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Capitalize and share knowledge on food security
and empowerment of rural people   

The Programme in Action

The Programme is based on the experiences and learning that emanate from the projects and programmes which produce good practices. All these themes produce good practices that are reviewed taking the gender issue into consideration, such as:

  • In the implementation of the good practices, were the aspects related to gender taken into account?
  • If this is not the case, what must be done to mainstream gender in this practice and make it more equitable?

1. Gestion des connaissances sensible au genre

  • Capitalisation d’expériences (documentation, partage, appropriation)
  • Visites d’échanges
  • Foires

2. Agricultural input management

The promotion of gender sensitive practices for inventory credit

The project "Capitalization" highlights the good practices that contribute to making inventory credit equally accessible to all women and men, especially the most vulnerable. Fact sheets on experiences are produced in a participatory manner with the organizations involved (farmer organizations, decentralized financial institutions, and advisory services). In two situations where inventory credit is practiced in Burkina Faso and Niger, the project conducted an analysis of the factors which hinder access or prevent continuing access to inventory credit by the poorest women and men. The best solutions to avoid these inequities will be promoted and integrated into the training manuals.

The Capitalisation Team attended the Second Global AgriKnowledge Share Fair, 26-29 September 2011 at IFAD headquarters, and presented a theatre piece on "Promotion of gender-sensitive practices for inventory credit": see video of "Le warrantage équitable". This piece highlighted the good practices that contribute to making inventory credit equally accessible to all women and men, especially the most vulnerable. See also video interview with Daniel Marchal: What is warrantage?

Le centre d’info-formation

Les boutiques d’intrants

Group orders

In Niger, seed potatoes must be imported from Europe each year. With the support of the project "Capitalization", FCMC-Niya, a federation of horticultural cooperatives, had its first experience making a group (bulk) order for potato seeds for all its members. This operation was made with a commercial letter of credit (a “Crédoc” in French), a payment guarantee provided by the buyer's bank to the supplier's bank. The adoption of these commercial techniques by the federation demonstrates that together farmers are able to order directly from the international market. 

The Capitalisation website provides fact sheets like this: "Commandes groupées d'intrants : expériences d'organisations professionnelles agricoles". One of these fact sheets is the story of the bulk order of seed potatoes, as experienced by the Fédération des Coopératives Maraîchères du Niger (FCMN-Niya).

 

3. Agricultural innovations

Micro-gardens
Demonstrations of micro-gardens are organized under the project "Hortivar". A micro-garden is a small garden for the cultivation of a wide range of food plants in a small space with little water. Thanks to this, a family has every day, for every meal, fresh vegetables with high nutritional value to meet the need for vitamins, essential minerals and proteins. Women and men can diversify the food supply of the family and generate income by selling the surplus. The investment required is very small and micro-gardens can be built using local materials. The work required is minimal and does not overburden women. School children, including those of the "upgrading schools" in Niger, play while building  their  micro-gardens, and benefit from it as they take home their produce (mint, tomatoes, onions, etc).

On the occasion of the Knowledge Fair, four training sessions and practical work on micro-gardens were held for some 25 beneficiaries per session, mostly women. These interactive training sessions enabled participants to discover for themselves the benefits of micro-gardens. For more information: "Micro-gardens at the Knowledge Share Fair in Niamey" (Bulletin Dimitra 19, page 6).
Manual - "Les micro-jardins du Sénégal"  (FAO 2010, in French) 
Album: Niger-Micro-jardins à Dosso
FAO's approach: With micro-gardens, urban poor "grow their own"
Factsheet: With micro-gardens, urban poor "grow their own". (FAO 2010) 

4. Information and communication for rural areas

Community Listeners' Clubs and Women’s Leadership

The Dimitra project collaborates with several partner organizations that have established community listeners' clubs sensitive to gender (in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger). An innovative initiative, these clubs are spaces for expression and consultation amongst women and men who, in collaboration with community radios and other local stakeholders, connect the rural population and create networks. By sharing knowledge, requesting information, and conducting civic actions, these clubs contribute to local development and food security. These clubs help build women's self confidence, improve their status within the community, and are tools for sharing knowledge on agriculture. The use of solar crank radios, coupled with solar-rechargeable mobile phones, promotes networking among members of the community listening clubs and literacy centers.

For more information:
"News from the Niger listeners’ clubs" (Bulletin Dimitra 19).
"Community listeners’ clubs. Stepping stones for action in rural areas (FAO-Dimitra 2011).
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