FAO Programme ::: Investment

Ignoring gender inequalities carries great costs to rural women and to developing countries' potential for economic growth

The share of agriculture in official development assistance was 18% in 1979, but less than 5% in 2007. To boost agricultural production and productivity, especially that of the world's 450 million small-scale farmers, the sector's share needs to reach 10% within five years.

FAO's strategy aims at securing increased public and private investment in agriculture and rural development. But it also seeks to make investment more effective, in accordance with international agreements to enhance donor co-ordination and countries' management of development aid.

The strategy calls for improvements in the design of investment operations, and says public funding must be applied in core areas to maximize leverage and impact on poverty reduction and food security.

Gender dimensions of development investment

Development planners have two main options for targeting investment interventions to redress gender inequalities: designing projects exclusively for women, or mainstreaming gender by addressing gaps in gender equality in all relevant projects and project components. International lending institutions agree that the latter is more effective - IFAD, for example, has adopted gender mainstreaming in all its operations for reducing rural poverty.

Yet evidence suggests that gender issues are incorporated explicitly into less than 10% of official development assistance to agriculture. Ignoring gender inequalities carries great costs not only to rural women, but to developing countries' potential for economic growth.
 
Analysis of gender relations in the division of labour, access to resources, and control of crops and income from their sale is essential for sustainable investment programmes. Property rights are particularly crucial, since they often determine the willingness on the part of men and women to invest in production and to protect natural resources.

Members of the same household may not agree that selling livestock should be a priority - who benefits depends on who decides how the income is spent. Women may be reluctant to provide labour for income-generating activities which they do not control, or activities that could be expropriated by men.

Gender analysis of time allocations in agriculture may reveal that lack of proper soil management is due to out-migration of male household members, which leaves women with more agricultural work and no time for soil conservation. Weeding, harvesting and threshing crops are often "women's tasks" - therefore, a programme to increase cash crop production can have negative impacts on women already overburdened with domestic work, and fail to reach its objectives.

Understanding women's workloads can suggest other areas for investment. In northern Pakistan, surveys found that almost a third of rural women's time was spent collecting fuel wood and water. In response, the government launched a programme to provide rural households with piped water and kerosene, allowing women to increase their earnings from livestock and horticulture.

The success of agricultural investments often depends on equitable access to services. In some countries, women farmers rarely receive production loans. Credit components of projects may establish a separate line of credit for women's groups or earmark loans for women's crops and or activities, such as agro-processing. Adjusting extension messages to focus on activities that women control can facilitate their contact with male extensionists.

One final, important lesson: include men. Programmes designed to reach both men and women are more effective. Getting men's support is critical to the success of gender-responsive projects.