Gender Mainstreaming in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management

Building Accountability to Women Farmers

Women farmers’ constraints

• Impacts of environmental degradation

• Limited Assets (land, labor, financial, product markets)

• Gender relations– Unequal power– Patriarch

• Social constraints– Limited education levels– Limited mobility

How have agriculture and NRM failed women farmers?

• Supply-driven R&D systems• Agricultural extension services

that bypass women• Predominance of male

extension agents• Lack of organizational capacity

for social and gender analysis• Few female professionals with

skills and power to influence organizational policies, plans, and budgets

An alternative approach:

Put women farmers at the center, build accountability to them

WOCAN Approach: to partner professional and rural women to achieve gender equality in agricultural and NRM organizations and increase investments in women farmers.

What changes are required to institutionalize gender issues within agriculture and NRM

organizations?

• Political commitment• Technical capacity in

social and gender analysis

• Accountability to gender policies

• Supportive organizational culture: norms, values attitudes

What practices are most effective to drive organizational change?

• Leadership training for women

• Building men’s support

• Build technical capacity in social/gender analysis

• Build capacity of professionals to act as brokers between organizations and rural women’s groups

Leadership Training for Women

Provide training for women of producer groups, government departments of agriculture/NRM on:

• Communication skills• Negotiation skills• Advocacy skills• Management skills• Skills for agro-enterprise

Building Men’s Support

• Men for Gender Equality: training on how to support women leaders

• Encouraging heads of organizations to support organizational change

How can women farmers influence organizational accountability and

resources?

• Acting as advocates for change in fora such as the Network of Women Agriculture Ministers and Leaders

• Gaining control of resources in their groups and demanding services from agriculture and NRM organizations