Revealing the hidden face, enhancing the role of women farmers: A gender impact assessment study of CABI interventions in Muzaffargarh, Punjab and Skardu, Gilgit Baltistan

Working with women in the agriculture sector in Pakistan poses a challenge as agricultural extension and development staff are predominantly male and interactions for women with men outside the family are culturally not acceptable. At the same time, women in Pakistan play an equal role in agriculture as well as taking responsibility for household chores, including cooking and taking care of the nutrition of the family. CAB International (CABI), Central and West Asia Office, based in Rawalpindi, has been working with partners in Pakistan to train farmers to improve agricultural production and participate more effectively in commodity value chains. Training courses and workshops have been developed and delivered on livestock management, high-value cropping systems, good agricultural practices (GAP), sanitary and phytosanitary measures, integrated pest and crop management, agricultural innovation systems and business and marketing skills to enable farmers to be more responsive to the market. Although the majority of activities have taken place with men, training has also targeted women, through Farmer Field School (FFS) programmes in Gilgit Baltistan on tomato production and livestock and dairy development, in partnership with Satpara Development Project (SDP). In South Punjab, women have been trained in kitchen gardening (home vegetable production) including seed and stored grain management funded by the Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF). This impact assessment research study will assist CABI in learning lessons on the effectiveness of the training programmes, vis-à-vis a gender focus, by evaluating the recipients’ responses in order to analyse the social and economic impact on their lives. The lessons will then be used to plan and design further interventions to improve agricultural productivity of households based on defined gender roles and responsibilities.