1. Gender in Agricultural Research Nathalie M. Me-Nsope (PhD) Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics Global Center for Food Systems Innovation (GCFSI) Michigan State University AgShare Convening, Addis Ababa, 03/11/2015

2. Outline GCFSI-Mission and Objectives Gender—what is it? Why is gender relevant to agricultural research and development? Gender issues in Agriculture AgShare Project Incorporating gender into agricultural research curricula Gender in the curriculum development process Gender in the research process Conclusion

3. GCFSI Mission Create, test and enable the scaling of effective solutions and evidence- based approaches to a defined set of future critical global trends impacting food systems. GCFSI Objectives 1.Provide decision support to improve data quality and access, as a way to promote evidence-based decision making in food systems. 2.Accelerate the creation, testing and scaling up of transformative innovations, technologies and approaches in food systems. 3.Create a multi-disciplinary network that shares knowledge, promotes learning, and builds mutual capacity in the area of food systems innovation. GCFSI Mission and Objectives

4. Gender? A social construct, a product of the social environment. Describes the relationship between men and women in a specific social context. Different from sex; varies across culture, time and space

5. Why is Gender Relevant to Agricultural Research and Development? Agricultural systems are embedded in a social context. – Social context : defines roles and responsibilities for Ag system actors create differential patterns of access to productive assets on the basis of gender. – Assets are critical determinant of livelihood strategy; d/f types of assets enable d/f livelihoods; – D/f types of assets have d/f implications for bargaining power or well-being within the household as measured by outcomes such as food security, nutrition, and education – Assets influence both the decision to participate and the level of participation in agricultural systems activities.

6. Gender issues in African Agriculture Existing evidence on gender gaps in African agriculture. – women’s time contribution to agriculture is estimated at 60-80% – W/m are not recognized as farmers—they “help” – W/m face restrictions in decision making about resources for production such as land; – W/m have limited access to productivity enhancing inputs such as credit, fertilizers, improved seeds and extension – W/m have limited control over proceeds from their labor

7. Gender issues in African Agriculture Some compelling evidence on the implications of gender gaps on indicators of agricultural development – Agricultural productivity increases dramatically when women get the same amount of inputs men get—20-30% (FAO, 2011). – Gender as a significant determinant of extension access (Ragassa et al., 2012) – Reduced investment in land fertility due to insecure land tenure in Ghana (Goldstein & Udry, 2008). – Different levels of participation, methods of production and modes of marketing for men and women due to inequalities in resources (Hill & Vigneri, 2011)

8. Gender issues in African Agriculture Gender inequalities run through agricultural systems Strengthening African agricultural systems to deliver outcomes such as food security, improved nutrition and health, poverty reduction, would unfailingly require giving attention to the gender inequalities in the agricultural systems.

9. AgSHARE

10. Incorporating Gender into Agricultural Research Curricula Why? – To improve accuracy in the diagnosis/assessment of the issues in Ag. systems – To improve on the applicability of proposed innovations, policies and other interventions – To Increase the likelihood of research/innovation to contribute to agricultural development outcomes of increased agricultural sustainability, improved food security and nutrition, and poverty reduction (through empowerment).

11. Incorporating Gender into Agricultural Research Curricula What will it take? First and Foremost! – Distinguishing between ‘gender’ as an analytical approach and NOT a synonym for ‘women.’ – Considering gender as an aspect of diversity amongst actors in agricultural systems – Not isolating gender into its own compartment but integrating it into agricultural research topics

12. Gender in Agricultural Curriculum Development 1.Determine the relevance of gender to the agricultural topic to be covered in each module/course – What do we know about existing gender relations in the context of study? – Secondary data; review of literature on topic and on context. 2.What unique gender questions are relevant for the topic? – For example— Topic: Climate Change Adaptation – Based on theory or existing evidence, what factors influence adaptation practices? How does gender interact with the factors? – How can we not make assumptions about answers to these questions but rather get responses to them inductively?

13. Gender in Agricultural Curriculum Development 3.Identify resources that can help students understand and appreciate the relationship between gender and the study topic—include relevant examples or case studies in the coursework, reading list or modules. 4.Develop/modify modules or course content to reflect knowledge on the intersection between gender and topic of interest.

14. Gender in Agricultural Curriculum Development (OER Modules & Courses) 5.Build students’/researchers’ capacity for gender- responsive agricultural research—capacity for gender analysis in ag as a process for : – Identifying the differences among individuals in terms of needs and capacities; – Characterizing social categories and social roles (in the household, Community, or society); Or – Highlighting inclusion and exclusion in a given activity, system or opportunity. 6.Overall, students/researchers must be able to identify/diagnose and record gender issues relevant to different Ag. topics, and to appreciate the implications of the gender issues for the study topic, and also for Ag systems outcomes

15. Gender in the Research Process—Practical Conducting a rapid gender analysis of the study context Classic gender analysis questions – Who does what? How? Where? When? Why? (labor) – Who uses what? How? Where? When? Why? (access) – Who controls what? How? Where? When? Why? (Decision making and control=power) – Who knows what? How? Where? When? Why? (information=power) – Who benefits what? How? Where? When? Why? (Benefit-sharing). – Who is included in what? How? Where? When? Why? (participation) How do you see existing gender relations interacting with the study topic?

16. Gender in the Research Process—Practical How does your knowledge of existing gender relations inform: how the study is designed? data collection approach? Type of information/data to collect? Study implementation? Choice of data analysis framework? – Qualitative or quantitative methods or both? – Which data collection technique or tools will be most appropriate? Incorporating a gender perspective in the design your tool? – level for data collection — household level or community level or individual? – Who to interview? Women? Men? Both? Who has accurate information on topic? Influence of interviewees social position on his/her responses – Sex disaggregated versus aggregated data? how does sex-disaggregating increase the realism of the data? costs (e.g. increase interview time). Analyzing the data to provide both accurate and meaningful picture of the challenge of different population groups.

17. Example—AgShare OER Modules on Household Food Security Objective—characterize and measure food Security in a specific context: – How does knowledge that households do not necessarily pool resources together (gender disparities in access to and control over productive assets) influence how you measure monetary or physical access to sufficient food? – How does knowledge on who owns and controls what productive assets within the household affect how you measure food accessibility (physical and monetary) as a dimension of food security—financial assets; physical assets (e.g. transportation)

18. Example—AgShare OER Modules on Household Food Security Objective—characterize and measure food Security in a specific context: – How does knowledge about gender roles and responsibilities (who does what or who is responsible for what) influence food knowledge and differences in the priorities for ensuring household food security? What does this mean in terms of who within the household has the most accurate data on household food security practices? E.g. women in household food provisioning

19. Example—AgShare OER Modules on Household Food Security How does knowledge that cultural beliefs underlie food distribution practices within the household influence how we understand and measure food utilization—access to safe and nutritious food that meet dietary needs within the household – as a dimension of food security. – What type and level of data will you collect? – What will be the unit of analysis- households or individuals within a household? – Who within the household has best knowledge on feeding or food consumption practices within the home?

20. Example—AgShare OER Modules on Household Food Security Objective—characterize and measure food Security in a specific context: – How do gender disparities in access to and ownership of production assets affect production activities, the overall food production capacity and hence food availability as a dimension of food security? – How do gender disparities in resources (physical (e.g. land), financial, human capital, natural, information and time and space (e.g. cultural restrictions on mobility) within the household influence the type of data you will need to assess the food security situation of a household?

21. Example 2—Gender and Adoption of the Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) Vaccine Biologically, CBPP affects production through mortality, reduced productivity and ability of cattle to work  loss of livelihoods and incomes Gender as an analytical category Research Questions: – What socio-economic factors affect the adoption of the CBPP vaccine? – How do they affect the adoption? – What can be done to enhance the adoption of CBPP? * Sex-disaggregated data was collected Finding: – Technology, including vaccine, adoption is gendered, with women tending to adopt less than men, especially in terms of consumer associated drivers (accessibility, affordability and acceptability).

22. Conclusion Gender is a development issue Gender issues in agriculture severely hinder agricultural development Gender is an important analytical category in agricultural research in Africa Gender equity and agricultural development are mutually supportive goals Gender inclusiveness in agricultural curricula is a must. Building capacity for the next generation of Africa’s development experts has far reaching benefits.

23. Thank You!