Nairobi, Kenya, January 26 2021—Gender equality is rightfully elevated to a top priority in a new research and innovation strategy launched by CGIAR today. The strategy will guide CGIAR over the next decade in its efforts to produce science and innovations that transform food, land and water systems during the climate crisis.

Women make up an integral part of food systems, but are often excluded from agricultural development through no fault of their own. They reportedly comprise, on average, 43 percent of the agricultural labor force in low- and middle-income countries, while almost two-thirds of women in least developed countries are employed in farming. Women also account for two-thirds of the world’s 600 million poor livestock keepers. Yet, women’s access to productive resources, services and decision-making continues to lag behind that of men.

Achieving greater gender equality is a prerequisite to prosperity for all. CGIAR, the world’s largest global agricultural innovation network, has long worked to generate a wealth of gender research and insights. Now, ongoing organizational reform efforts—toward one cohesive organization with a single mission—bring opportunities for CGIAR to respond to complex system challenges and to thoughtfully integrate gender-transformative approaches across the institution.

“We need to understand and overcome the systemic barriers that hold back women from engaging in and benefitting from agricultural development, otherwise we will not achieve zero hunger by 2030,” said Nicoline de Haan, Director of the CGIAR GENDER Platform. “The new CGIAR research and innovation strategy rightfully positions gender equality as a cornerstone of future food security, and we intend to follow through by delivering rigorous, strategic gender research.”

The CGIAR GENDER Platform, established in 2020, is designed to transform the way research is done, and to continue to accelerate efforts to make gender part of all agricultural science and innovation. It delivers thought leadership and develops evidence, methods and tools that support the entire research-for-development community to adopt gender-transformative approaches and practices. This renewed focus on gender research will be fundamental to realizing the ambitions of CGIAR’s five new impact areas, one of which is gender, youth and social inclusion.

For example, women farmers less frequently adopt improved, modern crop varieties, designed to better respond to ecological pressures and consumer preferences. This disparity is due to crop breeding programs often failing to include women’s inputs when designing new varieties or breeding materials, according to Oscar Ortiz, CGIAR GENDER Platform Management Committee member and Deputy Director General for Development at the International Potato Center.

Ortiz: “As a consequence, new varieties do not meet the needs and demands of women, and do not have the right attributes in terms of cooking and processing quality, flavor, nutrition and productivity. As a result, new varieties are less likely to be widely adopted. Therefore, it is imperative to continue to invest in research that shows what breeds and technologies work for women, and to transform breeding programs to include gender considerations in all of their work.”

CGIAR’s new strategy comes at a time when just ten years remain to eliminate hunger and ensure access to food for all. Its launch coincides with the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021, underscoring the centrality of the climate change challenge, including for women and girls.

“In the face of crises like climate change and COVID-19, women urgently need access to the building blocks for resilience and agency, meaning decreased workloads, participation in decisions that affect their lives, credit and information as well as collective action,” said Sophia Huyer, Gender Research Coordinator with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security.

With its new roadmap for impact, CGIAR enters a new era. The CGIAR GENDER Platform is set to lead the way, producing and sharing the evidence and methods required to create a world in which greater gender equality drives more equitable, sustainable, productive and climate-resilient food systems.

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How self-employed women in India coped with lockdowns and disruptions to business

The COVID-19 pandemic has made generating income and access to food far more difficult for many, particularly women in developing countries. To better understand how the pandemic and lockdowns to control its spread are affecting the livelihoods of women small-business owners and farmers in South Asia, researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) asked the women themselves.

The researchers conducted surveys in collaboration with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), an organization that aims to empower women workers to reach full-employment and self-reliance by providing the tools, support, and community for them to reach their economic potential. They carried out a phone survey with 627 SEWA members and did in-depth case studies of five SEWA members across the Indian state of Gujarat.

While each woman reported different experiences and perspectives on navigating COVID-19, a common theme emerged: making a living became tougher, yet these women were able to identify coping mechanisms to protect their livelihoods and their families.

Read on to learn more about these five women’s stories – as they explain how COVID-19 is impacting their diverse sources of income and what SEWA is doing to help.

This work was carried out with support from the CGIAR GENDER Platform, which is grateful for the support of CGIAR Trust Fund Contributors.

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Women must be included to successfully build inclusive and sustainable food systems in Africa. Yet, women are still too often absent from critical decision-making, in the minority in critical roles, and overlooked in terms of support, training and investment. This has to change if Africa is to achieve resilient, productive food systems.

“We live in a time where we can do so much more, and have the ability to do it, but we are constrained by so many factors,” said Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and Special Envoy to the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit, as she reflected on a recent discussion, convened by the CGIAR GENDER Platform. “We need to double down on the opportunities we are providing for women,” she urged.

"Africa's young people are thinking and working hard! We can use this opportunity and ensure that they are the backbone of our economy" @AGRAAlliance President @Agnes_Kalibata #cultivateafrica #africainaction #OneCGIAR @IFPRI @IFAD @Cipotato @CGIAR pic.twitter.com/fODU7i18uG

— CGIAR GENDER (@CGIARgender) November 17, 2020

Listen to women and break down barriers standing in their way

The discussion, titled “Bringing Lessons from African Countries to Scale: How to support young women to drive inclusive and resilient food systems,” took place on November 17, 2020. It was part of Cultivate Africa, a two-day dialogue designed to reach across sectors, strengthen understanding, and reinforce efforts to tackle immediate and long-term challenges facing African agriculture and food systems in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cultivate Africa was organized by the African Union Commission, who partnered with the CGIAR GENDER Platform to organize the women in agriculture track discussions.

Through lively conversation, with contributions from young agri-entrepreneurs as well as experts in agriculture, a number of insights and suggestions emerged for how to better include women across African food systems. The exchanges were designed to bring out clear recommendations to help inform the African Union Commission’s work, including the next meeting of the African Ministers Responsible for Agriculture, Trade and Finance on the Impact of COVID-19 On Food and Nutrition Security, scheduled for early 2021.

Farming can be cool- "you can farm with a lipstick!" great discussion at the #cultivateafrica by Wangary- the farmer on fire @CGIARgender pic.twitter.com/6sN9VsLHci

— Isabelle Baltenweck (@isabaltenweck) November 17, 2020

Nicoline de Haan, Director of the CGIAR GENDER Platform, summarized the key messages, pointing out the need to make visible the invisible challenges women faced, so that they can be better addressed. She stressed the importance of asking women what they need from technologies, although technology alone is not enough – enabling policies, training and access are all needed too. De Haan also encouraged policy-makers to bring in young women’s voices when making decisions about food systems, and corrected a too pervasive notion: “Don’t assume women are vulnerable people,” she said. “Rather, consider and question the harmful norms and values that stand in their way.”

Young agri-entrepreneurs blaze trails, but request support

These emerging recommendations were informed by research, but were also anchored by a panel of voices literally from the field: a dynamic group of young women agri-entrepreneurs at the forefront of African agriculture today.

Similar themes emerged as the three women—from Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria —shared their stories. Among them were having to believe in themselves because others did not, as well as having to learn through trial and error, blazing a path where none existed, and no support could be found. Gloria Mutuzo Rwiyereka, co-founder of IWACU Modern Farm, had studied agricultural economics, but craved the chance to understand it practically. She faced discouragement and bafflement from funders and family alike, eventually cobbling together internships and temporary jobs to get her business off the ground. “It was very difficult in the beginning, and I struggled,” she shared, “but I’m proud of what I have now.”

Wangary Kuria, otherwise known as ‘farmer on fire,’ shared that she was immediately judged for her manicured nails and lipstick, for not “looking like a farmer.” Her path to agriculture began with a kitchen garden, but she now runs a thriving YouTube channel and online presence to show others that farmers can be smart, successful – and women. It’s important for them to see that “farming is cool – you can do it in your lipstick!” she said.

Toyin Onigbanjo, CEO of August Secrets, was a journalist and young mother with a baby who wasn’t eating his food. “I didn’t mean to start anything around agribusiness,” she explained. Yet, when she found her son preferred the healthy meals she made him from local foods, a business was born. She now exports products to countries on three continents.

"We have made the local foods like cassava so attractive. This has made feeding habits of thousands of babies better, including my son who inspired the start of this journey" CEO of August Secrets @OnigbanjoToyin #cultivateAfrica #GenderinAg@_AfricanUnion @HallpaxAfrica pic.twitter.com/x88EEkSvgN

— CGIAR GENDER (@CGIARgender) November 17, 2020

When asked what they felt women needed to thrive in agriculture and agribusiness, their answers were clear and unanimous: support. “Train me to scale my business. Why are you training me on the hoe?” Onigbanjo asked. “Why don’t you train me on technology?” “It’s about being intentional,” Kuria echoed, from targeting trainings to funding. “We need to bring young women in agriculture together to inspire each other and exchange information,” Mutuzo Rwiyereka added. “When you see others doing it and supporting you, it gives you strength.”

Young women and men’s experiences can inform future actions

How do these experiences relate to policy and research? Jemimah Njuki, Regional Director for Africa at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), reflected on the women’s experiences and the deep connections between gender and farming in Africa.

What in your view represents the biggest challenge for young, women agri-entrepreneurs in Africa?

Join the discussion via #CultivateAfrica #GenderInAg

— CGIAR GENDER (@CGIARgender) November 17, 2020

“We can’t talk about women’s empowerment in rural Africa without talking about agriculture,” said Njuki. She stated that the experiences of young people are particularly important because we make so many important decisions when young: from marriage and family to schooling and careers. This is also the age where some of the stark differences in opportunities become apparent: “While many doors are opening for young men, many are closing for young women,” Njuki added. For example, women are unable to own land and are expected to carry out unpaid labor in the household.

Njuki’s reflections teed up a discussion from a panel of experts looking at women’s, and particularly young women’s, experiences in agriculture. Yemi Adeyeye, Director of Young Professionals for Agricultural Development, acknowledged that, “we are in a world where being a man puts you a step ahead of being a woman, and that’s before you look at agriculture.” He stressed the need for “everyone involved, at every level, to acknowledge that it’s an Africa-wide problem.”

Solutions to that problem must be nuanced, however, to account for women’s different circumstances, underscored Victor Mugo, Regional Coordinator, Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network, East Africa: “Young women face unique issues, and the faster we can recognize that, the faster we can create innovations that make sense.”  

Critical to solving the problem is moving from talk to action, and engaging women, especially young women, in the process. Aline Mugisho, Executive Manager, Young Africa Works-International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) project, spoke of the need to reframe the discussion: “Portraying women as victims puts them into corners, where they need to be nursed instead of involved,” she said. Male-female partnerships are important, as well, she added. “Excluding men creates a cultural clash. It’s not a competition. We need to break the feeling of us versus them.”

As Agnes Kalibata brought the session to a close, she praised opportunities for discussions such as these, noting that, “the African Union Commission and CGIAR coming together here is important. We need country-owned, country-led initiatives that can bring the youth on board.”

Watch the recorded session.

Written by Janet Hodur, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH).

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A climate emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic and a global recession are among the crises that have upended the lives of millions of people this year. Rural women are particularly vulnerable to these upheavals, but are at the same time emerging as front-runners and leaders when it comes to building back better.

On the occasion of International Day of Rural Women, we have asked CGIAR centers and programs to answer this question:

How is One CGIAR research supporting rural women during this time of unprecedented crises?

1. By distributing high-iron and zinc bean varieties to women farmers during COVID-19 (Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT)

2. By building just societies and resilient landscapes alongside rural women (Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR))

3. By gendering agriculture so women take the lead in feeding Africa (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA))

4. By getting rural women’s perspectives on COVID-19 (Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT)

5. By overturning ingrained cultural beliefs that have hampered women from owning animals and making decisions about their health (International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI))

6. By understanding gender relations for landscape restoration and rural women’s empowerment (World Agroforestry)

7. By supporting empowered rural women to take on entrepreneurship (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT))

8. By ensuring rural women have equal opportunity to use the technologies needed to prevent further spread of pests and diseases (CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB))

9. By equipping women to steer towards resilient agricultural systems and livelihoods (International Rice Research Institute (IRRI))

10. By ensuring that women can benefit, alongside men, in the process of rural transformation (CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions and Markets (PIM))

11. By building resilience and gender equity in the face of COVID-19 (International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI))

12. By reshaping gender norms in northern Ghana (International Water Management Institute (IWMI))

13. By developing resources for R4D that keep rural women’s needs at the core of COVID-19 responses (WorldFish)

14. By enabling Malagasy women farmers to champion good agricultural practices (AfricaRice)

15. By investigating the paradox of transitions in rural women’s lives (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT))

16. By building a better future (CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS))

17. By supporting resource-poor women farmers to form collectives (CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE))

18. By understanding the roles of rural women in the Latin American agri-food system (CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH))

19. By uncovering women’s hidden contributions to rural dryland farming practices (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA))

One CGIAR supporting rural women

This year’s crises risk deepening existing inequalities, with devastating social and economic consequences for women and girls. The impacts on rural women are especially concerning as rural women tend to lack resources and safety nets that can help buffer shocks, and they typically live further away from healthcare and aid options, such as direct cash or food distribution.

What’s more, disruptions to rural women’s mobility, work and responsibilities have serious knock-on effects on the food security, nutritional health and incomes of whole families and communities.

These threats were recognized by Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres when he recommended putting women’s leadership and contributions at the heart of resilience and recovery efforts. The imperative need to include women in crises responses has since been echoed by leaders in government, development and science around the world.

Research by One CGIAR centers and programs have long sought to support rural women, both to better cope with shocks, but also to take on their rightful roles as equal partners in agriculture, businesses and communities. CGIAR gender research spans a wide range of efforts: From building tools that can help decision-makers monitor and evaluate women’s empowerment, developing new crop varieties and consulting women on their preferences, to direct action research that helps women and men farmers break down inequitable gender norms.

The examples of how such CGIAR research improves the lives of rural women are plentiful. For example, women in Malawi are inspiring the next generation of smallholder farmers to adopt climate-smart technologies and, in Peru, women and youth are inspired to pursue careers cultivating high-quality varieties of cacao. All the while, women in Zambia, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Nigeria lead biofortified food businesses that advance nutrition and health. Still, opportunities to do more remain.

Now, more than ever, there is a need to share research for development that addresses gender issues and strengthens rural women’s access to resources, decisions and assets, protecting them—and their families—against shocks and crises.

Follow along for the next ten days as we publish posts, with evidence and insights, on the relevance and efficacy of investing in research for development to support rural women.

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CGIAR’s new platform designed to put gender equality at the forefront of global agricultural research for development has officially been launched.

The Generating Evidence and New Directions for Equitable Results (GENDER) Platform was launched at the Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF 2020) virtual summit on 7th September.  At least 200 participants—funders, gender specialists, development practitioners, researchers and policy makers—spread out across timezones, congregated online to celebrate the launch.

“We are working across the entire CGIAR system to innovate and incorporate gender into everything we do,” said Nicoline de Haan, Director of GENDER, which is hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). “We want to put gender equality at the heart of research.”

GENDER will transform the way gender research is done, both within and beyond CGIAR, to kick-start a process of genuine change toward greater equality and better lives for smallholder farmers everywhere.

“We must move beyond simply thinking of women as contributors to agricultural value chains to considering them as leaders and developers of sustainable food systems,” noted Stephen Potter, Director of Agriculture and Food Systems and CGIAR Council Member, Global Affairs Canada during the event.  

“For broader impact, we need to engage policy, and for that we need much more data and evidence” Stephen Potter @CanadaDev #AGRF2020 #GenderinAg@CGIAR @CGIAR_EiB @ACIARAustralia pic.twitter.com/xgPwkGcfor

— CGIAR GENDER (@CGIARgender) September 7, 2020

Potter reiterated the commitment of CGIAR funders toward the gender research agenda and called for collaboration with national agriculture partners as key to driving action.

To showcase the kind of work undertaken by CGIAR, two gender researchers presented interesting case studies during the launch.

Gender equality in urban food supply systems

“Gender dynamics in food systems aren’t static. Economic, political and environmental changes are altering the premises for food systems, bringing new opportunities and challenges to women’s empowerment and gender equality,” said Markus Ihalainen, Senior Research Officer and Gender and Social Inclusion Co-Coordinator, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), while speaking on women’s involvement in wood fuel business.

Women have been engaging in the charcoal business as a last resort due to loss of agricultural incomes occasioned by climatic events or loss of male labor in the household.  However, despite this being a crucial income source for them, they don’t participate on an equal footing with men. They have less access to resources, use smaller kilns, face barriers to participating in producer associations or have less access to family labor.

Subsequently, Ihalainen and colleagues at CIFOR and World Agroforestry (ICRAF) have recently come up with a framework for incorporating gender analysis in future research and policy-making in the charcoal sector. Find out more: Women’s place in Africa’s growing charcoal sector.

Gender equality through entrepreneurship and women’s inclusion in markets

Through a case study on beans, Eileen Nchanji from Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture spoke of general principles aimed at gender mainstreaming in entrepreneurship for replication across commodities.

“The role of women in production and post-harvest work provides opportunities for entrepreneurship. We, however, need specific interventions for them to gain equitable access to land, labor, capital, skills and leadership,” said Nchanji.

She offered recommendations crucial for women’s successful participation in markets. First is being deliberate in identifying women and youth to benefit from various interventions. Others included offering both technical and financial support informed by business analysis; aiming for gradual growth as entrepreneurs mature; and finally being aware that it would take time to build up enterprises. This called for widening of partnerships for complementary support.

Read more about this work: Youth economic empowerment through mechanization in Tanzania

Improving One CGIAR’s research agenda

 A diverse panel of experts highlighted some evidence gaps on gender in agriculture that the Platform could consider.

Kagwiria Koome, Manager of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Food Initiative, mentioned the need to understand and commit to gender-sensitive urban markets infrastructure.

“Most recently I visited a new state-of-the-art market in one of the food basket areas in Kenya. I noticed all the women were displaying their goods on the floor – on further interrogation they shared that the display benches were too high, and they got backaches if they used them,” said Kagwiria, emphasizing the need to capture women’s user experiences concerning market infrastructure.  

“We will be able to move from research to change by being intentional from the design phase to ensure it’s actionable,” she said

On the other hand, Schenggen Fan from the CGIAR Board noted that before researchers turn to evidence generation to improve gender outcomes, all the data collected needs to be disaggregated.

“When the Green Revolution arrived in rural China, my mother’s work burden increased from 10 to 13 hours… We must make sure our interventions do not inadvertently burden women further,” said Fan.

West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF)’s Regional Gender and Social Development Adviser Mariame Maiga noted that transfer, access, and adoption of gender and climate-smart technologies are critical to include in any sustainable gender strategy. Such technologies “are labor saving, and a potential source of income generation, job and wealth creation for women and youth empowerment,” said Maiga. CORAF has developed a database of gender and climate-smart technologies for stakeholders to use.

What next?

With a focus on broader impact, the GENDER Platform will continue to build linkages and partnerships with key players, including the national agricultural research systems, crucial to transforming food systems.

“We chose to launch GENDER at the AGRF as this is a good community to build synergies and leverage our individual contributions so as to change lives of men and women across Africa,” noted de Haan in closing.

Learn more: Watch video – Rise up together: Women’s role in transforming Africa’s food systems

Elevating women’s role to improve food systems – International Potato Center

Launch of CGIAR Gender Platform highlighted at African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) – International Rice Research Institute

Making gender equality in food systems the ‘new normal’. For a more equal, and better, world. For all. – International Livestock Research Institute

The post Gender equality in food systems: the ‘new normal’ appeared first on CGIAR Gender.

 

Women play a vital role in growing, processing and marketing food in developing countries, yet they have less access to assets, training and opportunities than men, and thus earn considerably less. While unfair to women, this is also a tragedy for their communities and countries, since enabling girls and women to achieve their full potential is essential for building the productive, resilient and sustainable food systems that developing nations need.

As part of a global effort to identify and advance ways to empower women and unleash the benefits of their full productive power and participation, a group of international experts recently launched a new CGIAR platform known as GENDER, for ‘Generating Evidence and New Directions for Equitable Results’.

“We are trying to work across the entire CGIAR system to innovate and incorporate gender into everything we do,” said Nicoline de Haan, Director of GENDER hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). “We want to put gender equality at the heart of research.”

De Haan explained that the platform connects researchers across the globe who are studying the gender implications of cultural norms, systems, value chains and policies for everything from farming and livestock production to water management, in an effort to identify aspects that create barriers for women.

She added that because such details are invisible to most people, and are often linked to cultural norms or traditions, changing them is challenging. Generating evidence is an essential first step to convincing people when change is necessary, and to develop methods for achieving it. By doing this, and building alliances, the GENDER Platform aims to contribute to a process that will result in greater gender equality and better lives for smallholder farmers.

According to Stephen Potter, Director of Food Security at Canada’s Department of Global Affairs, the platform will result in new partnerships and contribute to gender-responsive policies that enable women to overcome obstacles and make greater contributions to their countries’ development.

“We must move beyond simply thinking of women as contributors to agricultural value chains to considering them as leaders and developers of sustainable food systems,” Potter said. “It is only when women’s knowledge and men’s knowledge are applied on equal footing that the CGIAR will be able to achieve it’s desired impact.”

Potter joined de Haan and other experts in gender and agriculture for the virtual launch of the GENDER Platform on September 7, in the framework of the AGRF Summit 2020. That event, called “Rising up together: Women’s role in transforming Africa’s food systems,” was moderated by Vivian Atakos, the International Potato Center’s regional communication specialist for Africa, and included participants on several continents.

Continue reading this article on the International Potato Center’s website.  

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That’s the question gender researchers from across CGIAR will attempt to answer when they come together for a virtual meeting this week. The questions below are meant to kick off the discussion on solidifying the research agenda for the new CGIAR GENDER Platform.

 by Ranjitha Puskur

 It is an exciting time for CGIAR and for gender research in CGIAR. We are making rapid strides toward One CGIAR, with its mission of ending hunger through science-driven transformation of food, land and water systems in the context of climate change.

The new CGIAR GENDER Platform will contribute to this mission by reimagining the CGIAR gender-research-for-development agenda. We envision a new era in which food systems transformation and gender equality reinforce one another, accelerating and amplifying benefits that are equitable, sustainable and lasting.

To realize this ambition, we need to sharpen our gender research priorities. While the GENDER Platform will build on several years of rich gender research, we now need to prioritize transdisciplinary and solution-oriented research to achieve tangible and substantive impact on social equity. The evidence we generate should be of practical value and help shape actions and investments in support of food systems transformation and gender equality.

I present here a list of six top-level research questions that I think are crucial to answer to achieve both the GENDER and the One CGIAR visions:

1. What are the gender dynamics in food systems that influence the four pillars of food security: availability, access, use and stability?

Women are considered the gatekeepers of the food system, yet they are nutritionally the most vulnerable, also across generations. In Penny Van Esterik’s words, “women are both vulnerable and powerful—victimized and empowered—through food.”

While CGIAR has been embracing a food systems framework to guide its work, we do not yet have a comprehensive understanding of how gender dynamics influence food systems. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed additional fault lines in the relationship between gender and food security. It is time to systematically examine how gendered power relations influence food availability, access, utilization and stability. Our goal should be to design and test bundled interventions that provide effective and lasting solutions.

The framework of Bridge 2014 is helpful for thinking through gender dynamics in food systems.

2. How can we strengthen rural women’s engagement in labor markets?

We know that rural people working in informal agricultural labor markets and without land—many of whom are women—are the most vulnerable to climate, health, economic, political and security shocks. Again, the COVID-19 crisis has exposed how these groups, and the risks they face, are invisible in policy discourses and actions.

We need to systematically look at the evidence we have on gender in formal and informal rural labor markets, paying particular attention to women’s engagement and the implications for income, employment and vulnerability. We should pull out the evidence needed to stimulate gender-responsive policies and risk-reduction strategies that can contribute to women’s economic empowerment.

3. How can we ensure that women have equal access to decision-making on land and water systems?

Understanding the land-water-energy-food nexus and developing strategies for sustainable intensification and diversification to overcome land and water constraints is gaining ground in CGIAR. But, the important gender dimensions of such strategies are not well understood. Synthesizing the data and evidence we do have can help us identify gaps and distill key messages that can influence policies and programs. We should invest in understanding how women’s collectives can drive changes in land and water governance as well as in decision-making, and we should investigate what works for strengthening women’s tenure and assets. These are critical questions to answer if we are to ensure that intensification and diversification do not result in additional burdens and labor for women, but rather in additional benefits.

Intensification or diversification of agricultural systems has strong gender implications.

4. How can we support women to engage in markets and entrepreneurship?

CGIAR has a rich tradition of research on women’s empowerment and has developed and promoted wide-scale application of tools such as the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI). Now, women’s entrepreneurship is emerging as a key area that offers significant potential for economic empowerment. Going forward, we need to design and test strategies to support women to engage in markets, including through gender-responsive financial products and risk-reduction mechanisms.

5. How can we change the structural barriers and social norms that stand in the way of gender equality?

CGIAR entered the realm of research on gender transformative change in 2012 and began analyzing the social and gender norms that are the root causes of gender gaps to find effective and lasting solutions to bridging these gaps. The critical importance of women’s disproportionate burden due to unpaid care work and resulting time poverty has been acknowledged. We need to generate more evidence on the impact of this strain on their health and well-being, economic opportunities, participation in formal labor markets and ability to benefit from intensification strategies. However, we also still need to come to better grips with addressing structural barriers and influencing norms. Similarly on masculinities and engaging men as partners and champions in efforts to achieve gender transformative change. Understanding what drives gender transformative change, how to measure it and how to achieve it at scale is a relevant and urgent question to address.

6. How do we best measure the impact of gender research?

I would like to believe that we in CGIAR are past the stage of asking “why” we should do gender research, but rather are now asking “what” and “how” to best do it. Outcomes and impacts of social research are often intangible, have significant time lags and might not be quantifiable, just as the pathways to impact are very complex, context specific and dynamic. However, we do periodically face the question “why”, and therefore it would be worthwhile investing in methods and tools that allow us to unequivocally answer why gender research matters.

These six big questions might serve as a starting point for the CGIAR GENDER Platform’s new research agenda. To be successful, the research and synthesis efforts we undertake need to be underpinned by strong capacities, frameworks, approaches and tools, including on intersectionality, mixed (qualitative-quantitative) methods and big data. We must also remind ourselves that climate change, and other crises such as global pandemics, are major drivers of change in global food systems.

To get this right, we need to think as if there is no box. We need to forge unconventional and inter-sectoral alliances in research, academia and development to address the wicked challenges we face in agriculture and food systems today. Strengthening our own capacity—and that of our partners—to ensure uptake at scale of our cutting-edge, evidence-based solutions will be crucial to achieve equitable, sustainable, productive and climate-resilient food systems.

Dr. Ranjitha Puskur lead’s gender and youth research at International Rice Research Institute and is a socio-economist.

Want to join our community? To engage in regular exchanges with colleagues and partners about the CGIAR GENDER Platform and related resources and opportunities, sign up for our online discussion group here. We look forward to your input!

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By Gaudiose Mujawamariya

Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, Jun 24 2020 (IPS) – As infections with Covid-19 appear to be intensifying in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), fears of severe food shortages have prompted experts to warn that the region may be “on the brink of a hunger pandemic.” Efforts are intensifying to rally a major global response.

But averting what some experts believe could be a food crisis of immense proportions requires paying close attention to an often overlooked feature of food security in the region: African women play a large and growing role in all aspects of the region’s food systems—whether it’s growing crops and raising livestock, selling and purchasing food in local markets, or dealing with the nutritional needs of their households.

African women often assume this burden while laboring with key disadvantages due to long-standing gender roles that can limit their access to economic resources—both within their households and communities. To be effective, any intervention to avert a food crisis caused by the pandemic will need to navigate a fraught terrain of gender inequality—and not just in the interest of social justice. Women are critical to feeding all Africans. The more they suffer, the more the continent will suffer.

Most of the food consumed in SSA is produced on small-scale family farms where, in many countries, 40 to 60 percent of farmers are women. Yet these women often lack equal access to quality seeds, fertilizers, good land, credit, technical advice and new technologies.

I work with a non-profit international research consortium that is mobilizing a global network of experts who understand how gender equality can be a powerful force in revitalizing rural economies–increasing their food security and making them more resilient to a number of challenges.

My colleagues and I realize that in the face of this unprecedented crisis, the work of the gender researchers that make up our new CGIAR GENDER Platform is more urgent than ever. The lessons that have emerged from past research conducted by GENDER’s partners can be illuminating as we seek ways to stop the fight against COVID-19 from producing an outbreak of hunger and malnutrition.

One important lesson is the need to develop solutions that account for the limited mobility many women face. Long before COVID-19, it was challenging for African women farmers to carve out time to get their goods to market, where the money they earn is often used to purchase additional food for their families.

In Western Kenya, for example, one reason women dairy farmers have not earned and produced as much as men is because their household work makes it very difficult to travel to central cooling facilities to sell their milk. In response, the New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (NKCC) promoted the use of small coolers in local neighborhoods where women can easily deliver milk for pick-up. Creating this type of last-mile linkage—for a number of commodities— can help build bridges between women producers and consumers in the midst of restrictions imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Secondly, tailoring how we deliver information will be critical for women farmers. For example, as primary food vendors, women will need to be informed about when local markets will be open for business.  But information access has been a perennial challenge.

A study in Ghana, for example, found that, despite enthusiasm around Africa’s widespread adoption of mobile phones, using text messaging and smartphone apps to deliver climate forecasts to farmers might miss a lot of women farmers. Compared to men, women are less likely to own a cell phone or have the finances to purchase air time. Literacy may also be lower for women. Moreover, the social network many women use to overcome these barriers could be closed-off by the COVID-19 clampdowns.

The solution to dealing with the gender inequality around climate forecast services holds true for delivering information to farmers during this pandemic: conveying information via multiple channels, such as radio or videos, was found to be effective in reducing this technology-related gender gap.

Finally, giving women an equal voice in making decisions about the food produced on their farms can lead to better nutrition.

In Malawi, outreach to women proved decisive in community adoption of new varieties of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes that are naturally high in vitamin A. Women farmers were swayed by the nutritional benefits they offered for their children—even though men traditionally have been in charge of sweet potato crops.

In Tanzania and Ghana, women who had greater access to irrigation were more likely to use it to grow nutritious crops for household consumption. In the face of COVID-19 and its potentially devastating effects on hunger and malnutrition, any kind of aid focused on improving household nutrition must be directed towards women.

Today, there is a lot of discussion in the development community that confronting the food-related problems caused by this pandemic presents an opportunity for “building back better.” That means designing interventions that can also help address problems that pre-dated the current crisis and will be here long after it’s over.

Subjecting emergency food interventions now being planned for SSA to something of a gender stress-test is one way we can address the immediate challenge before us while helping communities emerge from the crisis on even firmer footing.

Gaudiose Mujawamariya is an economist and gender researcher, and she contributes to the CGIAR GENDER Platform as a representative of Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) in Madagascar.

This OpEd was first published on ipsnews.net. Read the original piece here.

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The COVID-19 pandemic affects everyone, everywhere.

But it affects different groups of people differently, deepening existing inequalities.

Early data indicates that the mortality rates from COVID-19 may be higher for men. But the pandemic is having devastating social and economic consequences for women and girls.

Today we are launching a report that shows how COVID-19 could reverse the limited progress that has been made on gender equality and women’s rights – and recommends ways to put women’s leadership and contributions at the heart of resilience and recovery.  

Nearly 60 per cent of women around the world work in the informal economy, earning less, saving less, and at greater risk of falling into poverty.

As markets fall and businesses close, millions of women’s jobs have disappeared. 

At the same time as they are losing paid employment, women’s unpaid care work has increased exponentially as a result of school closures and the increased needs of older people.

These currents are combining as never before to defeat women’s rights and deny women’s opportunities. 

Read more on UN.org

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As the healthcare systems in developed countries are overwhelmed by the spread of novel coronavirus, CARE calls on development and humanitarian organizations, national governments, and international donors to consider the gendered implications of the pandemic in a new policy brief titled, “Gendered Implications of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Development and Humanitarian Settings.” 

“We know that when emergencies hit, women and girls come last,” says CARE’s Humanitarian Policy Director Susannah Friedman. “Our new policy brief synthesizes lessons learned during previous public health emergencies, including Ebola and Zika, and shows that even though current data might indicate that men and the elderly are more likely to contract the virus, women and girls will still suffer inequitable hardships as a result of the pandemic.”

Development and humanitarian programs that support women and girls are often disrupted during public health emergencies, although their needs may in fact be amplified. This can have serious implications for women and girls in the short and long term.

Read more.

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