Saturday 22 August 2009

Gender in agriculture

This resource produced by the World Bank, IFAD and the FAO is not Africa-specific, but it may be useful. (World Bank Publications - October 7, 2008). The report is now also online. It argues that gender inequalities need to be addressed in order for agricultural growth to fulfill the potential to alleviate poverty.

Women play a vital role as agricultural producers and as agents of food and nutritional security. Yet relative to men, they have less access to productive assets such as land and services such as finance and extension. A variety of constraints impinge upon their ability to participate in collective action as members of agricultural cooperative or water user associations.

In both centralized and decentralized governance systems, women tend to lack political voice. Gender inequalities result in less food being grown, less income being earned, and higher levels of poverty and food insecurity. Agriculture in low-income developing countries is a sector with exceptionally high impact in terms of its potential to reduce poverty. Yet for agricultural growth to fulfill this potential, gender disparities must be addressed and effectively reduced.

Content:
Module 1 - Gender and Food Security
Module 2 - Gender and Agricultural Livelihoods: Strengthening Governance
Module 3 - Gender and Rural Finance
Module 4 - Gender Issues in Land Policy and Administration
Module 5 - Gender and Agricultural Markets
Module 6 - Gender Mainstreaming in Agricultural Water Management
Module 7 - Gender in Agricultural Innovation and Education
Module 8 - Gender Issues in Agricultural Labor
Module 9 - Gender in Rural Infrastructure for Agricultural Livelihoods
Module 10 - Gender and Natural Resources Management
Module 11 - Gender and Crises: Implications for Agriculture
Module 12 - Gender in Crop Agriculture
Module 13 - Gender in Fisheries and Aquaculture
Module 14 - Gender and Livestock
Module 15 - Gender and Forestry Module
Module 16 - Gender Issues in Monitoring and Evaluation
Executive summary available in English, French, Arabic and Spanish
Related:
Women's Participation in Agricultural Research and Higher Education: Key Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa. 2009 (PDF 334K)