INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

How project interventions can reduce the gender-asset gap

INTERNATIONAL LIVESTOCK RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The Gender and Agricultural Assets Project (GAAP)

Objective: To reduce the gap between men’s and women’s control and ownership of assets, broadly defined, by evaluating how and how well agricultural development programs build women’s assets;

Three-year project, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (mid 2010-2012);

Jointly lead by IFPRI and ILRI , including 8 core project collaborators working in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia;

Mix of qualitative and quantitative (Q2) expertise and evaluation methodologies;

Dreaming big and thinking ahead: Might be the start of a new paradigm in agricultural development programming!

Project Team

Agnes Quisumbing(IFPRI)

Jemimah Njuki (ILRI)

Nancy Johnson(ILRI)

Ruth Meinzen-Dick (IFPRI)

Dee Rubin (Cultural Practice LLP)

Amber Peterman (IFPRI)

Elizabeth Waithanji (ILRI)

Julia Behrman (IFPRI)

Shalini Roy (IFPRI)

Ginette Minot (IFPRI)

More information at: http://genderassets.wordpress.com

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3 types of projects included in the portfolio

1. Projects that transfer (or facilitate acquisition of) individual assets: • Landesa (India—Land);

• BRAC-Targeting the Ultra Poor (Bangladesh—Livestock);

• Land O’ Lakes (Mozambique—Dairy cows);

• KickStart (Tanzania and Kenya—micro-irrigation pumps).

2. Projects that build infrastructure and provide equipment to increase agricultural productivity and income:• CARE-Bangladesh (and its twin, EADD—training, group formation);

3. Projects that develop improved crop varieties and agricultural practices:• Cereal Systems in South Asia (India—rice);

• Orange-fleshed Sweet Potato (Uganda—new variety);

• Helen Keller International (Burkina Faso—vegetables).

Asset Transfer Projects: Common Themes

Understanding cultural concepts of ownership (what does it mean to own or control an asset?);

Identifying and understanding gender-specific barriers to asset acquisition and control;

Measuring impact of asset transfers on men’s and women’s assets and the gender asset gap;

Methods of increasing women’s ownership of /control over key assets over time (even if asset transferred to her, no guarantee she has control; if asset transfer is not targeted, examining if there are gender biases in asset acquisition and how to overcome these).

MoneyMaker! Treadle pump in Kenya

Unpacking the “Gender Box”

Photo credit: Agnes Quisumbing6

Helps identify HOW:

• Gendered asset distribution affects outcomes

• Outcome of agricultural programs differs by gender

• Building assets takes place in a way that is gendered

Guides attention to key processes for evaluation

Provides basis for comparison and learning across different case studies

Why have a conceptual framework?

Women and men have separate assets, activities, consumption, etc.

Households also have some joint assets, activities, consumption, etc.

Shading of each component as a reminder that we need to consider gender—separation and jointness in each

Women’s Men’sJOINT

Each component is gendered

Livelihood

Strategies Full Incomes

Consumption

Savings/

Investment

Well-being

Shocks

Context: Ecological, Social, Economic, Political factors, etc.

Women Joint Men

Assets

Legend:

♀ ♂Context

Agroecology

Location

Institutions

Markets

Gender relations

etc.

♀ ♂Assets

•Natural

•Physical

•Financial

•Human

•Social

•Political

•Enable livelihoods

•Resist shocks

•Direct effect on well-being

♀ ♂Livelihood Strategies

•What are the livelihood options available to

women and men?

•What assets do those livelihoods require?

•Are women (or men) precluded from good

livelihoods by lack of assets?

♀ ♂Shocks

•What are the major shocks that affect

women, men, and households?

•How do women, men respond to shocks?

•What role do assets play in responding to

shocks?

♀ ♂Full Income

• Includes cash and direct consumption

• What affects the income women and men

earn?

• What affects the control of income within

the household?

♀ ♂Consumption

• Includes food and nonfood

• How are women’s, men’s, and joint

income used for different types of

consumption by different family members?

• What affects decisions on consumption?

(Does control of assets play a role?)

♀ ♂Savings/Investment

• This feeds back to + or – asset

accumulation

•How are women’s, men’s, and joint

income used for different types of

investment by different family members?

• What affects decisions on investment?

• Are there enough mechanisms for women

to build assets?

♀ ♂Well-Being

•Health

•Nutritional status

•Time use

•Stress

•Empowerment

•etc.

Livelihood

Strategies Full Incomes

Consumption

Savings/

Investment

Well-being

Shocks

Context: Ecological, Social, Economic, Political factors, etc.

Women Joint Men

Assets

Legend: