Centrality of Gender in Africa Agriculture Transformation 2019 ppt_re_sakss_conference_chinokov

Centrality of Gender in Africa Agriculture Transformation 2019 ppt_re_sakss_conference_chinokov

• 1.
  Centrality of Genderin Africa Agriculture Transformation Vitumbiko Chinoko Advocacy and Policy Lead – CARE, Southern Africa [email protected] @ChinokoV +265888857049
• 2.
  Presentation Outline • Centralityof Agriculture to Africa’s growth • Gender stats in Agriculture in Africa • Manifestations of the Gender gaps in Africa’s Agriculture • Policy recommendations to close the gap. • Closing Remarks
• 3.
  Centrality of Agricultureto Africa’s Growth • Agriculture is the backbone of almost all Africa’s economies, accounting for 30-40% of the continent’s GDP, • Agriculture provides two-thirds of all Africa’s jobs. • Over 90% Africa’s extreme poor are engaged in Agriculture and WB estimates that growth emanating from the sector is 2-4 more effective in reducing poverty than other sectors. • IFAD: Agriculture development is 11 times more effective in ending poverty than other approaches.
• 4.
  Gender in Agriculture. •Women comprise nearly half of the Agriculture labour force. But their productivity is lower, compared to men. • Women produce less per hectare than male farmers. • Challenges: Access to credit, training, markets and other productive opportunities as men • With same access to productive assets as men, their yields could increase by 20-30%, raising total agriculture output by2.5- 4% (D. Doss, C.Kovarik…) • UNFAO estimates that gains from investing in women farmers would lift100-150 million people out of hunger.
• 5.
  CARE’s VSLA Experience •In study in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Madagascar CARE found that income gains through VSLA influenced important decision. • HH Nutrition (30%), Climate smart Agriculture (50%) and 20% (Education+others) was the average investment by women from proceeds of VSLA • Improving gender equality through agriculture has potential to improve economies beyond the sector itself
• 6.
  CARE Policy Reportin Southern Africa Aim: • To demonstrate the gap between policy commitment and implementation in agriculture, climate change and nutrition. • To show gender and women rights are incorporated into Agriculture policy formulation and implementation. • To suggest policy strategies to close the gender gap in the 6 countries ( Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania
• 7.
  Agriculture, Livestock andForestry Policy - Madagascar • Policy recognizes gender by analyzing farming systems and land tenures with respect to the relations between gender issues, demographics, and agricultural/rural development • No consideration of the specific roles or responsibilities of women in the sector that would allow for tangibly establishing their value in agriculture. • No staff deployment mechanism planned for "peer" approaches between female farmers and technicians of the Administration • no specific program/initiatives to reinforce women's empowerment in Agriculture • National Climate Change Policy , does not mention about the vulnerability of women farmers to impacts of climate change.
• 8.
  Recommendations to Governmentof Madagascar • Establish a policy or strategy on family farming, endowing it with a real definition and taking into account all factors relating to it: community, social and men/women-specific, cultural, economic, geographical, and climate change • Review and/or enrich the climate change strategy of the ALF if needed, taking into account the evolution of knowledge and information • Update the National Nutrition Policy (2004) including • Recommendation of key actions for adaptation that consider climate parameters: current trends and future projections; • Consideration of nutrition education that targets both men and women.
• 9.
  Malawi • Access toland is a major challenge. Even in matrimonial systems, men take major decisions on how to use the land. • Women farm’s are smaller in size compared to men • Women use less input especially hired labor, fertilizer and use of early maturing varieties which accounts for about 80% gender gap in productivity. • 4% of male headed HHs received credit, while 2% of female headed HHs. • In general, agency related factors, such as illiteracy, make women have limited access to extension, credit and other financial facilities. • Women in Malawi produce 25% less per hectare compared to men
• 10.
  • Develop andimplement strategies that improve and tailor extension services to women farmers including training more women extension officers. • Policy implement should consider the child-care and other household responsibilities e.g. promotion of the light weight irrigation equipment • FISD should aggressively be deployed to improve specific input needs of women farmers e.g. technical expertise on to apply fertilizer.
• 11.
  Tanzania • Adequate genderpolicy provisions which unfortunately have not influenced agriculture practice • Farms managed by women produce 14% less on gross output compared to men or jointly owned by other family members. • The environmental management act has weak gender provisions. • Gender focal points exist at various levels but lack capacity to address thematic issues such as agriculture. • Gender budgeting is recognized in Agriculture Tanzania but not implemented
• 12.
  Recommendations • Gender Budgetingis a big opportunity to address agriculture productivity gap • Implement gender budgeting priorities, one of which was to provide fertilizer and input subsidies to poor women farmers. • Engage Private Sector to develop products which women farmer can leverage on for credit through VSLA
• 13.
  Mozambique “Behind a Mozambicanwoman, there’s an entire household taking decisions for her’. Navarro, C. and Pellizzoli, R., 2012 • The adult literacy rate for women is only 36%, compare to 67% for men (UNESCO,2014). • Less than 10% of women in Mozambique have a bank account (ICC, 2014). • Mozambique ranks 125 out of 146 countries in the UN gender development index. • Only 25% of the land owners holding official user rights are women),
• 14.
  Recommendations • Improve extensionservices that are tailored to women farmers. • Resource and implement the Gender strategy in Agriculture to enable integration of gender in the sector • Improve school enrollment and retention of the girl child across the education system • Use the opportunity to review Strategic Plan for the Development of Agriculture Sector (PEDSA) to integrate gender in Agriculture.
• 15.
  Closing Remarks • Genderinequality in agriculture is a problem not just for women but for the agricultural sector, food security and society as a whole. • Government, donors and civil society should resource and implement gender integration in ALL agricultural programmes and projects. • Increasing input investment alone will not increase productivity in women farmers. • In the long term, raising education attainment for women would increase output from agriculture investment
• 16.
  THANK YOU