About 70% of the Namibian population lives in rural areas, subsisting primarily on agricultural activities. As a result of the enforced migrant labour system in the northern communal areas, and a multiplicity of socio-economic factors in the southwest of Namibia, female-headed households are reaching a significant proportion in rural areas. However, owing to the dualistic nature of agricultural development in Namibia, the Agricultural Extension Service has provided unequal services (i.e., to the commercial and communal sectors, to male and female farmers, respectively) in terms of the quality of agricultural extension rendered, its targets, resource allocation and strategies applied.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development attempted to redress these imbalances by seeking financial and technical assistance from relevant UN Agencies, and the Government established the Directorate of Research and Training, to work in collaboration with the newly established Directorate of Extension and Engineering Services, in order to provide support to communal areas. The Division of Rural Development (DRD) was also created within the Directorate of Planning; one of its major activities became the overall day-to-day coordination of most FAO-supported projects. To provide support and guidance in this regard, the Division facilitated the creation of a Gender Sensitization Committee.

1.2 Outline of official arrangements

FAO agreed, on 10 March 1994, to provide assistance under the Technical Cooperation Programme project TCP/NAM/4451, Training for Integration of Women in Agriculture and Rural Development. The total budget was estimated at $US 115 000, covering the period March 1994 to February 1995. The project was later extended up to June 1996 and the budget revised accordingly, to $US 159 000. The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development was designated the government agency responsible for project execution.

1.3 Objectives of the project

The objectives of the project were to:

- strengthen the newly established Division of Rural Development with the necessary training techniques for introducing socio-economic and gender analysis approaches to subsistence farming in communal areas; and

- prepare a national plan of action for the integration of women in the agricultural development programmes at the national level.

The following outputs were envisaged:

- better trained agricultural extension staff to deal with gender-sensitive subsistence farming systems;

- improved national agricultural development planning approaches, which would be more human resource development oriented.

2. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

2.1 Preparatory work for the Training-of-Trainers (TOT) programme

Two case studies in social and gender issues in crop and livestock production systems were developed, the first in Onepandaulo, Oshana region, in July 1994, and the second in a livestock production system in Omatjete, Erongo region, which was produced in September/October 1994.

2.2 Training-of-Trainers in the Analysis of Difference for Agricultural Extension

2.2.1 Phase one

The first phase of training was undertaken from 7 to 17 November 1994 at the Otjibamba Lodge in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, with the following objectives:

- to understand the importance of including women farmers in agricultural extension in Namibia;

- to apply the Gender Analysis Approach in the planning and implementation of extension activities;

- to use Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools to identify the activities, resources, needs and priorities of different members of rural communities by gender, ethnicity, age and wealth; and

- to carry out basic research on gender roles in agriculture.

The main results were:

- Twenty-three agricultural extension technicians and officers (6 females and 17 males) were trained; they evaluated the training course as a new learning experience to understand their rural communities. The key to this was the use of a combination of gender analysis and PRA tools and field work which involved 75 villages in the Otjozondjupa region.

- Research plans were developed, based on five extension groups, to produce 13 case studies. As this activity did not have adequate funding, the Deputy Director for Rural Development Planning (as the project coordinator) approached the Ford Foundation for financial assistance. An agreement was eventually signed on 1 February 1995 between the Ministry and the Ford Foundation for a sum of $US 25 000, to buy materials and equipment needed for the research. The overall administration and management of this was delegated to ACORD as a development partner. During April/May 1995 PRA case studies were supposed to be carried out in two communities per region, to serve as the basis of training material. There were, however, constraints in terms of technical backstopping, as the Terms of Reference of all those involved were not clearly spelt out when the two projects merged, with the result that some regions, e.g., the south, did not participate. Nonetheless, the few case studies developed during the research period have proven valuable to an understanding of gender disaggregated data and participatory approaches.

The list of materials and equipment bought with the above grant needs to be updated, for use in future agricultural extension activities.

2.2.2 Phase two

The second phase, held from 10 to 21 July 1995, was attended by 16 agricultural extension technicians and officers. Its overall objective was that of preparing "lead trainers", building on Phase one, to develop and deliver regional gender analysis workshops for their colleagues. Another project component, that of supporting the training effort, was the study tour undertaken between 16-31 July 1995 by two senior officers from the Ministry, whose report was to be presented to the regional workshops and the national workshops. However, owing to time constraints and the postponement of some activities, this did not take place. The most important observation from the study tour was the importance of applying affirmative action, especially for the socio-economic advancement of rural women.

The Phase two workshop also made an assessment of the participants based on their:

- ability to train;

- interest in and attitude towards training in general;

- understanding of gender analysis; and

- interest in training on gender analysis.

In order to continue with future training activities on gender analysis, it was suggested that an additional Training-of-Trainers course be held in regional workshops for a selected group. This was done, in order to promote the consolidation of previous efforts and to promote sustainability leading to Phase three.

2.2.3 Phase three

This final phase of Training-of-Trainers was to consolidate previous efforts for a core group to lead the regional workshops on the Analysis of Difference, using the Gender Analysis Framework.

This final workshop took place from 28 May to 7 June 1996 at Otjibamba Lodge, Otjiwarongo, to strengthen the core team as master trainers by:

- using the Gender Analysis Framework with the case studies on farming systems in Namibia;

- discussing and practising techniques for handling difficult situations in the training environment; and

- planning the regional workshops using the handout on "how to design and carry out participatory training workshops".

This led to an objective analysis by trainers in terms of their potential role and constraints as trainers, thus enabling the trainers to assist technically towards the preparation of the planned regional workshops. It also resulted in detailed preparation for the regional training workshops in terms of formulation of timetables for regional training workshops; compilation of a list of regional workshop materials needed; and composition of the regional training team.

2.3 Senior management workshop on gender analysis

In order to undertake the regional training workshops, the core team/master trainers pointed out that it was quite crucial for them to obtain high-level support, both from their Deputy Directors and the top management of the Ministry. This type of support and commitment was also sought from top management when a one-day workshop was organized within the framework of the Trust Fund project, GCP/NAM/005/NOR, on 10 October 1995. Given the other priorities of the Directors, only a few Deputy Directors attended, with the result that the core team was hesitant to spend time on an activity which would not be of priority ranking in the Ministry.

During a technical backstopping mission from FAO Headquarters, a planning meeting was held with the Permanent Secretary and the Acting Permanent Secretary to discuss the management workshop. It was eventually agreed to conduct a one-and-a-half-day management workshop to enable participants to:

- understand the relevance of the "Analysis of Difference" for the successful implementation of Namibia's Agricultural Policy and Strategy;

- ask the key questions to explore communal farmers' needs and priorities, including those of women and men in different farming systems;

- apply the Gender Analysis Framework for planning agricultural extension activities; and

- support the regional workshops on the Analysis of Difference and agriculture extension.

The senior management workshop was attended by 79% of the Ministry's management cadre, as well as by representatives at senior level, and representatives from the University of Namibia (UNAM), the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and the Department of Women's Affairs (DWA). A total of 33 participants attended and the master trainers facilitated group work.

The positive evaluation responses provided clear evidence of the impact of the workshop, and the master trainers graduated at the end of this session as resource persons on gender and participatory approaches within the Ministry. Most of the participants maintained that further training was needed on the Analysis of Difference using planning and policy level materials, in order to clearly understand the linkages between field-level constraints and the implementation of the national Agricultural Policy and Strategy.

Constraints in the working environment were discussed during the working sessions of the workshop, where it was pointed out that there was a lack of recognition of the use of gender analysis and PRA tools in development planning for sustainable rural development. Advice obtained from some of the management cadre was to become a "watchdog" and remind management to wear gender spectacles, to promote both the National Gender Policy and its institutional arrangements, and the development of training materials.

2.4 Integration of women in agriculture and rural development

Implementation of the training for integration of women in agriculture and rural development met with a number of constraints. The project's objectives implied full support to be given to the Division of Rural Development, to ensure effective implementation of the project. In many cases, the opposite was true, given the different priorities of the Divisions and Directorates, lack of understanding/acceptance of gender-based debates, staff to be trained not directly supervised or within the DRD, thus leading to communication constraints.

In addition, the funds allocated for training were under-estimated, with the result that the project had to be revised.

Links were established between projects TCP/NAM/4451 and GCP/INT/602/NOR, as:

- both used the same agricultural extension staff, DRD and local consultants, to meet two interrelated activities/goals;

- participatory research to record gender-specific activities, resources and constraints for effective planning was an integral component of both;

- planned regional workshops, the outcome of which will serve as the basis for the national workshops on gender-sensitive policy and the action plan for the integration of women into agriculture and rural development programmes, were also integral to both projects; and

- the functions of the local consultants and those of the Deputy Director, Rural Development, were duplicated and not clear in some instances, e.g., preparation of the workshop report and case studies to be developed as training materials. Steps were initiated in this regard to ensure the proper integration of project activities.

Support was given on a day-to-day basis to both projects in terms of consultation, editing, workshop papers/documents, workshop attendance, follow-up, provision of secretariat to the Gender Sensitization Committee and securing of financial resources.

Participation in the Task Force on National Agricultural Policy Formation and Strategy Development ensured that the concerns of rural women, youth and farm labourers were taken into consideration. The case studies from Lisikili and Otjozondjupa were used to demonstrate the need for gender disaggregated data for planning development interventions and thus advise senior management on practical implementation, taking into account gender considerations.

3. RECOMMENDATIONS

The Division of Rural Development carries a cross-sectoral mandate, in terms of food security and nutrition, food-for-work, and rural development policy formulation and coordination. It is therefore unable to continue with the coordination of in-service training for gender and the following recommendations are proposed.

The Division should focus on its present national mandates in terms of reviewing its programmes from a gender perspective, because it has paved the way for at least a critical understanding of the use of the Gender Analysis Framework and participatory approaches in development. The Division of Training and Extension must therefore take the lead and be in charge of the follow-up and further integration of gender issues.

It is recommended that the DRD create and maintain a monitoring and evaluation capacity to ensure the effective implementation of the NAP and NAS, as well as the upcoming Rural Development Policy and Action Plan. In this regard it is proposed that the Gender Sensitization Steering Committee be strengthened alongside the Division, to ensure follow-up on the regional workshops as planned and the effective integration of the Gender Action Plan.

It would be advisable to have a permanent focal point in terms of undertaking participatory research and gender analysis. In this regard the NARA (replacing ACORD'S functions), the Gender Research Programme of the University, and the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, should have clearly defined functions in terms of follow-up training.

The cross-sectoral issues contained in the Gender Action Plan should be overseen by the Division, in particular facilitating the institutional arrangements for rural women, given its mandate through the DWA to chair and coordinate activities of the Gender Networking Sub-committee on Rural Women and Environment. Towards this end, the Division has proposed a two-week technical backstopping mission early this year, to expose the above committee and related ones to similar training and prepare them for the implementation of the National Gender Policy as it relates to rural areas.

The follow-up on the regional training workshops to be coordinated and facilitated by the master trainers is now a responsibility of the Division of Training and Agriculture Extension. The Division of Rural Development can only act in an advisory capacity with the in-service training on the use of the Gender Analysis Framework and participatory approach. It is therefore strongly recommended that this subject matter become a compulsory training component, both at the agricultural colleges and the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources. As far as the management cadre is concerned, the Division of Training should at least arrange refresher courses linked to the policy implementation once a year, for two days or so.

The Ministry has a communication unit which can produce materials for training, and this capacity must be strengthened. Presently the Communication for Development Project, supported by SADC/FAO, is ready to build capacity within the Ministry to assist cross-sectoral interventions.

The proposed extension of project GCP/NAM/005/NOR, Improving Information on Women's Contribution to Agricultural Production for Gender Sensitive Planning, is fully supported by the Ministry and a letter has been written to this effect.

Most of these recommendations can be accommodated within the existing resources of the Government, but the efficient integration of the Gender Action Plan may require further financial and short-term technical guidance to ensure the full establishment of the institutional capacity to deliver.

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Project background