After a week’s activity, this discussion is generating very insightful contributions. I note several emergent themes:
- AEAS are extremely influential in household agricultural decision making, and historically they have favoured men and the agricultural activities that men are more likely to control.
- The ability to feed a growing population depends on the capacity of all farmers to improve their productivity, but women farmers typically have less access to information and market opportunities than men farmers.
- Promising strategies that engage both men and women exist. They require changes in the mindsets of organizational leadership, new approaches to AEAS training, and modifications to how they do their jobs.
One key to changing the way things are done is to engage young people in the process. Parents and educators know that once children are sensitized to an issue, they are hard to dissuade and can even influence the adults in their lives to change behaviours. Young agricultural professionals have a vital role to play in developing new ways of providing extension and advisory services, both now and in the future. Pre-service training that includes basic nutrition content will empower future AEAS staff to think more critically about how their services may impact household nutrition, and marketplace availability of nutritious foods.
I would also like to acknowledge the vital role that the country representative for Bangladesh of the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) played in catalysing this online discussion. As the discussion continues, we therefore encourage you to also share inputs that consider the role of youth. More specially, it would be interesting to hear your opinion on the constrains to empowering youth in AEAS, and your ideas on how youth can influence the nutrition and gender issues through AEAS in your own communities.
Edye Kuyper