A System that Delivers: Integrating

Gender into Agricultural Research,

Development, and Extension
 Introduction
• Agricultural research requires a paradigm shift

• The role of women in ensuring food security in the

household should be better recognized

• In the world of agricultural research, development and

Extension (R, D, E) women are underrepresented, and
underserved
• Both men and women should be taken into account to
provide a more gender-responsive and complete
research
 Envisioning Gender in Agricultural
Research, Development, and Extension

• The usual upstream and downstream research

followed by impact assessment cater to the
male subsistence farmers
• Little consideration to women
• New proposed framework, provides a more
dynamic flow of information between actors
Framework
 Priority Setting
• Deciding on the kinds of R D and E to conduct

• Engendering the priority setting process

1. Consider the representation of women in agricultural

management

2. Development of mechanisms to take the needs of men,

women, and their consumers into account

3. Expansion from improving field crop production (include

gardens, post harvest processing, supply chains)
Evaluation and Impact Assessment
• For gender concerns to affect future priority
– Needs to be more sustematically integrated
– Increased focus on gender equity
– these factors would affect the extent to which
agricultural R & D would benefit women and men
 Market vs Home
• Impact of agricultural technologies will
depend on the relative importance of
production vs their own consumption of their
produce.
• The relative responsibility of men and women
on food.
– Men on cash crops
– Women on food crops
• Preferences of Women and Men on
technologies that improve overall farm
production
• Women farmers on grain vulnerability
compared to Men farmers.
• Women on Maize improve yield and
consumption.
• New technologies may affect men and women
differently, even in the same socio economic
class.
• Since a majority of the poor—and women—in
Africa and Asia derive incomes from labor on
their own and others’ farms, the employment
effects of new technologies are important
factors determining changes in incomes and
welfare.