Transfer of knowledge through expatriate nationals (TOKTEN) initiative is a UNDP technical assistance modality that aims at human resource capacity building in countries that suffer from brain-drain. One of the main constraints that impede maximum contribution of human resource development programs towards sustainable development is lack of gender-sensitivity. TOKTEN initiative is believed to overcome this constraint. Thus, this paper will examine this thesis in the Sudanese setting.
In Cameroon, women as the primary gatherers and traders of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have limited access to processing technologies, marketing strategies and market information. The objective of this paper is to explore how CIFOR research and capacity building implemented from 2000 have been perceived by Cameroonian traders. An evaluation of the program took place in 2006 with thirty-eight traders out of seventy-two traders trained. Of the traders initially interviewed, 95 percent of them were women.
The livelihoods of mountain farmers are often constrained by poor access to markets and limited entrepreneurial skills for adding value to produce. Research and development organizations have now recognized that improving market access and enhancing the ability of resource-poor mountain farmers to diversify their links with markets are among the most pressing challenges in mountain agriculture.
The findings of a Nigerian case study discussed in this paper indicate that the notion of wives of leisure is really not applicable to most women in Nigeria, as women have always worked. Even those in purdah engage in income generating activities within the confines of the compound. It is therefore wasteful to continue to by-pass or displace women in development. Selective mechanisation of difficult processes in agriculture could become a useful method of integrating women into, and enhancing their contributions to, development.