Gender in the Impact Pathway of Agricultural R&D: Research Needs and Strategies

Transcription

1 Gender in the Impact Pathway of Agricultural R&D: Research Needs and Strategies Jacqueline Ashby Senior Advisor, Gender and Research CGIAR Consortium Artist: Ashley Cecil; image on Flickr by Piotr Fajfer Oxfam International

2 Topics 1. Expected results: gender in the CGIAR Strategic Results Framework 2. Opportunities and challenges: role of social science research

3 1.Gender in the CGIAR Strategic Results Framework Gender equity outcomes (expected results): Gender equitable control over productive assets and resources Technologies adopted that save time and energy Improved capacity to participate in decisionmaking

4 Each program has a gender impact pathway RESEARCH PRODUCTS New knowledge and technology OUTCOMES Research products are put into use leading to Gender equitable control over productive assets and resources Technologies adopted that save time and energy Improved capacity to participate in decision-making IMPACTS Poverty reduction Improved food security, health and nutrition More sustainable resource use for agriculture

5 Impact pathway: gender equitable control over productive assets and resources New knowledge, technologies, practices, institutions and policies emitted by the CGIAR and partners Change in social and economic returns to key productive resources for agriculture Change in the balance of power in gender relations (empowerment or disempowerment) Positive change in women s empowerment can increase their adoption and sustained use of CGIAR innovations and more gender equitable distribution of resultant increases in production, food or income. Change in the ways men and women control resources and how they benefit from their use. Change in gender norms, rules and customs that regulate cooperation, conflict and the balance of power among men and women in farm households, communities and other institutions Negative change in women s empowerment can decrease their adoption and sustained use of CGIAR innovations decreasing gender equity in the distribution of benefits to production, food security or income.

6 Each outcome involves a set of researchable hypotheses (theory of change): For example: If gender disparities in the adoption of new technologies, resource management practices and marketing opportunities are reduced, income and assets for women producers will increase and the gender gap will decrease

7 What kind of research? Objective To improve the relevance of the CGIAR's research to poor women as well as men (reduced poverty and hunger, improved health and environmental resilience) in all the geographical areas where the work is implemented and targeted by end of By 2015 progress towards these outcomes will be measurable. Significance Scale

8 Significant research on gender Must address the so what question: How does this research provide relevant understanding of the gender gap in agriculture?

9 The gender gap in agriculture (FAO, 2010) Inequalities between women and men producers: hold back agricultural productivity (yield gaps of 20-25%) perpetuate poverty and unsustainable resource use make women more vulnerable to climatechange impacts on agriculture are obstacles to the CGIAR achieving its strategic results Photo P. Casier (CGIAR).

10 The gender gap in agriculture (FAO, 2010) Mali women collect firewood for cooking on the dry bed of the Niger River (photo on Flickr by United Nations). Pervasive inequalities between women and men in: Assets for agriculture --land, water, trees, fisheries, livestock, especially insecure property rights Labor markets Access to services- financial, advisory, business development Knowledge and skills Technology Organization Supportive institutions and policy

11 Unpacking the gender gap in agriculture RESEARCH PRODUCTS New knowledge and technology Is the technology useful (adoptable) for women as well as for men? OUTCOMES Research products are put into use Are the delivery services appropriate and accessible? Is the normative environment enabling? (in households, community or polity) Does it require transformative interventions? IMPACTS Poverty reduction Improved food security, health and nutrition More sustainable resource use for agriculture

12 Example A The study uses data from the Côte d Ivoire Living Standards Measurement Survey (CILSS) and data on rainfall variation to identify gender effects on income shocks. In Côte d Ivoire, men and women intensively farm their own plots of land. Husbands and wives farm different crops that are differentially sensitive to rainfall shocks. Shocks that increase the output of crops predominantly cultivated by women shift cash expenditures toward all types of food consumption while similar shocks affecting crops cultivated by men have no effect on the purchases of food. Duflo, Esther, and Christopher Udry Intrahousehold Resource Allocation in Côte d Ivoire: Social Norms, Separate Accounts and Consumption Choices, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No

13 Key points example A Provides insight into a crucially important cause-effect relationship i.e. how gender, climate shock and food expenditure interact The data are nationallyrepresentative

14 Example C Nationally representative data for Malawi were used to measure the gender gap in adoption of modern maize. The survey (the Malawi Integrated Household Survey, a World Bank LSMS) collected information at the village, household, individual, and farm plot levels. Results show the probability of adopting modern maize was 12% lower for wives in male-headed households, and 11% lower for female household heads, than for male farmers. Receipt of subsidized input coupons had no discernible effect on modern maize adoption for male farmers. Adoption by female household heads was, however, significantly influenced by receipt of a FISP package consisting of both maize seed and fertilizer coupons, associated with a 222% increase in the probability of modern maize adoption Fisher, Monica, and Vongai Kandiwa Can Agricultural Input Subsidies Reduce the Gender Gap in Modern Maize Adoption? Evidence from Malawi. Food Policy 45:

15 Key points Example C Tests for systematic gender differentials in adoption Differentiates among the behavior of different types of women wives in male-headed households, FHH Looks at the interaction between gender, adoption and how access to delivery is organized Photo P. Casier (CGIAR).

16 Significance of research on gender? Must provide insight into cause-effect relationships that are decisive for outcomes and impact Adoptability of a Program s knowledge or technology can be decisive, but is a very small component of changing the gender gap in agriculture

17 Scale of research on gender So what? Can this finding be generalized to an important beneficiary group in a priority area? - Attention to scale and research design are crucial

18 Two examples EXAMPLE 1 Uses nationally-representative household survey data on plot cultivation by male and female household members in order to cost the factors of production contributing to the gender gap in agricultural productivity. Estimates the costs associated with gender gaps in access to individual agricultural inputs. For example, differences in the use of implements and machinery explain 18 percent of the gender gap in Malawi, 8 percent in Tanzania, and 9 percent in Uganda. Women also use lower levels of advanced agricultural technologies such as pesticide and inorganic fertilizer. The different factors of production contributing to the gender gap in agricultural productivity are costed and compared. UN Women, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, and World Bank The Cost of the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity in Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda. New York and Washington DC: UN Women, UNDP, UNEP, and the World Bank Group.

19 EXAMPLE 2 Two examples Field studies in four sites in Ethiopia, and Kenya where the Project is implemented, collected data through a set of semi-structured interviews with individuals in different types of households, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Women experience high labor burden and intensity. Yet, only in exceptional cases, do women articulate demand for mechanization and use tractor technology. Values and assumptions make women s work invisible and unrecognized. Women are generally expected to work hard and long hours, and are not supposed to voice their concerns. Women lack access to and control over a range of resources, including land, income, and extension services. The gender division of labor exacerbates this limited access, because women s time poverty negatively affects their access to resources and information. Decision-making is a male domain, and women are mostly excluded or merely informed. Gender Matters in Farm Power Anouka van Eerdewijk & Katrine Danielsen February MAIZE CRP

20 Key points two examples EXAMPLE 1 At national scale, estimates relative importance of different components of the gender gap -- in labor use per household, adoption of highvalue crops, use of agricultural implements, pesticide use, inorganic fertilizer use, and wealth and can help researchers set priorities among alternative entry points. EXAMPLE 2 At project scale, describes different components of the gender gap Photo P. Casier (CGIAR).

21 2. Opportunities and challenges Role of social science in applied agricultural research and development

22 Dual role of social science in applied agricultural R&D RESEARCH PRODUCTS New knowledge OUTCOMES Gender Research products are put into use : IMPACTS USE BY R&D PARTNERS IMPACT ON THE PROGRAM USE BY THE PROGRAM

23 23 Example: feeding gender research findings into the breeding cycle. Breeding Process Map

24 Trait prioritization has a gender dimension Trade-offs: Women have practical and strategic needs Practical: e.g. less laborious food preparation Strategic: e.g. control over food and marketable surplus Example Increased yield of a so-called women s crop can lead to her loss of control while better storage quality can improve her control over crop use. so trait prioritization matters.

25 Example D The power of bitterness Anthropology case study Ownership of the cassava harvest is contested: If you [a woman] only plant non-bitter cassava in your field, you will get a lot of stealing. Especially the young men think it is their right to harvest the fruits of our labor Men can plant non-bitter cassava because they can call in a diviner and use juju-magic to protect their fields so something evil will happen to a thief Bitter quality enhanced women s control over the cassava harvest: The necessity to exhaustively process the bitter roots for safe consumption gave women the power to decide independently when to harvest them Sweet cassava can be too readily uprooted and converted into cash Chiwona Karltun et al.

26 EXAMPLE E: GENDER-DIFFERENTIATED PREFERENCES FOR WHEAT TRAITS The study used participatory evaluations of wheat varieties, conjoint and cluster analysis to identify important, genderdifferentiated trait preferences This generated 6 traits and 14 trait levels. These were used to create 18 hypothetical varieties Men and women farmers from different wealth strata rated the18 hypothetical combinations The importance each individual man and women gave to each trait could then be derived Survey of 158 men and 147 women farmers FINDINGS 7 distinct clusters of trait preferences were identifiedeach cluster of people values the traits differently Overall, cluster membership was weakly correlated with gender Some clusters had predominantly female members Produced a more sophisticated segmentation of users than simple differentiation by gender Nelson, Katherine Margaret Analysis of Farmer Preferences for Wheat Variety Traits in Ethiopia: A Gender-Responsive Study, PhD dissertation, Cornell University.

27 Key points examples D and E Insights provide significant feedback for shaping the technical research of breeding programs But issues of scale and representativity make generalization problematic and limit the usefulness of the findings

28 Summary: Research on gender in applied agricultural R&D must answer the so what question Unpacking the gender gap is an essential task Research can be aimed at influencing the technical objectives of the research program or its interventions with partners

29 Summary: Research impact depends on providing insights into crucial cause-effect relationships in ways that permit generalization to important target groups and areas

30 For more information: How we do research/ Research on gender in agriculture