Posted September 1996
FAO Programme of Work and Budget,1996-97
Sub-Programme 2.5.2.1
Women in Agriculture and Rural Development
Activities of the FAO Regional Office for Africa (RAF)
Focus
The sub-programme coordinates the implementation of FAO's Plan of Action
for Women in Development. It ensures the integration of gender concerns
into FAO's mainstream programmes and projects.
Policy advice and technical assistance is to be provided to Member Nations
to implement national level WID plans of action and strengthen related institutional
arrangements. The sub-programme develops methodologies and tools, and formulates
training programmes for development specialists and programme planners to
integrate socio-economic and gender concerns in projects and programmes.
It also aims at re-orienting home economics and agricultural training curricula.
Collaboration with other UN agencies, governmental and non-governmental
organizations on gender concerns is ensured.
Finally, the sub-programme supports assembly, analysis and dissemination
of gender-disaggregated agricultural and rural data and statistics.
Programme elements
Element 100: Policy Advice, Programme and Project Planning
Description:
To seek collaborations with National Planners and Policy makers to develop
and/or strengthen WID machineries or units capable of designing and implementing
programmes for rural women. RAF will continue to prepare and field test
basic training manuals, facilitating the implementation of the development
solutions proposed by the National WID machineries, which are sustainable
and tailored to their institutional context. The work of this sub-programme
will encompass: wider introduction of innovative numeracy and simple bookkeeping
training manuals, strengthening women's capacities to manage their micro-enterprises,
thus enhancing food security at household level.
Main Outputs:
- Publications:
- "Figures for Bookkeeping: Facilitator's Guide and Learner's
Primer" (English, French forthcoming)
- "Simple Bookkeeping and Business Management Skills: Facilitator's
Guide" (English and French) and "Training of Facilitator's
Manual" (English)
- Methodologies:
- Development of practical field level training documents, to support
the implementation of national WID plans of actions
- Training:
- National staff in at least 5 countries trained in the use of these
innovative training manuals.
- National staff in at least 5 countries trained in how to adapt the
training materials to their local situation.
Element 200. Training and National Capacity Building on WID/Gender in
Development
Description:
Under this element, FAO will continue to develop tools and methods on socio-economic
and gender analysis and to organize and participate in various training
programmes in order to increase the capacity of FAO and Member Nations to
take into account the specific concerns of rural women and men in the development
programmes and projects. RAF activities are linked to the Socio-Economic
and Gender Analysis (SEGA) programme being developed and implemented by
FAO Headquarters in collaboration with UN and other organizations. Regional
activities and experiences are as much as possible integrated in the development
and testing of the SEGA training materials, in particular in the field of
gender and environmental programmes and developing/improving gender disaggregated
agricultural statistical data.
Main outputs determined and managed by FAO SDWW.
Element 300. Home Economics, Farm Households, Food and Technology
Description:
To support the reorientation of the curricula of agricultural and home economic
training institutions. RAF will follow up on preliminary work undertaken
to develop gender relevant training material for agricultural extension
workers. Pilot activities will be undertaken to test in selected countries
draft training material and to provide recommendations for wider introduction
and additional support required to increase agricultural services to women
farmers.
Main Outputs:
- Publications
- "Improving Agricultural Extension work with Rural Women: A
Trainer's Manual and Student's Workbook"
- Methodologies
- Development of education material for training of agricultural extension
workers reflecting recent understanding on women farmers' contributions
to the National agricultural production and the related gender specific
needs for rural services.
- Training:
- Pilot training for testing of the material in one English and one
French speaking country and training National staff in the use of these
innovative training manuals.
- Support to member countries:
- Ministries of Agriculture and National training institutions in the
participating countries assisted in incorporating the material in their
training curricula.
Element 400. Support and Coordinate Inter-Agency, National and NGO WID/
Gender Actions
Description:
To promote the continued collaboration with other agencies in the UN system
as well as governmental as non-governmental organizations on matters pertaining
to the status of rural women. Collaborations will be strengthened with Regional
bodies operating in related technical fields, like credit - rural banking,
training - adult education and others, to make optimum use of Regional expertise.
Furthermore, RAF will continue to plan and direct informal Inter-Agency
meetings at national level, to improve information exchange and collaboration
in support of coordinating efforts by the National WID machineries. Renewed
effort will be made to extend this practical and effective support to more
Member Nations, with assistance of the FAO Representations in the Region.
Main Outputs:
- Publications:
- "DIRECTORY, Interagency Dialogue WID, Ghana," published
every two years.
- Meetings:
- Bi-annual meetings aiming at improved information exchange between
multi- and bi-lateral agencies working in the field of WID in selected countries.
Element 500. Women, Environment and Sustainable Development
Description:
To respond to recommendations embodied in Agenda 21 of UNCED, especially
Chapter 24 "Global Action for Women Towards sustainable and Equitable
Development". The RAF programme has prepared a proposal for a pilot
programme entitled "Gender Analysis and Training in the Management
of Natural Resources". Training material from the successfully FAO
executed programme "Gender Analysis and Forestry Training in Asia"
will be adapted to the African situation and be expanded to also cover the
natural resources 'land' and 'water' in addition to the 'forestry' information.
This activity is closely linked with RAF's ISCRAL programme (International
Scheme for Conservation and Rehabilitation of African Lands). As a separate
but related activity, action will be undertaken to explore training requirements
in the field of gender and irrigation extension, in line with the organization's
preoccupation to reduce hardships related to scarcity of water.
Main Outputs:
- Publications:
- "Lessons Learnt", document on results of "Gender
Analysis and Training in Management of Natural Resources"
- Methodologies:
- Development of 6 case studies highlighting the need to incorporate
gender concerns in the management and conservation of Natural resources.
- development of training material focusing specifically on "gender
and irrigation extension".
- Training:
- Training of two staff each of Natural resources Institutions / projects
in six participating countries.
- Support to member countries:
- increased institutional capacity in "Gender Analysis and Management
of Natural Resources" to be further exploited in a second phase of
the programme through TCDC.
Element 600. Data Collection and Studies, Communications and Information,
and WID/Gender Statistics
Description: To support the collection, compilation, analysis and diffusion
of data and statistics disaggregated by gender. The RAF Programme focuses
on collaborations with National Statistical Departments, starting with West
African Member States, to review the availability of gender disaggregated
agricultural statistical data and to set up joint programmes to improve
existing agricultural statistical data collection systems. This activity
forms part of RAF's overall effort to set up an agricultural data base for
the continent. Information exchange will be promoted on country specific
cost effective results. A pilot programme has been prepared for Zimbabwe
where a 3 day workshop will be organised to establish the modalities for
dialogue between producers and users of statistical data, to consolidate
the requirements for gender disaggregated agricultural statistical data
and to formulate recommended actions to improve the availability and use
of gender disaggregated data.
Main Outputs:
- Methodologies:
- Generating gender specific information required for the planning of
sustainable agricultural development;
- Initiating improved data collection systems reflecting current socio-economical
processes impacting the agricultural production levels;
- Developing strategies and instruments enhancing Member Nations' capacity
to address gender concerns in the planning of agriculture and rural development
through improving the production and use of gender disaggregated agricultural
statistical data.
- Training:
- On-the-job training of National Statisticians in selected countries
through technical backstopping of consultancies undertaken to improve the
availability of gender disaggregated agricultural and rural statistical
data.
- Support to member countries:
- Increased institutional capacity for providing gender differentiated
agricultural data required for planning of sustainable rural development
programmes and for early warning systems concerning food security situations.
- Information systems and databases:
- Establishment of a database on gender disaggregated agricultural and
rural statistical data as an integral part of the Regional level agricultural
data base under preparation at the Regional office for Africa.
