Gender relations shape identities, norms, rules, and responsibilities for women and men, and mediate access to, use, and management of water resources, as well as ownership, tenure, and user rights to land and forests (and related infrastructure, services, technologies innovations and interventions). Natural resource management (NRM) interventions thus have important implications for women’s labor, time, decision-making, and transformational gains.
Tag: agricultural research
Promise and contradiction: Value chain participation and women’s empowerment
With the expansion of agricultural production for the global market, interest among research and development actors in developing more “inclusive” value chains has grown (Stoian et al. 2018a). While mainstream value chain development (VCD) has focused on enhancing the efficiency of processes along the chain, policies increasingly endeavor to address poverty, emphasizing the inclusion of poor and marginalized people in global markets (Bolwig et al. 2010). In recent decades, scholars and development agencies have directed attention toward the “gender gap in agriculture” (Huyer 2016), encompassing, among other things, women’s lesser access to market opportunities and to the benefits from cash crops (Pyburn et al. 2015). As a consequence, agricultural development initiatives increasingly aim to support the engagement of women in agricultural value chains (Sachs 2019). However, while promoting the engagement of women in markets and value chains is becoming entrenched in the global agenda for gender equality (Stoian et al. 2018a), systematic evidence demonstrating causal linkages or laying out a clear theory of change between participation and empowerment remains limited (Said-Allsopp and Tallontire 2014, Johnson et al. 2018).
From vulnerability to agency in climate adaptation and mitigation
Rising temperatures and more extreme weather associated with climate change are expected to exacerbate existing social and gender inequalities across the globe (Adger et al. 2014 , Dankelman 2010). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that the production of major crops such as wheat, rice, and maize will be affected across all regions and that climate change will progressively increase variability in crop yields. All aspects of food security are affected, including food access, utilization, and price stability. In rural areas, major impacts are expected on water availability and supply, food security, and agricultural incomes, with shifts in production of both food and non-food crops as growing zones change as a result of weather variability (Adger et al. 2014, Girvetz et al. 2017). Climate-influenced migration is seen to be an intensifying factor in the feminization of agriculture in some regions, particularly South Asia and Central America, where out-migration for employment is predominantly male. Women left behind are required to manage farms and households with fewer resources and less family labor, further increasing their vulnerability (Gumucio et al. 2019a, Khatri-Chhetri et al. 2020).
Overcoming constraints of scaling: Critical and empirical perspectives on agricultural innovation scaling
Scaling is a ubiquitous concept in agricultural research in the global south as donors require their research grantees to prove that their results can be scaled to impact upon the livelihoods of a large number of beneficiaries. Recent studies on scaling have brought critical perspectives to the rather technocratic tendencies in the agricultural innovations scaling literature. Drawing on theoretical debates on spatial strategies and practical experience of agricultural innovation scaling in Ethiopia, this paper adds to the current debate on what constitutes scaling and how to overcome critical scaling constraints. The data for the paper came from a qualitative assessment using focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and document analysis on scaling work done in Ethiopia by a USAID-funded research for development project. The paper concludes with four broad lessons for the current understating of agricultural innovation scaling. First, scaling of agricultural innovations requires a balanced focus on technical requirements and associated social dynamics surrounding scaling targets, actors involved and their social relations. Second, appreciating the social dynamics of scaling emphasizes the fact that scaling is more complex than a linear rolling out of innovations towards diffusion. Third, scaling may not be strictly planned; instead, it might be an extension of the innovation generation process that relies heavily on both new and long-term relationships with key partners, trust, and continuous reflection and learning. Fourth, the overall implication of the above three conclusions is that scaling strategies need to be flexible, stepwise, and reflective. Despite the promises of flourishing scaling frameworks, scaling strategies it would appear from the Africa RISING experience that, if real impact is to be achieved, approaches will be required to be flexible enough to manage the social, processual and emergent nature of the practice of scaling.
A transdisciplinary approach for the development of sustainable yam (Dioscorea sp.) production in West Africa
Yam (Dioscorea sp.) is an understudied tuber crop despite its importance for food security, income generation, culture, and health inWest Africa. Traditional yam cropping practices inWest Africa deliver low yields and lead to environmental degradation. In the context of a ‘research for development’ project, we developed and implemented a participatory and transdisciplinary research approach as a means to derive more sustainable yam production practices. We identified and studied different soil and plant management technologies adapted to varying biophysical and socio-economic contexts. For this purpose, we established innovation platforms (IPs) in four yam growing regions of West Africa, to validate the new technologies and to promote their adoption. These co-developed technologies were set up and tested first in researcher-managed plots before doing the same in farmer-managed plots. The new technologies resulted in a significant increase in yam productivity compared to conventional practices. The results discussed in the IPs gained interest from regional stakeholders and were shared through the media at local and national levels. Overall, this development-focused research approach showcases the relevance of purposeful stakeholder involvement to improve agricultural research outcomes. © 2020 by the authors.