Description

The course has two focuses. The first focus is on the gender basics. The course will start with an overview on gender and development concepts and move on to tools and strategies for mainstreaming gender in the agriculture and rural development projects. The course will discuss general challenges and constraints faced by project workers in mainstreaming gender in the projects.

The gender tools and strategies discussed in the course will draw references and examples from IFAD’s gender strategy and plan of action. In this way participants will be informed about IFAD’s approach on gender mainstreaming in agriculture and rural development projects.

The second focus of the training program is on discussing Value Chain development which is ‘gender sensitive’. The value chain approach is progressively being integrated into pro-poor development programmes to increase the benefits to producers. Value chain analysis provides information to identify where the producer can add value to the product or service in order to increase the benefits. Value chain development is a sequence of activities that creates more value in a product. This includes activities such as design, production, marketing, and distribution, as well as support services to these activities. However, the social and gender dimension of value chain development is still rarely acknowledged or addressed.

This course examines how to integrate a gender perspective into value chain (VC) development. With Mapping techniques and analysis the course suggests solutions to upgrade VCs to gender sensitive VCs.

Rationale

Understanding of gender issues is crucial to involvement of men and women’s in the projects as well as benefits to men and women from the projects. The need for this course within APMAS Framework was identified during the PDNA exercise. During the PDNA exercise, project managers had mentioned that projects’ staffs need technical training on gender issues. Communication with country focal points also suggested that basic gender training should be integrated with other local and emerging issues. Hence this basic course on gender is combined together with gender sensitive value chain training course. 

For the ‘gender sensitive value chain’ training course, the rationale lies in the fact that despite the gender mainstreaming policies of the donor agencies and the gender commitments of the governments involved, most current value chains development have failed to integrate gender analysis. Value chain development policies are often based on gender-blind or gender-discriminatory assumptions, marginalizing women as a 'special' minority case. Women are still excluded from, and often further disadvantaged by, many 'mainstream' value chain development interventions.

Hence this course will inform project staffs who are part of the value chain cycle to mainstream gender into value chain development. With the proper training people will be able to do the gender analysis of the processes and take more equitable decisions that will lead to development of gender sensitive value chains. 

Objectives

1. Gender Basics

• Participants understand importance of gender equitable Agriculture and Rural development projects
• Participants understand challenges and constraints of gender mainstreaming in development projects
• Participants understand tools and strategies for mainstreaming gender in projects
• Participants understand IFAD’s strategy and plan of action for gender mainstreaming in rural and agriculture projects

2. Gender Sensitive Value Chain

• Participants understand value chain cycle and participatory processes
• Participants learn mapping techniques for value chain analysis
• Participants understand to upgrade value chain to gender equitable value chain.
• Participants learn to develop indicators for implementing and monitoring gender sensitive VC
• Experience sharing on innovations in developing gender sensitive value chain cycle

Target Participants

Project Management Team members who are involved with value chain processes in the project.
 

Main Learning Points

• Gender and Development Concepts
• Gender Equity in Agriculture and Rural Development Projects
• Gender Mainstreaming Tools and Strategies for Projects
• IFAD Gender Mainstreaming Strategies and Plan of Action
• Gender in Value Chain
• Value Chain Concepts
• Value Chain Mapping Techniques
• Gender Information in Value Chain
• Developing Indicators for Implementation and Monitoring

Resource Persons

Ms. Annemarie Reerink
Chief Technical Advisor
Women's Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality
ILO Decent Work Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand
Email: reerink@ilo.org
 

Contact

Jagriti Shankar
Gender - KM Officer
Asian Project Management Support Programme (APMAS) – Gender Sensitive Management,
Asian Institute of Technology (AIT),
PO Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani 12120 , Thailand
T. +66 (0)2 524 6536
M. +66 (0)8 49 11 87 50
E. jagriti@ait.asia
W. www.apmasnetwork.org

p.s. Website members can download training materials upon login