The latest in gender, agriculture and development...
8 July, 2022
Image: Georgina Smith
Quote of the Week:
"Working with a gender-transformative approach means moving beyond targeting women, and instead considering the power relations between women, men, girls and boys in whole communities. It also means engaging both women and men, girls and boys, to create change. This way of working is characterized by aiming to shift constraining gender norms—that is, the causes of inequality.
For example, one study in fishing camps in Zambia has used bespoke drama skits to allow women and men to discuss serious and sensitive topics, such as gender roles and power, in a fun and humorous way. Researchers found that this approach built a better understanding of gendered perspectives and was more successful than the usual set of practical strategies in ensuring women’s participation. This work resulted in both women and men changing their attitudes toward gendered roles and in increased women’s empowerment."
This proposed consultancy is core to the initiative goal of addressing widespread gender and social inequalities in ESA agribusiness ecosystems. Along with UU researchers, the consultant will assess ecosystems in different local and national contexts to map multidimensional challenges and opportunities, and apply coordinated transformative change interventions across the Initiative’s other Work Packages such as strengthening technical and financial capacity; enhancing access to on- and off-farm assets, services, and innovations; increasing engagement and agency through targeted investments, innovations in design, peer-mentor support and training; and establishing change agents and champions. The key output will be to identify actionable pathways to gender-transformative and socially inclusive change in different national contexts that correspond to local demand. This will be achieved by developing a robust GESI framework of action that allows designing adaptive scale up and scale out gender equality and social inclusion in agribusiness ecosystems in the ESA.
The Muhogo Bora project is seeking a postdoctoral fellow to join the project team based in IITA Tanzania. Muhogo Bora means “Better cassava” in Swahili, and we provide support to develop and expand cassava seed systems in Tanzania with targeted outreach to the Western Zone, Central and Southern Highlands regions. The project complements and builds on ongoing efforts from the Building an Economically Sustainable Seed System for Cassava in Tanzania (BEST Cassava) project that has operated since 2017, and will end this year and transition into the Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II) project in 2022 in Tanzania. Muhogo Bora presents a complementary opportunity to amplify and adapt the existing Cassava Seed Entrepreneur (CSE) model to provide equitable outcomes for women who are represented in low numbers as CSEs compared to men.
Under the guidance of a senior researcher, contribute to IWMI’s research for development activities on climate-smart water management practices with special focus on gender and social
inclusion aspects. The expert will help in addressing key development challenges with a core focus on implementation of gender transformative approaches in identification of water management solutions for enhancing climate resilience of small-scale agricultural producers.
The workshop Using Data to Tell Compelling Stories About Land will feature a selection of recent data stories published by the Land Portal, including from winners of the 2021 Data Story Contest, but also from the Land Portal's data team. Participants will present their data stories, share the process of producing a data story, and reflect on collaboration with the Land Portal on writing and sharing an effective story.
"President Biden signed an executive order Friday aimed at protecting women’s reproductive rights, a response to rising pressure from within his party to address last month’s Supreme Court ruling revoking federal protections for abortion with greater urgency and conviction.
“We cannot allow an out-of-control Supreme Court, working in conjunction with extremist elements of the Republican Party, to take away freedoms and our personal autonomy,” Biden said in a speech from the White House. “The choice we face as a nation is between the mainstream and the extreme, between moving forward and moving backwards, between allowing politicians to enter the most personal parts of our lives and protecting the right of privacy.
The president’s modest executive order does little to blunt the effect of the Supreme Court’s June 24 ruling, which leaves states free to ban abortion procedures outright, as nearly a dozen have already done. Fully restoring abortion rights, Biden made clear, is out of his hands — but very much in the hands of voters this fall."
Advancing Women in Agriculture through Research and Education (AWARE) is an initiative by the Department of Global Development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University to engage a community focused on empowering women in agriculture. AWARE believes that empowering women as an underserved group holds the greatest potential to make significant impacts in agricultural development.
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