This edition of the Dimitra newsletter focuses on rural women, information and empowerment. Two workshops, organized by our local partners, Amsed in Morocco and Women’s NET in South Africa, take the spotlight. The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for rural women was on the programmes of both events....

This newsletter exclusively focuses on three countries of the sub-region: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Burundi. We lay open the pages to organizations which have provided us with articles explaining their difficulties, their strategies and the solutions they have found to improve the living conditions of rural...

The gender asset gap in Latin America with respect to ownership of land is significant. In few countries do women constitute even one-quarter of the landowners. Gender inequality in land ownership is related to male preference in inheritance, male privilege in marriage, male bias in community and state programs of...

Como parte de las reformas de la Constitución, se ha incorporado un capítulo denominado sobre los "Derechos de los pueblos orginarios" en el título II, Del Estado y la Nación

This project, designed to reduce rural poverty, focused particularly on small farmers, unemployed young people and rural women. It was in line with the government's strategic development aims in mountain areas with a high incidence of poverty.  The project served as a platform for continuing policy dialogue with the government on...

This Policy and Strategy Paper contributes to an on-going policy debate-within the Bank but also with its client governments-about the role of tree crops in various production systems, and as key commodities in the trade portfolio of various African nations. It attempts to answer the following questions: a) What is...

A group of concerned professionals including social and natural scientists from all regions of the world met in Wadi Dana Nature Reserve, Jordan, 3-7 April 2002, to consider a comprehensive approach to mobile peoples1 and conservation. At the end of this meeting, they agreed the following declaration.

The Dana Declaration is an attempt to forge a new partnership between conservationists and mobile peoples in order to ensure future conservation policies help maintain the earth's ecosystems, species and genetic diversity while respecting the rights of indigenous and traditional communities which have been disregarded in the past. 

uatemala is located in an area which contains one of the highest levels of plant genetic diversity in the world. Its particular geography and types of vegetation are characterised by the fact that the country has 14 life zones. In addition, the Maya population which inhabited Guatemala before the European...

In this issue, we conclude with the last two presentations of our local partners with a description of CREDIF, covering North Africa, and of POSDEV, covering a number of countries in West Africa. Ruth Ochieng, from Isis-WICCE in Uganda, presents the work undertaken by her organisation, which strives to empower...

In the present issue, a large proportion of the columns will be been devoted to the Reflection and Self-Evaluation Workshop held in Brussels on 16-18 October with the partners of the Dimitra Project. We hand over to the partners, who have drawn up two documents on the proceedings of the...

This publication is intended to inform IFAD-supported project management units (PMUs), other donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Eastern and Southern Africa about IFAD’s Gender Strengthening Programme in the region. The programme is currently in the process of identifying challenges faced by projects, emphasizing empirical findings from field diagnostic...

These days, many credit and savings activities, including those under IFAD-supported projects, target rural women. A 2000 FAO/IFAD study in Uganda highlights the role of microfinance in women’s empowerment. Two questions asked were: (1) Is it appropriate and efficient to provide credit lines exclusively for women? (2) Are women in...

FAO is organising a High Level Consultation in Rome from 4 to 6 October with a view to improving information for decision-makers, the media and the public at large on the essential role of rural women in agricultural development and their contribution to food security. Emphasis will be laid on...

Ensuring that women have independent and secure rights to farmland is an important component of eliminating poverty and increasing economic productivity. This is true for three general reasons. First, women are often the primary food producers for a household, working their household farm plots while their husbands work for collective...

In this issue, you can read more about EndaPronat, FAN and IRED, about their working methods and the countries they will be covering within the framework of the collection of information for the Dimitra project. Furthermore, you will find several articles in this issue covering a wide range of subjects...

The Dimitra Project on Rural Women and Development started in 1994 at the King Baudouin Foundation in Brussels, Belgium, with the support of the European Commission. The Dimitra Guidebook, printed in 1996, contains information on 255 European NGOs, research institutes and information centers working with and for rural women in...

This book investigates how gender is present in the newly emerging principles on the sustainable management of water resources. The book also reviews how these genderspecified principles are currently applied in the water supply, sanitation and hygiene sector. Operationalization has developed farthest in new drinking water supply services. Participation of...

Uganda was one of countries included in a 1997 IFAD/FAO/Government of Japan study on agricultural implements used by women. The study areas in Uganda were the District of Mubende in central Uganda and the District of Soroti in the northeastern part of the country. These areas have quite different farming...

In this issue ICARDA is celebrating it’s 20 years old. They have not been easy years; agricultural research for a fragile environment is difficult. What have ICARDA learned in 20 years? It can be highlighted in a single point; it would be the dynamic nature of agricultural research. Agricultural research...