Women play important roles at different nodes of both agricultural and off-farm value chains, but in many countries their contributions are either underestimated or limited by prevailing societal norms or gender-specific barriers. We use primary data collected in Asia (Bangladesh, Philippines) and Africa (Benin, Malawi) to examine the relationships between women’s empowerment, gender equality, and participation in a variety of local agricultural value chains that comprise the food system.
Capacity development interventions are considered critical entry points for advancing gender equality in agricultural research systems. However, the impacts of capacity development programs are often difficult to track. Academic reviews highlight that insufficient attention is paid to the suitability of gender training programs to increase capacity and limited evidence is available on their longer-term impacts.
Longtemps, le travail des femmes dans les exploitations agricoles n’a bénéficié d’aucune existence légale. Sans statut officiel, la grande majorité des femmes d’agriculteurs travaillaient ainsi à titre gratuit au bénéfice du chef d’exploitation (père ou mari). Ces dernières décennies, des avancées significatives ont amené une plus grande égalité entre les sexes en agriculture : acquisition d’un statut autonome, développement d’activités de diversification, etc.
Agriculture in Africa is the main sector to generate income for the large number of populations mainly in rural areas and a major contributor to the GDP of the countries. Agricultural value chain finance provides the necessary resource for smallholder farmers to increase their production and be integrated into higher-value market opportunities. In Africa, women represent more than half of the population, the majority live in rural areas.
There is widespread need for gender-responsive agricultural research, yet the question of how this kind of research can be implemented and its success measured needs further interrogation. This paper presents a framework, developed on the basis of literature and validated by experts, for tracking the gender responsiveness of agricultural research throughout the research cycle, from the research plan to the dissemination of research findings. The framework was tested in Uganda and Rwanda on 14 research projects considered to be gender-responsive.
L’accès au financement des petits exploitants ou des organisations constitue de plus en plus des mesures de protection sociale tout en améliorant la cohésion sociale des populations (Hendriks, 2019). Cette idée n’est pas dissociable de l’environnement camerounais dont l’Etat a souscrit pour les Objectifs de Développement Durable. Dans ce cadre, on peut se demander : quelle est l’influence de la protection sociale, notamment dans sa dimension inclusive en du financement de l’agriculture sur la cohésion sociale à l’Ouest-Cameroun ?
Women in agriculture are far from the end of poverty, zero hunger, quality education, and gender equality — some of the sustainable development goals that can be significantly improved if we achieve greater participation and better working conditions for women in agriculture.
Women play a key role in agriculture and food security, making up around 48 percent of the agricultural labour force in low-income countries. Despite this, their important contribution is hardly visible and largely unrecognized. Gender equality regards human rights but gender-based constraints in the sector cause also major inefficiencies in value chains, and are a key impediment for rural development, food security, and social and environmental sustainability. Moreover, the severe and multidimensional constraints faced by women hamper their productive potential and livelihoods.
Smallholder farmers in East Africa need information and knowledge on appropriate climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices, technologies, and institutional innovations in order to effectively adapt to changing climatic conditions and cope with climate variability. This paper assesses farmer adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices and innovation after being exposed to Farms of the Future Approach (FotF). First; we explore and assess the various CSA technologies and practices; including institutional innovations farmers are adopting.
This working paper summarizes the findings of a portfolio review conducted to explore the gender and youth responsiveness of climate-smart agriculture technologies tested across climate-smart villages. The innovative and integrative aspect of the Climate-Smart Village (CSV) approach can provide useful insights into how to decrease the gender gap in the context of climate change.