural labor force in Sub-Saharan Africa (30-80%), they are consistently found to be less productive than their male counterparts. Women tend to have unequal access to key agricultural inputs, like labor, knowledge, fertilizer and improved seeds. The study provides further evidence that reducing the gender gap could translate into significant poverty reduction and improved nutritional outcomes. The report provides a unique quantification of the costs in terms of lost growth opportunities and an estimate of what societies, economies and communities would gain were the gender gaps in agriculture to be addressed. The authors estimate that the gender gap amounts to US$100 million in Malawi, US$105 million in Tanzania, and US$67 million in Uganda per year. The report also provides guidance as to the factors that must be targeted in order to close the gender gap by improving opportunities for women farmers. It concludes with a set of general policy recommendations on how women’s empowerment, agriculture productivity and economic growth can be addressed in an integrated manner and thereby contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level. The report is accompanied by a policy brief (PDF) and also presented as a poster (PDF).

Identifying women farmers: Informal gender norms as institutional barriers to recognizing women’s contributions to agriculture

Nynke — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 14:46:15 +0000

This article (PDF) in the Journal of Gender, Agriculture, and Food Security elaborates on the challenges of collecting sex-disaggregated data. While sex-disaggregated data collection is seen as an important step towards understanding women’s contributions to agriculture and including a gender perspective in agricultural research, social norms both in farming communities and research organizations often limit the amount of data collected from women. This reinforces the notion that women are not farmers or producers. This is especially true for male-dominated crops, such as rice in Latin America. This article draws on experiences of collecting sex-disaggregated data about rice production in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. The authors found that women as well as research-staff often disqualify women as farmers and therefore women are not interviewed. However, the data that does exist, collected mostly from men, indicates that women play significant roles in rice production. Several recommendations to include women’s perspective in research are presented, like working with more gender sensitive sample designs and including gender researchers who are aware of the barriers in collecting sex-disaggregated data. The authors argue that for gender and agricultural research, it is important to recognize how gender-norms-as-institutions impact data collection and how this limits our knowledge of women’s contributions to agricultural production and gender differences in agriculture. This research shows how gender norms are institutions that are embodied in specific actors and constrain our understanding of women’s roles in agriculture.

How resilient are farming households and communities to a changing climate in Africa? A gender-based perspective

Nynke — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 15:40:03 +0000

This article (PDF) in Global Environmental Change uses a gender-based perspective to assess the conditions that underlie vulnerability and resilience of households and communities that face climate-change. The authors utilized a feminist political ecology framework to analyze how women and men are differently affected by issues of climate change and resource degradation. The research uses an integrated qualitative and quantitative dataset composed of household surveys and village focus group studies, carried out across a wide range of environments and agricultural systems and in nine East and West African countries. The compared the agricultural and livelihood systems of male and female respondents, as well as their productive resources, organization and access to services, and concluded that women have less access than men to common property resources, as well as to cash to obtain goods or services. Women control less land than men, the land they control is often of poorer quality, and their tenure is insecure. Women engage in mutual insurance and risk-sharing networks, and benefit from non-agricultural services provided by social support institutions external to the village. However, formally registered, public and private external organizations that foster agriculture and livestock production have tremendous anti-women biases, and tend to provide support primarily to men. The authors conclude that policies and strategies are needed to eliminate these prejudices so that men and women increase their resilience and manage well their changing environments.

Replacing gender myths and assumptions with knowledge

F&BKP Office — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 08:55:33 +0000

In this expert opinion blog, CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff speaks on the topic of ‘Wheat and the role of gender in the developing world’ prior to the 2015 Women in Triticum Awards at the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative Workshop in Sydney on 19 September. Kropff highlights “If we are to be truly successful in improving the lives of farmers and consumers in the developing world, we need to base our interventions on the best evidence available. If we act based only on our assumptions, we may not be as effective as we could be or, even worse, actively cause harm.” One example is the common perception that women are not involved in the important wheat farming systems of North Africa and South Asia. By recognizing and engaging with these myths, we are beginning to build a more sophisticated understanding of how agriculture works as a social practice, thus Kropff. There are only a few published studies that take a closer examination of the roles played by women in wheat-based farming systems. These studies have found that, in some cases, men are responsible for land preparation and planting, and women for weeding and post-harvest activities, with harvest and transport duties being shared. Between different districts in India, huge variations may be found in the amount of time that women are actively involved in wheat agriculture. This shows that some careful study into the complexities of gender and agricultural labor may hold important lessons when intervening in any particular situation.

Examining gender inequalities in land rights indicators in Asia

Nynke — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 15:41:42 +0000

This article in Agricultural Economics Journal examines gender inequalities and land rights indicators in Asia. It argues that while a broad consensus has emerged among policymakers and researchers that strengthening women’s property rights is crucial for reducing poverty and achieving equitable growth, only little data exists on women’ property rights in Asia. This paucity hinders the formulation and implementation of appropriate policies to reduce gender gaps in land rights. This article reviews the existing micro-level, large sample data on men’s and women’s control of land, identifies what can and cannot be measured by these data, and uses these measures to assess the gaps in the land rights of women and men. Utilizing nationally representative individual- and plot-level data from Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste, the authors calculate five indicators: incidence of landownership, distribution of landownership, distribution of plots owned, mean plot size, and distribution of land area, all by sex of owner. The results show large gender gaps in landownership across countries. However, the authors argue that limited information on joint and individual ownership are among the most critical data gaps and thus are an important area for future data collection and analysis.

An exploratory study of dairying intensification, women’s decision making, and time use and implications for child nutrition in Kenya

Nynke — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:53:50 +0000

This article in the European Journal of Development Research elaborates on the implication of dairy intensification strategies and women’s decision-making and their use of time on child nutrition. While dairy intensification as a development strategy is expected to improve household nutrition, the pathways by which this occurs are not well understood. This article examines how women’s time use and decision-making patterns related to dairy income and consumption are associated with dairy intensification, as a way of exploring the links between intensification and nutrition. Results from the mixed methods study conducted with households representing low, medium and high levels of dairy intensification in rural Kenya indicated that children in high-intensity households received more milk than children in medium-intensity households. While women seemed to be gaining control over evening milk sales decisions, men seemed to be increasingly controlling total dairy income, a trend countered by the increase in reported joint decision making. Women from medium-intensity households reported spending more time on dairy activities than women from high-intensity households. The researchers suggest that more research on how dairy interventions affect women is needed.

Validating women’s knowledge and experiences: A case study of women’s experiences and food security in Kenya

Nynke — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:46:23 +0000

This paper (PDF) in Pathways to African Feminism and Development, Journal of African Women’s Studies Centre aims at demonstrating that women’s experiences and knowledge about food security are critical in order to create inclusive and more comprehensive policies in food security. Using a feminist theoretical framework, the author argues that women’s knowledge and experiences have remained invisible and underutilized by policy makers and development workers. One reason for this is that research methods have themselves been products of a male knowledge development process and thus have enhanced exclusion and marginalization of women’s perspectives. To overcome this, this research has used women friendly methodologies, such as oral testimonies an focus group discussions, to access women’s knowledge on food security. The author argues that much of the knowledge of the rural women has not been tapped in to. There is a need to capture and utilize the knowledge of women to ensure transformative development in Africa

Economic empowerment of African women through equitable participation in agricultural value chains

Nynke — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 14:24:39 +0000

This report (PDF) from the African Development Bank (AfDB) highlights five major constraints that can limit African women’s productivity and inclusion into the agricultural economy: lack of access to assets, lack of access to financing, limited training, gender-neutral government policy, and time constraints due to heavy domestic responsibilities. Women make up almost 50% of the agricultural labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 62% of economically active women in Africa work in agriculture, making it the largest employer of women. In some countries, such as Rwanda, Malawi and Burkina Faso, over 90% of economically active women are involved in agriculture. To transform the agricultural sector, the economic empowerment of women through boosting their productivity and raising their participation in commercial and higher value-add activities in agriculture, is central. The report highlighted three broad areas for action that could contribute to this: 1) Grow the number of large-scale agribusiness entrepreneurs by providing access to financing and training, and improving regional and global market links; 2) Make sure women are remunerated by setting them up as co-owners, improving productivity, and providing training in core business skills; 3) Increase women’s access to niche markets by producing and marketing women-only products. This report will help to identify target areas for the AfDB and its partners to empower women economically through agriculture. This relates to the Gender Strategy of the AfDB.

Running out of time: the reduction of women’s work burden in agricultural production

Babs — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 10:09:37 +0000

This publication (PDF) by FAO discusses rural women’s time poverty in agriculture, elaborates on its possible causes and implications and provides insight into the various types of constraints that affect the adoption of solutions for reducing work burden. The paper raises questions about the adequacy of women’s access to technologies, services and infrastructure and about the control women have over their time, given their major contributions to agriculture. It also looks into the available labour-saving technologies, practices and services that can support women to better address the demands derived from the domestic and productive spheres and improve their well-being. The reader is presented with an overview of successfully-tested technologies, services and resource management practices in the context of water, energy, information and communication. In order to address women’s low technology and service adoption rate, the paper proposes a development approach that encourages more dialogue among key players at the national level, and also focuses on fostering dialogue and transformation of gender relations at the household level.

Realising women’s land rights: law, gender and farming in Tanzania

Nynke — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 16:26:53 +0000

The book Women, Land and Justice in Tanzania by Helen Dancer (University of Brighton) explores women’s claims to land in practice. Land rights and governance are often seen as essential in achieving food security, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. The focus of this book is on the under-explored role of women and their experiences of land law reforms in the context of a ‘land rush and land-grabbing. It is based on fieldwork in northern Tanzania. This is a region with a high number of land conflicts and legal disputes. Taking the social nature of women’s claims to land as the starting-point, the book discusses the extent to which women are realising their interests in land through the legal system and through land courts. The author traces the progression of claims from their social origins, through legal processes of dispute resolution to judgment. She seeks to re-orientate current debates on women’s land rights to a focus on the law in action and explores how the country’s land law reforms have impacted on women’s legal claims to land. The book analyses the obstacles and pathways that women face, and the role of social, legal and political actors in processes of justice. Also see the blog by the author on Future Agricultures.

Why gender matters for food safety

Babs — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 16:10:59 +0000

In this blog post, Sophie Theis (Research Analyst, Poverty, Health, Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute) and Delia Grace (Program Manager, International Livestock Research Institute) relate findings from a recent A4NH/International Livestock Research Institute analysis of 20 livestock and fish value chains in Africa and Asia that reveal how gender differences in value chain participation influence risk exposure. The findings from the analysis of these value chains indicate that differences in risk exposure between men and women derive primarily from gender-based differences in occupational exposure, and secondarily, to differences in patterns and practices of the food consumed. Biological differences between men and women were less important determinants of health risk; but can be important for some value chains and diseases. Attention to the influence of gender on risk exposure and risk management along the value chain is critical for improving food safety and managing health risks in informal markets.

Building a gender-transformative extension and advisory facilitation system in Sub-Saharan Africa

Babs — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 12:52:12 +0000

This paper (PDF) at Agri-gender, focusses on the debate around conceptualizations of what women and men do in farming in order to see what they actually do. The authors provide evidence for a “conceptual lock in” in rural advisory services, one that constructs farmers as male regardless of the reality of female farmers on the ground. They show that this not only hampers access by women to advisory services, it also fails to tackle the underlying gender inequalities that prevent both women and men from maximizing their decision-making capacity and economic potential. Tackling the underlying gender relations that hamper access and implementation should be a priority, according to the authors. A model for a “gender-transformative extension and advisory facilitation system” is introduced. The model posits the extension and advisory services as a facilitation system. An important recommendation is to capture, integrate, and scale out existing “best bet practices” to build an empowering extension and advisory facilitation system in order to effect broader social change.

Information networks among women and men and the demand for an agricultural technology in India

Babs — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 14:27:37 +0000

In this discussion paper (PDF) by The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), agricultural information networks among men and women are analyzed by using gender-disaggregated social network data from Uttar Pradesh, India. Gender-specific network effects are tested on demand for laser land leveling —a resource-conserving technology—using data from a field experiment that combines a Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) auction with a lottery. The authors find that factors determining male and female links are similar, although there is little overlap between male and female networks. Some evidence of female network effects on household technology demand was found, although male network effects are clearly stronger. Public and private efforts to promote technological change in smallholder agriculture often rely on social networks to transmit information across large numbers of farmers. The results indicate that extension services can leverage female networks in order to reach more households when promoting new technologies.

The new Gender and Land Rights Database: a hub of information on gender-equitable land tenure

Babs — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 15:06:11 +0000

FAO has re-launched its Gender and Land Rights Database (GLRD). The database consists of several main sections: country profiles and gender and land-related statistics. Furthermore, a new Legislation Assessment Tool is included, which offers 30 indicators for measuring progress towards gender equity in land tenure in national policy and legal frameworks. The database provides information, statistics and analysis on the different political, legal and cultural factors that influence women’s land rights throughout the world.

Gender opportunities and constraints in inclusive business models: the case study of Unifrutti in Mindanao, Philippines

Babs — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 14:55:54 +0000

This publication (PDF) by FAO adds to the debate around whether private investment in agriculture contributes to production growth, poverty reduction, food security and gender equality by case studies in the Philippines. Data and information were collected via key informant interviews, focus group discussions and direct observation. The report shows that investment models and contractual arrangements implemented by Unifrutti – a major private company producer, processor and exporter of pineapple and banana in the Mindanao Region – have had positive implications for the livelihood of the rural communities involved. However, the study also demonstrates that women and men have not equally benefitted from the investment opportunities. An important lesson learned is that gender neutral practices and approaches do not necessarily lead to gender equitable results. Instead, both investment schemes and policy frameworks need to recognize and address the different needs and priorities of women and men to ensure more gender equitable distribution of benefits.

Is gender inequality the main roadblock to achieving nutrition targets? The Global Nutrition Report on gender equality

Babs — Wed, 27 May 2015 15:12:53 +0000

In this blog, Lawrence Haddad highlights the draw out messages about women and gender from the Global Nutrition Report. He highlights that improvements in nutrition are important to achieve gender equality and to empower all women and girls. Improvements in women’s nutritional status indicators, especially anemia rates in women of reproductive age, seem slow. Recommendations in the report suggest to involve women in a decision making way on the prioritization, design, implementation and evaluation of more nutrition sensitive interventions.

Supporting women’s agro-enterprises in Africa with ICT: a feasibility study in Zambia and Kenya

Babs — Tue, 19 May 2015 13:24:26 +0000

This publication (PDF) by the World Bank views ICTs as potentially transformative technology for rural development. The study was designed to examine the feasibility of integrating ICTs into two large investment programs: the Irrigation Development and Support Project (IDSP) in Zambia and the Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Agribusiness Project (KAPAP). The specific goal was to examine how ICT-based interventions might be designed to strengthen women’s participation in commodity value chains under the two projects. A major finding from the literature review and ICT inventory is that numerous ICTs have been developed for small-scale farmers in Kenya, but very few have been developed in Zambia, and no ICT tools in these countries have been developed specifically for women farmers. Demand for extension information continues to be high, especially among women, whose access to agricultural information has so far been limited.

Adaptation actions in Africa: evidence that gender matters

Babs — Wed, 13 May 2015 09:12:16 +0000

This paper (PDF) by CGIAR presents the initial data analyses of the CCAFS gender survey implemented in four sites in Africa. It highlights some key gender-related findings regarding climate change perceptions, adaptation strategies of climate smart agricultural (CSA) practices and information needs across sites in Africa. Important findings include that both men and women are experiencing changes in long-run weather patterns and that they are changing their behaviours in response. It was found that women are less aware of many CSA practices. However, women, when aware, are more likely than or just as likely as men to adopt CSA practices. In West Africa, overall, the adoption of these practices was much lower. The authors argue that targeting women with climate and agricultural information is likely to result in uptake of new agricultural practices for adaptation.

Gender matters in farm power

Nynke — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 16:18:30 +0000

This report (PDF) published by KIT, CIMMYT and CGIAR explores how gender matters in small-scale farm power mechanization in African agriculture, particularly in maize-based systems. It investigates how inter-household gender dynamics affect women’s articulation of demand for and adoption of mechanization in Ethiopia and Kenya. The study offers a conceptual approach to grasp these gender dynamics, a gender analysis methodology, and a set of recommendations. The study finds that women in different households and in different sites experience high labor burden and intensity. Yet, only in exceptional cases, women articulate demand for mechanization and use tractor technology. This weak articulation is due to the complex interplay of values and assumptions, access to and control over resources, and intra-household decision making. Different factors influence this: 1) values and assumptions make women’s work invisible and go unrecognized; 2) women lack access to and control over a range of resources, including land, income, and extension services; 3) the gender division of labor exacerbates this limited access, because women’s time poverty negatively affects their access to resources and information; 4) decision-making is a male domain, and women are mostly excluded or merely informed. Many factors interlock and reinforce each other in undermining women’s opportunities to articulate demand and adopt mechanization technology or other options to reduce their labor burden. The authors recommend among others to take women’s need as an entry point for technology design; to engage with gender norms and values; and to ensure business modeling specifically for women.

The effects of microcredit on women’s control over household spending in developing countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Babs — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 09:09:29 +0000

This report (PDF) by a group of researchers under the editorial control of the Campbell Collaboration, aims to provide a systematic review of the evidence on effects of microcredit on women’s control over household spending in developing countries. The authors identified 310 papers for full text examination, of which 29 papers, corresponding to 25 unique studies, were retained for further analysis. These papers were then analysed through application of both statistical meta-analysis and context-mechanism-outcome synthesis. Through the analysis, the report finds that overall there is no evidence for an effect of microcredit on women’s control over household spending. The authors argue that there appears to be a gap between the societal belief in the capacity of microcredit to improve the position of women in decision-making processes within the household on the one hand, and the empirical evidence base on the other hand.

Gender in agriculture: closing the knowledge gap

Babs — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 14:32:10 +0000

This book (see synopsis) by IFPRI and FAO, is a compilation of the growing knowledge base on the gender gaps in agriculture. It explains why closing gender gaps is important; analyses the role of gender in agriculture; and takes a look at access to assets, agricultural inputs, and markets by gender. The first part of the book summarizes the main messages of the 2011 FAO report and reviews how gender has been conceptualized in agriculture. Part 2 of the book focuses on data and methods for understanding gender issues in agriculture. Part 3 gathers background studies that document gender gaps in assets and key agricultural inputs. Part 4 looks beyond the farm to observe and analyse gender roles in markets and value chains. Part 5 proposes ways that agricultural research, development, and extension systems can be made more responsive to the needs of both male and female farmers. Steps for moving forward are suggested on land, inputs, livestock, social capital, physical capacity, market access and participation in labour markets.

Coffee Toolkit 2014: sustainable coffee as a family business

Babs — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 08:36:38 +0000

This Coffee Toolkit (PDF) was developed for the coffee industry, in response to the demand for knowledge on how to best integrate women and youth in the coffee value chain and provides practical approaches and tools for stakeholders and service providers. The toolkit is a joint effort of the SCP, Agri-ProFocus, Fair & Sustainable Advisory Services, IDH and Hivos. The toolkit is based on the Gender in Value Chains Toolkit developed by Agri-ProFocus and tools included were selected from existing gender focused manuals, including those produced by USAID, Enclude, GALS, ILO, Care, and experiences from Hivos gender programmes in the coffee sector. The toolkit focuses on interventions at the individual and household level, small entrepreneurship, producer organizations, large businesses, standards and certification, service providers and networks. The interventions recommended in this toolkit aim to trigger increased production, improved quality and ensure a steady supply of sustainable coffee now and in the future.

Reducing the gender asset gap through agricultural development: a technical resource guide

Babs — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 14:08:33 +0000

This guide (PDF) by IFPRI, explores the intersection of gender and assets in the context of agricultural interventions. Researchers from IFPRI and ILRI worked together and shared the lessons learned from the Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project (GAAP) activities. The guide aims to: 1) increase the reader’s knowledge about the importance of both gender and assets in the development process; 2) strengthen the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of agricultural projects that reduce gender gaps in assets and 3) Identify tools drawn from both quantitative and qualitative approaches to support sex-disaggregated data collection and gender analysis efforts on assets.

The Gender and Inclusion Toolbox: Participatory Research in Climate Change and Agriculture

Babs — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 13:06:23 +0000

This toolbox (PDF) provides gender-responsive methods and tools for the development and research community. It is the result of a long-term partnership between the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), and CARE International. The participatory toolbox builds on the previously released Gender and Climate Change Research in Agriculture and Food Security for Rural Development (PDF) training guide produced by FAO and CCAFS. The toolbox is divided into four main parts and includes a) an overview of concepts in gender, climate change, participation, qualitative research, and gender and social analysis; b) team-based learning and reflection activities to support gender and inclusion concepts; c) a logistics and planning guide supporting sampling strategy, sex-disaggregation, and field work best practices; and d) participatory research tools covering co-production of knowledge, climate resilient agriculture, climate information, and mitigation for socially differentiated data collection and analysis.

The Gender advantage: women on the front line of climate change

Babs — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 13:47:35 +0000

This report (PDF) compiles the experiences of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in their work to close the gender gap and mobilise women in climate change adaptation programmes and projects. The paper shows that successful adaptation to climate change means recognizing the role of women smallholder farmers. Through the collection of ten case studies, IFAD shows how gender-sensitive adaptation results in better outcomes in food security, livelihood options, incomes, and reduced workloads. The case studies are grouped thematically under the following headings: valuing women’s knowledge and experience creates opportunities for the whole community; equitable access to adaptation knowledge; investing in women brings economic returns for smallholder farmers; equal voice, equal access to decision making; and tackling women’s worsening workloads. The paper highlights that knowledge management and policy advocacy are increasing in importance to address longer-term issues.