Discussion of gender issues and aquaculture has led to little change in sectoral planning on the subject or in the formulation of projects or strategies to tackle the issues. This is mainly because little information is available on gender issues; further, planners are not certain where or how to obtain such information. The guidelines given in this report address these needs; they discuss the information which is required and the methods to acquire it in order to incorporate gender issues into mainstream aquaculture development planning and project formulation. Though based primarily on experiences in Eastern and Southern Africa, they are intended for wider application in Africa.
The guidelines are meant for use by aquaculture planners. As gender is a cross-disciplinary issue, these guidelines encompass many general aspects of aquaculture development. For those already involved in the sector, many of the issues raised may seem obvious. The purpose of the guidelines is therefore to present these issues from a gender perspective and ensure that information or data collected does not ignore these important considerations. They therefore assume that the user has a basic understanding of the aquaculture sector.
The main text of the guidelines is divided into the following four sections:
(1) Information required at the macro-level. This section identifies and details key questions on gender issues which should be answered during sectoral planning and project formulation (macro-level).
(2) Information required at the micro-level. This section identifies and elaborates on key questions which should be answered for development interventions in specific areas or communities.
(3) Monitoring and evaluation.
(4) Suggestions for incorporating gender issues in socio-economic data collection.
The main text focuses on key information needs related to gender in aquaculture. Users should consider selecting those issues which are most relevant to their needs. More detailed lists of all the information required and how this information can be collected and used in planning and project formulation are given in Appendices 1 and 2.
The guidelines arc structured in such a way as to introduce the user to key issues concerning gender in aquaculture for those less familiar with such issues. Having read these chapters, the user should then proceed to Appendices 1 and 2, where a more comprehensive set of information needs, how such information is used and sources/methods to collect it, are given.
For those familiar with gender issues, the user can proceed directly to Appendices 1 and 2 and only refer to the main text, if a particular topic requires some clarification.
Broadly speaking, macro-level guidelines are intended for sectoral planners and as a first step in project formulation. Micro-level guidelines are intended for project formulation, monitoring and evaluation. However, users should refer to both levels when carrying out a specific task, because many issues manifest themselves at both levels.
Users interested in setting up monitoring and evaluation systems may read Chapter 5 and then refer to the matrices presented in Appendices I and 2 for ideas on useful indicators.
The guidelines assume that users have some basic training in the application of socio-economic methodologies. Users interested in the application of such methodologies to collect gender-specific information are referred to Chapter 5. This presents general information on how to overcome problems associated with official statistics and field work and how to aggregate information once it has been collected.
