Mainstreaming Gender Approaches to Agricultural Extension Practices

INTRODUCTION

Though women are increasingly responsible for farm work, agricultural extension and information on new technologies are almost exclusively directed to men. Women and men are engaged in farming but in most cases women roles remain unrecognized. Failures to address gender based differences bring about disparities in development outcomes in general and in agricultural extension in particular. It is therefore necessary to take into consideration the interests, needs, and priorities of both women and men in delivery of agricultural extension services in order to bring desirable development in agriculture in terms of improved agricultural productivity, income and improving the farmers’ welfare. This 5 days course aim to equip participants with knowledge on gender related issues, strategies for meeting them and various ways of delivery of agricultural extension services in a way that improves gender-equitable service provision.

DURATION

5 Days

TOPICS TO BE COVERED

Module 1: Gender and Food Security

• Food security
• Food prices and food prices crisis
• Women role in a vibrant agriculture food and nutritional security.
• Gender and Agricultural Livelihoods:
• Strengthening Governance
• Increasing women’s voices and accountability in rural areas
• Obstacles in women making their voices heard.
• Potential reforms that are gender sensitive, gender specific, support empowering to women; and transformative in regard to gender and their implementation in a gender-sensitive manner.

Module 2: Gender and Rural Finance

• Access to well-designed financial services for pro-poor households build assets,
• Engage more effectively with markets, and reduce their vulnerability to crises.
• Microfinance for women as an effective gender strategy to increase women‘s role in production.
• Mainstreaming gender throughout the financial sector.
• Gender and Agricultural Markets
• Traditional gender divisions of labor and their impact on household consumption.
• Policies and interventions and their implications on food security.
• Food security and welfare.
• Impact of increases in women’s resources and income on education, health, and nutrition and increases investment in the family’s welfare.
• Access to infrastructure services, information, credit, and other business development services in order to capitalize on the new market opportunities along changing or emerging value chains.
• The formation of women’s groups to improve rights and access to services.

Module 3: Gender Mainstreaming in Agricultural Water Management

• Agriculture water management (AWM) includes irrigation and drainage.
• Water management in rain-fed agriculture.
• Recycled water reuse, water and land conservation, and watershed management.
• Water rights are directly related to land rights in many countries.
• Involvement of Women farmers in the planning and implementation of land and water management programs.
• Water quality also requires particular attention in AWM.
• Planning projects for multipurpose uses requires a thorough investigation of the non-agriculture uses and in particular of women’s needs.
• Gender in Agricultural Innovation and Education
• Crucial strides towards representation of women in higher spheres of life (education, as scientists, researchers, and extensionists, and policymakers).
• Comparative analysis of access to information, extension, advisory services, and education by women.
• Comparative analysis of access to improved technologies by women and resulting consequences for women.
• The need for Research, extension, and education systems to engage women.
• The need Agricultural policies to support women’s involvement in innovations systems and to revitalize women’s groups and networks to be competitive, visible, and recognized.

Module 4: Gender Issues in Agricultural Labor

• Creating dynamic rural economy in both the agriculture and the nonfarm sectors, by focusing creating good investment climate.
• Gender in Rural Infrastructure for Agricultural Livelihoods
• Ensuring gender equity in planning, decision making, and management processes in  the development of the infrastructure and services in a manner that balances gender disparities.
• Gender and Forestry/Natural Resources Management
• Women’s needs for environmental resources such as fuel and water.
• Improved natural resource management and conservation practices and its benefits.
• Land rights, women and men farmers.
• Gender in Agriculture, livestock production
• Formation of gender-responsive management bodies and small groups for accessing resources needed for aquaculture development.
• Provision of gender-responsive advisory services that address systematic bias in the generation and delivery of these services.
• Action to enable marginalized groups of processors, and traders to access markets and to obtain improvements in work conditions in labor markets.
• Support to marginalized groups, including poor women, in identifying and sustaining alternative livelihoods to reduce reliance on their fishing activities, which put pressure on the fragile and constricted marine resources and coastal ecosystems.

Module 5: Gender Issues in Monitoring and Evaluation

• Addressing gender concerns in designing agricultural and rural development projects, providing ideas and indicators, principles, approaches, and practical options - for improving the M&E of outcomes and impacts.
• Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) as accepted important steps for assessing progress toward specific outcomes and for measuring impact.