AGRICULTURE GENDER MARKER TIP SHEET GENDER EQUALITY IN THE

VICEPRESIDENCE MINISTÈRE DE L’AGRICULTURE DE L’ECONOMIE BLEUE ET DU
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AGRICULTURE GM Kit May 2011

Agriculture: Gender Marker Tip Sheet

Gender Equality in the Project Sheet

This tip sheet has been designed for clusters to help their project teams design agriculture projects that respond to the distinct needs and situations of women, girls, boys and men.

Integrating gender dimensions is part of good project design. It increases the project’s potential to improve the lives of affected populations. This is why the IASC Gender Marker (GM) was created: to respond to the humanitarian needs of women, girls, boys and men better and to ensure that when we do so, the funds we invest and the gender results we generate are visible. The Security Council demands better gender results and better accountability. So do donors.

The IASC, through GenCap, supported the roll-out of the GM in 10 countries in 2011. From the 2012 humanitarian funding cycle onwards, implementing the marker will be required in all countries in the CAP and in all other humanitarian appeals and funding mechanisms. Using the GM, all projects will be awarded a gender code of 0, 1, 2a or 2b by their cluster’s vetting team.

Donors will be able to see projects’ gender codes on the global Online Project System (OPS) and Financial Tracking System (FTS) and they can then use this information when they choose what projects to fund. The gender code is based on three elements:

G ender Analysis of Needs Activities Outcomes

So, getting a good gender code (2a or 2b) makes sense as it can enhance both project performance and funding potential.

This tip sheet has three elements:

The gender code
A chart with tips and examples of how to improve agriculture project sheets by bringing gender dimensions into:

Project objective
Beneficiary statement
Needs assessment
Activities
Outcomes

An annex with examples of an agriculture project that is gender mainstreamed and targeted actions that advance gender equality in agriculture.

Cluster teams are encouraged to download the e-copy of this Agriculture Tip Sheet, edit it so that it has practical and relevant country-specific examples and then, use it in project design workshops with cluster members. It is a cluster responsibility to make project teams aware of the gender code and to provide support so project teams can design good projects that perform and code well.

Gender Marker

Description

Note: The essential starting point for any humanitarian project is to identify the number of women, girls, boys and men who are the target beneficiaries. This information is required in all project sheets.

Gender Code 0

No visible potential to contribute to

gender equality

Gender is not reflected anywhere in the project sheet. There is risk that the project will unintentionally nurture or deepen existing gender inequalities.

Gender Code 1

Potential to contribute in some limited way to gender equality

The project has gender dimensions in only one or two components of the three critical components, i.e. needs assessment, activities and outcomes. The project does not have all three: 1) gender analysis in the needs assessment, which leads to 2) gender-responsive activities and 3) related gender outcomes

Projects that code 1 have pieces but not all three pieces of the whole to fit together to ensure that both male and female beneficiaries’ needs are addressed.

Most code 1 projects have potential to code 2a by improving their gender analysis or design.

Gender Code 2a

Potential to contribute significantly to gender equality

Gender

Mainstreaming

A gender analysis is included in the project’s needs assessment and is reflected in one or more of the project’s activities and one or more of the project outcomes.

Gender mainstreaming in project design is about making sure that the distinct concerns and experiences of women, girls, boys and men are an integral dimension of the core elements of the project: 1) gender analysis in the needs assessment, which leads to 2) gender-responsive activities and 3) related gender outcomes. This careful gender mainstreaming in the project design facilitates gender equality that then flows into implementation and monitoring and evaluation.

G ender Analysis of Needs Activities Outcomes

Most humanitarian projects should aim for code 2a. These projects identify and respond to the distinct needs of women, girls, boys and men.

Gender Code 2b

Potential to contribute significantly to gender equality: this is the principal purpose of these projects

Targeted

Actions

The project’s principal purpose is to advance gender equality

The gender analysis in the needs assessment justifies this project in which all activities and all outcomes advance gender equality.

All targeted actions are based on gender analysis. In humanitarian settings, targeted actions are usually of these two types:

The project assists women, girls, boys or men who have special needs or suffer discrimination.

The project needs analysis identifies the women, girls, boys and men who have special needs or are acutely disadvantaged, discriminated against or lacking power and voice to allow them to benefit equally from the assistance and protection available. Targeted actions aim to reduce the barriers so all women, girls, boys and men are able to exercise and access their rights and opportunities. Because the primary purpose of this targeted action is to advance gender equality, the code is 2b. Examples: Special needs –breastfeeding mothers or men’s reproductive health (Please note here that a reproductive health project that addresses the distinct needs of women and men should be coded 2a). Discrimination: out-of-school girls, boy ex-combatants, female survivors of rape, widowed men who need cooking and parenting skills, etc.

The project focuses all activities on building gender-specific services or more equal relations between women and men.

The analysis identifies rifts or imbalances in male-female relations that generate violence; undermine harmony or wellbeing within affected populations, or between them and others; or prevent humanitarian aid from reaching everyone in need. As the primary purpose of this type of targeted action is to address these rifts or imbalances in order to advance gender equality, the code is 2b.

Examples: Projects devoted to gender-based violence or to sector-wide gender assessments.

Getting Project Design Right

Lessons learned from the implementation of the Gender Marker in 10 countries for CAP and PF 2011 highlighted the following points for the designers and implementers of agriculture projects;

Improve targeting of beneficiaries by using gender analysis;
Ensure that projects respond to the distinct roles, competencies of needs of men and women in farming couples, the mainstay of subsistence agriculture. Often women farmers are invisible unless they are FHHs;
Require child nutrition outcomes for girls and for boys: gender gaps are often hidden in nutrition projects that focus on children. Girls and boys may not have the same access to food and or invest their energy in the same activities;
Within the gender analysis, consider protection issues including gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse.

Project Objective	If your project is making efforts to advance gender equality, the project objective should reflect this. A project objective that features gender quality signals to implementers the high priority your agency/organization places on the contribution of male and female farmers, fishers, pastoralists, etc. Here are two examples of how the gender-responsiveness of a project can be profiled in the objective: the original project objective has been strengthened by the additions in italics. Example 1: To provide assistance for early recovery of agriculture-dependant male and female-headed households in XYZ. Example 2: To enhance food and nutritional security by kick-starting livelihoods of female and male farmers. Making sex and age visible in the project objective prompts reflection/action on 1) how to close gender gaps and 2) how to meet different needs of women, girls, boys and men.
Beneficiaries	Crises affect women, girls, boys and men differently. Before the crisis, women, girls, boys and men would have performed different roles in farming, aquaculture and forestry. These gender roles equip them with different survival and coping skills as well as distinct needs. State the number of women or men, or if appropriate girls and boys, who are your project’s a) direct beneficiaries and b) indirect beneficiaries. Do not use generic groups that hide age or sex i.e. ‘farmers‘, herders’ or ‘harvesters’. As children are most often key beneficiaries in maternal-child or school nutrition projects, it is important to note that no such project can code 2 unless there are relevant Activities/Outcomes specifically for girls and boys based on their differentiated needs.
Needs Assessments	Women, girls, boys and men have a combination of shared and different roles in producing crops and gardens, rearing livestock and fish, and harvesting natural food from the land, the water and the forests. Pre-production and post-production activities are also deeply gendered. Gender analysis is vital in the needs assessment to explore these roles. Different needs result from these different roles. So do different skills, knowledge and resilience to respond to crisis. Good agriculture results come, in large part, from good gender targeting. An agriculture project that contains cosmetic gender language, such as ‘especially for women and girls’ or ‘particularly for boys’, is still a code 0. This is not ‘meaningful’. Meaningful gender analysis in the needs assessment explains ‘why’ or ‘how’ the situation is different for women/girls or men/boys, quantifies gender gaps or explains sex-specific needs, risks, roles or capacities. Here are examples of questions that can enrich the design of agriculture projects: In the target area what are the daily and seasonal activities of women, girls, boys and men in the pre-production, production and post-production cycle of each of the major crops? What are the daily and seasonal activities of women, girls, boys and men in aquaculture and forestry? What constraints do men and boys face compared to women and girls in successfully producing/acquiring food? (e.g. protection, mobility, social norms) How much time and energy do rural women/girls invest in non-farm activities and responsibilities compared to rural men/boys? How does women's decision-making, access and control related to agricultural assets compare with men’s? (e.g. land, implements, seed, fertilizer, animal vaccines) Do men and women have the same, and meaningful, access to new ideas, training and new technology? Is there a need for focused attention for women? See the SEAGA Passport to Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Emergency Operations (FAO/WFP Guidelines for Emergency Operations). (Suggest we insert one or two other key resources and their respective web sites)
Activities	The gender analysis in your needs assessment will identify the different problems facing men and women that need to be addressed. These should be integrated into activities. Examples: Gap: The needs assessment identifies adolescent boys and girls are in greatest risk of being abducted by rebels when they access farmland located outside IDP camps. Women have also been raped accessing and working the land. The primary men’s crop is maize which demands much less in-field time than the primary women’s crop of greens. Growing greens requires regular weeding, watering and harvesting. Responsive activity: Use a combination of soil analysis and gender analysis. Consult both women and men to get the best yields while minimizing risk to camp dwellers. Where soil quality permits, grow crops requiring most in-field time closest to camps. Organize field work teams to reduce vulnerability of women and adolescents. Gap: Pre-crisis income from commercial shrimp ponds was dropping sharply due to disease. There was resistance to adopting proven, affordable and cost-effective disease control. The emergency needs assessment, prior to revitalizing damaged shrimp ponds, uncovered the reasons for this resistance. Only men had been given the disease management information. Women manage family expenditures and are active, although less visible than men, in shrimp production. As women lacked this critical information on disease control, they would not invest in innovative disease management. Responsive activity: Involve both women and men in designing and implementing the clearing and rejuvenation of the shrimp ponds. Provide all training and information equally to men and women in these shrimp-raising communities. Gap: The needs assessment showed that many women returnees would be landless. According to local norms, when a husband dies ‘his’ land goes to his family, leaving the widow and her children vulnerable. There was cultural acceptance of land titles being in men’s, women’s or joint names but, in practice, the vast majority were in the names of men only. Responsive activities: 1) Develop a community-accepted and implemented model of farmland ownership that protects women’s and children’s inheritance rights with consultation of affected men, women and local officials. 2) Ensure the farmland that is awarded by the reconstruction authority is in joint title (husbands and wives or orphan brothers and sisters) and that female and male-headed households have full access to land title. Gap: The needs assessment shows there have been recurrent bouts of pre-crisis hog cholera in a remote disaster-affected area in Melanesia. Hogs are essential to subsistence survival and as compensation in traditional conflict resolution. Another wave of hog cholera is anticipated which would further deplete rural resilience and deepen poverty. The assessment notes that women feed, water and care for the pigs. They know the first signals of sickness in pigs and need the information on vaccination and disease control. Men sell, trade and gift pigs and usually determine how pig revenue is spent. Responsive activities: 1) Train and inform women and men in hog cholera control 2) Extend veterinary services beyond the airstrip and road-accessible villages in consultation with rural women’s groups. Gap: The needs assessment shows that women in the affected population invest an average of 30% more time than men in farming and food foraging. Yet, farming associations have all male executives. Few women attend and even fewer have the courage to voice their needs and opinions. Responsive activity: Support farmer associations forming and mentoring active committees of women farmers who will have voice at association meetings and elected representatives on the association executive.
Outcomes	Outcomes should capture the change experienced by the males and females who are the identified beneficiaries (e.g. farmers, fishers, processors, herders, gatherers). Outcome statements should, wherever possible, be worded so any difference in outcome for males and females or in male-female relations is visible. Avoid outcome statements that focus on ‘farmers’ ‘agricultural extension officers’ etc. that hide whether, or not, males and females equally benefit. Examples of gender outcomes: the importance of the words in italics is explained. XXX male farmers and XXX female farmers regain self-sufficiency through seeds and other agricultural inputs. respects that men and women are farmers and need equal access to farm assets XX veterinary assistants trained, equipped and supported (50% men /50% women). recognizes that women and men are active in the affected area in raising small and large livestock. Social norms may require same-sex veterinary services if all livestock and livestock producers are to access services Fewer male adolescents recruited by child traffickers due to well-resourced and successful young farmer groups. * reflects that gender analysis has identified adolescent boys as disadvantaged and having special needs that warrant focused intervention Women and men are active and influencing the decisions in farmer or fisher associations. advances the strategic interests of women farmers and fishers to be equal partners with men in agricultural development Family nutrition has improved due to the high levels of acceptance of trained women supporting home-based women in home gardening. recognizes the ability of women who are home-based, by choice or by societal norms, to actively contribute to their family’s food security and nutrition

ANNEX

Agriculture Projects – Gender Mainstreaming & Targeted Actions

*Terms such as gender mainstreaming, targeted actions, practical and strategic gender needs are explained in the Guidance Note in the Gender Marker Toolkit.

Most projects in the agriculture sector should fully mainstream gender. This requires:

A robust needs assessment that explores relevant gender issues.
One or more of the project’s activities address the distinct needs and realities of male and female farmers or others identified as project beneficiaries.
One or more of the outcomes capture the different outcomes for girls compared to boys, or men compared to women, generated by the project OR a change in male-female relations.

Examples of Gender Mainstreaming in Agriculture Projects – Code 2a

Fully gender mainstreaming an agriculture project means ensuring the different situations, interests and concerns of women, girls, boys and men are reflected throughout the project. Not all activities in each agriculture project will advance gender equality. However, projects will be most successful and bring most sustainable change if as many activities, as possible, take male and female differences into account. The number of outcomes that advance gender equality should flow directly from these activities.

Snapshot of a project – provision of farm assets to returnees

Needs Assessment Separate consultations are held with female and male returnees on their farming aspirations and needs. The single-sex discussions also allow the protection issues, fears and constraints that are distinct to women/girls and men/boys to surface. The needs assessment analyzes the crop and livestock-rearing activities, knowledge and preferences of men and women.

Activities Project activities are designed to respond to the realities identified in the needs assessment, including the disparities between men and women.

Activities could include:

Providing farm assets equally to male and female farmers in line with their crop/livestock skills and preferences;
Providing equal and culturally-appropriate access to veterinary and agricultural extension services (M/F veterinarians/veterinary assistants/extension officers may need to be recruited and trained);
Monitoring the ongoing differences and disparities between male and female farmers (which includes, among other issues, monitoring that farm assets are not being appropriated from women or vulnerable farmers).

Outcomes Many of the outcomes in this project have the potential to advance gender equality. Some examples:

Equal numbers (or realistic %) of male and female farmers have crops planted and water access sorted for their livestock;
Veterinary service has been enhanced by equal numbers (or realistic %) of female and male veterinary assistants trained and providing services locally;
Asset sustainability is enhanced and actively monitored (Figures provided on the comparative % of project assets provided to women and men that have been sold or appropriated by others).
Women’s contribution to the household income is recognized, and valued equally with men’s, by calculating their respective income from crops and livestock.

Snapshot of a project – revitalizing traditional farm knowledge

Needs Assessment The analysis shows that rebuilding sustainable agriculture would be enhanced by revitalizing traditional knowledge in several ways. The needs assessment showed that the recurring conflict and insecurity had caused both men and women to lose traditional farming skills and knowledge. Among the areas identified for priority action were: rebuilding the former marketing networks that involved traditional male elders as well as women sellers and their outreach marketing; revitalizing women’s traditional knowledge in seed preservation; and building onto men’s fast-disappearing knowledge in constructing insect-resistant grain storage.

Activities Responding to the issues raised in the needs assessment, project activities could include:

Building marketing networks that integrate viable elements of traditional marketing networks, with input from experienced and respected male elders and women’s leaders;
Identifying women and men who are custodians of how to preserve seed and build storages using traditional methods and supporting them to become effective trainers of these skills;
Mentoring so the application of traditional knowledge feeds into sustainable agricultural practice that can respond to both emerging opportunities and threats.

Outcomes Possible outcomes include:

Expanded markets for agricultural products supported by revitalized marketing networks that involve male and female leadership;
More reliable seed availability enhanced by local women-run seed banks;
Lower grain loss due to the resurgence of better-quality storages built at the initiative of local men.

Examples of Targeted Actions – Code 2b

Projects that target men, women, girls or boys who have special needs or are discriminated against in the agricultural sector

Snapshot of a project – creating a service network supporting home-based women to grow gardens

A project focuses entirely on home-based women growing food primarily for their families. The needs assessment analyzes the aspirations and needs of these women who feel responsible for the health and nutrition of their family. The assessment also explores restricted mobility, low literacy and other constraints that limit these women’s access to learning about food production, preparation and storage. All project activities respond to these women’s identified needs:

Training teams of women trainers to do home-to-home training, distribution and mentoring; development of a low-literacy information kit;
Provision of seeds, fertilizer and tools;
Creating male allies and champions.

All outcomes linked to these activities relate to improving the condition and status of marginalized or disadvantaged women.

Projects that focus on building gender-specific services or more equal relationships between males and females

Snapshot of a project – using gender assessment to reduce cost of production

A project is focused on the inequalities between women and men. The activities:

Conducting a comprehensive assessment to gain women’s and men’s input into mapping efficiencies and inefficiencies in production;
Consulting male and female farmers on their ideas, and on externally proposed innovations, for reducing the cost of producing their key crops.
Identifying actions and their different implications for men and for women (including how to mitigate negative impacts).

The project strives, through its participatory process, to register that male and female farmers are equally important and their agricultural efforts are equally valued.

The needs assessment that led to this project identified that there are key crops where men take the production and marketing lead; key crops in which women take the production and marketing lead; and crops where there are more shared roles and decision-making. These crops link to, and influence, the efficiency of livestock production. The comprehensive participatory assessment is designed as a key input into the upcoming national agriculture strategy. As all activities focus on the gender dynamics in the agricultural sector, all outcomes will be gender outcomes.

Gender Mainstreaming - An Agriculture Project Example

Comments and suggestions to strengthen gender mainstreaming are inserted in italics. Not all will be relevant or possible depending on the context. The purpose here is to show some of the many possibilities that exist for mainstreaming gender into agriculture projects.

Often, project design teams have data and insights are not reflected in the project sheet. Their plans for implementation might also be much more gender-responsive than the project sheet states. However, project implementers and donors respond to what is here on the project sheet.

The project below focuses on agro-dealers, an economic sphere where women are often under represented. Using a gender lens can ensure that men and women active in this sector are not overlooked and can create awareness and opportunity for all.

Objective

To assist in renewing and creating sustainable business relationships between

wholesalers and rural agro-dealers. (Suggest rewording to say ‘men and women who are agro-dealers’) This will illustrate the potential of a market-driven approach for agricultural input distributions to the humanitarian community.

Beneficiaries

Total: 300,000 households (More clarity is needed on direct and indirect beneficiaries. Suggest revising households to # farming household members – # women, girls, boys and men)

Other group: 600 Agro-dealers (Suggest inserting a target % of male/ female agro-dealers)

Project Duration

Mar 2010 - Jun 2011

Needs

Agricultural productivity has dwindled in the country because of political and economic instability. The country has become a net food importer. The devastation of input and extension support services has contributed to historically low productivity in the agriculture sector. In the past, inputs were widely available in most urban centres and there were sufficient outlets and economies of scale to ensure competitive pricing. Rural agro-dealers would purchase inputs from these outlets to stock their stores. Unfavourable government policies and subsequent economic decline, however, resulted in the non-availability of inputs, even in the major cities. This situation has resulted in farmers becoming increasingly reliant on handouts to meet their input requirements.

The need is to increase local access to inputs and extension support by smallholder farmers. Wholesalers will be encouraged to re-establish or create new relationships with rural agro-dealers through the provision of insurance, which will protect stock placed in stores on a consignment basis. The insurance will mitigate wholesaler risks and provide a catalyst for the re-establishment of rural agro-dealer networks throughout the country. Rural agro-dealers will benefit from business development services including business and agricultural training. Local demonstration plots at selected sites and distribution of crop management booklets (agronomic extension) will assist in helping farmers to use their precious inputs with maximum efficiency. Agro-dealers will be used to distribute information on HIV prevention and nutritious diets, benefitting HIV –infected households.

This needs assessment lacks essential gender analysis. The first activity calls for ‘prioritizing female agro-dealers’ but there is no elaboration of why and how.

Some issues that the needs assessment could explore: What % of farmers are men/women? What role do men/women have in decisions to buy farm inputs? Do male/female smallholders have distinct needs related to agricultural extension and production information? What % of agro-dealers are women/men? Do the same, or different, opportunities and constraints face men and women who are agro-dealers? What competencies (e.g. business, networking and problem-solving abilities) do men compared to women bring to the role of agro-dealer? Will women and men be equally effective in distributing HIV prevention and nutrition information?

The big unanswered question: Will men and women (farmers and agro-dealers) benefit equally from this project? If not, how can the design be improved to bridge this gap?

Activities

Select wholesalers, sites and agro-dealers in a timely manner, prioritizing female agro-dealers
Conduct a due diligence assessment of M/F wholesalers and F/M agro-dealers and select local organizations to provide extension support, business training and HIV prevention and coping services
Distribute, in a timely manner, agro-inputs including quality seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, veterinary products, implements and hardware for the production of a wide variety of food crops
Train agro-dealers and farmers (Suggest inserting a target % of men and women who agro-dealers and farmers – 50/50 if possible) on improved farming techniques and promote crop diversification
Practice using the local demonstration plot approach
Ensure continuous delivery of extension support throughout the season equally to male and female farmers, as well as monitoring and evaluation

Outcomes

Efficient use of public money through leveraging by the private sector (wholesalers and insurance companies)
Private sector awareness on business opportunities with female and male entrepreneurs and farmers in rural communities
Resuscitation of rural agro-dealer businesses owned by men and women through increased capacity to (1) stock stores and (2) operate efficient businesses, and develop a sustainable relationship with wholesalers
Female and male farmers have equal access to a wide selection of agricultural inputs well in time for the 2010/11 season
Revival of local economies with increased economic activities
Male and female farmers become aware of good agricultural practices through the effective local demonstration plot approach

Increased productivity of cash crops resulting in improved income security

Note: The sources of case studies, project sheets and gender issues raised in this document include extracts/edits of humanitarian appeal and funding documents, gender assessments and the field experience of the original author.

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