REACHING POOR RURAL WOMEN GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN AGRICULTURE

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1 GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN AGRICULTURE IFAD Cambodia Country Programme: Lessons Learned and Emerging Best Practices Year 2010

2 IFAD in Cambodia Since 1996, IFAD has invested US$61.7 million in six projects in Cambodia, which have mobilized overall investments for a total of US$155.9 million. Sustainable improvement of the livelihoods of the rural poor men and women in the project areas is the aim of the organization s efforts in the Country. In order to achieve this objective, IFAD loans support community empowerment, productivity improvement and improved access to assets, productive resources, rural services, rural infrastructure and markets. The participatory approach toward community development is at the core of IFAD-financed initiatives. It has the aim of building the capacity of grass-roots institutions and fostering direct ownership of investment programs by the people who benefit from them. IFAD assistance and development programs are delivered in the selected target villages through the establishment of groups, which are given ownership of the entire process. They participate in the definition of their group unique direction at all stages and develop through the group the capacity of planning their own development together with local institutions while simultaneously improving their livelihoods and farming systems. The three groups that IFAD operates through are: the Most Vulnerable Families (MVFs); the Livelihoods Improvement Groups (LIGs) and the Framing System Improvement Groups (FSI). One of the main priority areas addressed by IFAD supported projects concerns the high gender disparity present in rural Cambodia. Gender Mainstreaming is a crosscutting theme in the projects and, in order to ensure that the concerns of local women are being addressed in and through the project, IFAD initiatives include gender mainstreaming in planning, training, implementation and monitoring at provincial, district, commune and village level. 1

3 Gender Mainstreaming in Agriculture Cambodian women are at serious disadvantage compared with men, although some progresses have recently been made to improve their socio-economic status. They are often overloaded with work, restrained from basic assets and the access of services, especially health and education. They are also vulnerable to domestic violence and more vulnerable to poverty, especially when heads of household. As a consequence IFAD projects promote a wide range of gender mainstreaming activities, that have the following objectives: Enable rural women in target areas, including those from disadvantaged indigenous communities, to have access to appropriate resources and services and to empower them to express their voices and concerns within the community. Make the projects implementation and M&E responsive to gender issues. Enhance the capacity of Ministry of Women Affair and Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fishery and its sub-national bodies for gender analysis and gender mainstreaming in their plans, policies and activities. Chart of the actors involved in gender mainstreaming Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Ministry Of Women Affairs (MoWA) Provincial Department of Agriculture (PDA) Provincial Gender Focal Point (PGFP) part of Provincial Technical Support Team (PTST) Provincial Department of Women Affairs (PDoWA) District Gender Focal Point (DGFP) part of District Technical Support Team (DTST) Commune Women& Children Focal Point (CWCFP) member of Commune Council Commune Extension Workers (CEWs) 2

4 GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN AGRICULTURE Gender Mainstreaming is carried out through the strong cooperation between MAFF and MoWA and their sub-national line agencies. This is achieved in two ways: First, staff from PDoWA are included in Provincial Technical Support Team (PTST) and District Technical Support Team (DTST), to constitute the Provincial Gender Focal Point and the District Gender Focal Point. This staff acts as liaison between the sub-national line agencies of MAFF and MoWA. By participating in all parts of project implementation they guarantee that gender is an integral part of poverty alleviation through agricultural development rather than a separate activity. Second, the projects include gender as a topic at all levels in the Training of Trainers, making all staff aware of gender concepts and analysis as well as enhancing gender balance and sensitivity through the project staff. MoWA support staff and Provincial Gender Focal point facilitating the evaluation of a small business women group 3

5 Monitoring and Evaluation of Gender Mainstreaming IFAD projects have recently developed a specific M&E method for gender mainstreaming activities called the Case-Based Gender Process Monitoring System. This system prefers qualitative information over quantitative one in order to capture the social issues of women and children at ground level. Moreover information are collected and formalized through a participative process that involves all the gender mainstreaming staff, who through several meetings and discussion raise issues and learn lessons to improve their work. This process involves six steps described in the chart below: 4

6 GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN AGRICULTURE Gender Awareness Training to the beneficiaries Objective: raising awareness about the status of women in society, reaffirming the value of their work, their equal rights and the appalling consequences of domestic violence. Trainers: CWCFPs and CEWs, with support of DTSTs. Male and female trainers are involved in the activity with the focus of reassuring and encouraging women to express their ideas while also promoting male participation. Topics: Gender concept, as disparities between women and men in society, their negative consequences and possibilities for female empowerment. Gender issues in the daily lives of farmers such as the roles and responsibilities of men and women in the household and in society. Communication of needs with local authorities and participation in policies planning. Women and decision making. Legal defense against domestic violence. HIV/AIDS prevention and maternal health. Methods: the trainers explore and inform about these topics by conducting workshops with the help of visual material (gender awareness posters) that help illiterate farmers to visualize the outputs of the session and to associate the concepts with their daily life. In order to maximize participation gender training is associated with technical training and other project activities: FSI members receive gender training at the beginning of every session of the Farmer Field School, while MVF and LIG members receive it as part of their technical training and often during their monthly meetings. 5

7 Income Generation Training for Women Groups Objective: increase poor women s income by helping them diversifying their income generating activities. Trainers and coordinators: this activity is still being piloted and is run slightly differently in different provinces and projects. In general it sees the participation of all relevant gender mainstreaming actors, PGFP, DGFP, CW&CFP and CEW, in targeting, forming and training the groups. Methods 1.Setting: Provincial authorities run a survey on the market demand in order to consider the training needs of women in relation to market opportunities 2.Targeting and group formation: In the target commune, district and commune authorities select the benefeciaries and form a group of volunteer women. Priority is given to landless women, widows, women with many children and members of LIGs and FSIs. 3.Training: The group members are trained on topics that they are familiar with and interested in, usually food processing and handicrafts. This allows for the members to share their knowledge and to conduct their income generating work in harmony with their housework. 4.Input delivery: The group members receive first production inputs and start to operate. 5.Follow up: CEW, CWCFP, DGFP and PGFP follow up with the group in the following years, encouraging the members to run some activities collectively, usually buying input and selling output, and to create and manage a saving fund. 6

8 GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN AGRICULTURE Certificate for Best Gender Performing Household During a public ceremony the PDoWAs award the title of Model Farmer to the household of the village that best shares the roles and responsibilities between the man and woman in family and community life and that also best adapts the agricultural techniques to increase their productivity and improve their livelihood. The identification of the Model Farmers is based on the following eight selection criteria: 1 - No cases of domestic violence. 2 - Men are involved in the daily domestic tasks. 3 - Good morale and relations with the neighbors. 4 - General health status in the family is good. 5 - Encourage women participation in the community develop ment related activities. 6 - Encourage school attendance and achievement of the children with equal attention given to daughters and sons 7 - Husband and spouse are engaged in close consultation for decision making. 8 - Active in the group activities implementation. MoWA awarding the title of Model Farmer to the identified families 7

9 Service of Consultation and Intervention for cases of domestic violence and migration PDoWAs and DoWAs, in cooperation with CEWs and CWCFPs, deliver a service of consultation and intervention to the families or group members who are undergoing cases of domestic violence or migration. This service is delivered in the following steps: 1. The actors mentioned collect information in close cooperation with Village Chiefs and Commune Councilors, in order to identify cases of domestic violence or migration. 2. In case of domestic violence they intervene directly mediating the family conflict and informing the competent police authorities. 3. In case of migration, legal or illegal, they provide legal support and advice. Gender Mainstreaming Action Groups Gender mainstreaming Action Groups have been formed at national and provincial level. They are networks that aim at: Support women and children committee in performing gender mainstreaming. Disseminate gender issues and practices to the national level and within the network. Gender Forum The Gender Forum is a open space where to discuss gender mainstreaming issues and practices in each province. All interested stakeholders- of IFAD projects and of other development agencies of the area- gather once a year to share best practices, innovation and challenges of gender mainstreaming and to mutually improve their activities and initiatives. 8

10 GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN AGRICULTURE Benefits deriving from other project components Gender mainstreaming is a crosscutting theme in the IFAD supported projects and special attention to gender balance and women empowerment is present in all project activities. Significant benefits derive from the participation of the female members of the family in project activities and by gender balance in the staff composition. Group participation: the female family members are heavily involved in LIG s and FSI s group dynamics and activities, usually joining the training and the meetings more often than men. This helps increase women s self-confidence by giving them an opportunity to speak up and express their ideas therefore encouraging female empowerment in the family and the village. Female leadership is especially positive and encouraged, since female leaders significantly contribute to gender mainstreaming and are often successful leaders. Participation in agricultural training: women often participate in technical agricultural training more than men both in LIGs and FSIs. As a consequence women take a more active lead in the household activities transferring learned knowledge and techniques to their husbands, they are more entitled to participate in the household decision-making and they are increasingly active agents of change and development in their communities. Gender balance in staff composition: this is a broader gender mainstreaming tool that affects not only the beneficiaries but the larger community in the target areas. Moreover increasing balanced in sub-national authorities staff contributes to change the institutional approach to gender issues. Especially successful in this sense has been the careful attention on gender balance for the Commune Extension Workers, who work in each commune in a couple composed of one man and one woman. Though female CEWs are often more shy at the beginning than their male colleagues, they soon gain the confidence necessary to carry out their task and the respect and appreciation of target farmers, local authorities, their colleagues and the institutions. 9

11 "IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing country by empowering poor people's economic status and sensitizing gender. " Please contact the Gender Working Group for further information at: Ministry of Women's Affairs #3, Norodom Blvd., Sangkat Watt Phnom, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel: +(855-23)