全球粮食安全与营养论坛 (FSN论坛)

This is a very relevant issue as community is the basis for sustainable development. Therefore, effective community participation approaches for development are very often prescribed by development actors. As of my observation, there are good lessons/progresses. But the main thing that should be given an emphasis is the equity participatory approach in any household management by household members. If this is done properly, the community level empowerment inclusive of gender would be an easy.

These practices and lessons from the IAMDP Jubraka cultivation in Sudan demonstrate the importance of community engagement in achieving inclusive rural transformation and gender equality:

Practice:

• Securing Food for Families: Planting nutritious vegetables and plants to ensure food security.

Experiences:

1. Income Generation:
   • Women manage and operate Jubrakas, growing a variety of crops such as vegetables, fruits, and cereals.
   • These crops are sold in local markets, providing a steady source of income.
2. Community Development:
   • Women share their knowledge and skills with others, fostering a culture of learning and cooperation.
   • Economic benefits from selling surplus produce are reinvested into community projects, such as building infrastructure or supporting local schools.
   • Jubrakas promote sustainable agricultural practices and ensure food security, enhancing resilience against climate change.

Lessons Learned:

1. Income Generation:
   • Encouraging Jubraka production increases income opportunities for women through the sale of fresh and processed foods and seedlings.
   • This economic empowerment enhances women’s decision-making roles and social status.
2. Food Processing and Preservation:
   • Implementing food processing, preservation, and value addition technologies extends the shelf life of produce, ensuring food security during dry seasons.
   • This approach can be replicated to improve family nutrition and satisfaction.
3. Knowledge Management:
   • Developing knowledge management products to track food consumption patterns and nutritional values helps identify ways to leverage food processing for maximum nutritional benefits.
   • This data-driven approach guides future interventions.
4. Digital Information Systems:
   • Utilizing technology to communicate with participants via SMS or other digital platforms provides ongoing support and information on nutrition.
   • Enhances the effectiveness of agricultural practices.
      

Dear Andrea 

Thank you for initiating such an insightful and inspiring conversation. The examples shared so far highlight the transformative power of inclusive, community-led approaches to rural development and gender equality. I’d like to contribute by sharing an approach we've been exploring in Kaduna State, Nigeria, which focuses on integrating community health, environmental sustainability, and gender empowerment.

The Initiative: 'One Baby, Ten Trees'

This initiative ties maternal and infant health to environmental sustainability. For every baby born within the participating communities, we plant ten trees. This not only helps offset carbon emissions but also strengthens the community's sense of ownership and responsibility toward climate action.

Core Challenges Addressed

The initiative addresses:

1. Maternal and Child Health: Limited access to healthcare and low antenatal care attendance.
2. Environmental Degradation: Deforestation and its impact on rural livelihoods.
3. Gender Inequality: Limited recognition of women’s contributions to community welfare and environmental stewardship.

Stakeholders and Their Roles

• Community Birth Attendants (CBAs): Trained local women serve as referral agents, guiding pregnant women to healthcare facilities for antenatal visits and safe delivery. CBAs also help identify high-risk cases, build trust within the community, and address cultural barriers that prevent women from accessing healthcare services.
• Local Governments and NGOs: Provide resources, support training, and ensure alignment with regional maternal health and environmental goals.
• Community Members: Actively participate in tree-planting activities and ensure the survival of planted trees, fostering a sense of collective responsibility.

This multistakeholder involvement fosters shared responsibility, ensures sustainability, and addresses health and environmental challenges.

Inclusivity and Gender Equality

We’ve embedded gender equality through:

• Empowering Women as CBAs: Women are trained, recognized, and rewarded, strengthening their roles as community leaders and healthcare advocates.
• Intersectional Approach: Inclusion of vulnerable groups, such as almajiri boys (street children), in educational and vocational activities tied to the program.

Lessons Learned

1. Flexibility is Key: Adapting the initiative to different cultural and environmental contexts enhances acceptance and impact.
2. Community Ownership is Non-Negotiable: When communities see direct benefits, such as improved health and income from tree-based products, their engagement deepens.
3. Referral Systems Save Lives: CBAs focusing on referring pregnant women to healthcare facilities rather than providing direct medical care ensure that women receive the highest standards of professional care.
4. Partnerships Amplify Impact: Collaborating with local and international NGOs ensures access to technical expertise and funding.

Why This Approach Adds Value

By aligning community priorities (health and livelihood) with global goals (climate action and gender equality), we’ve observed increased buy-in and sustainability. The referral-focused role of CBAs has also significantly increased antenatal care attendance, reduced maternal and infant mortality, and strengthened the healthcare system's outreach.

This initiative exemplifies how leveraging collective action can create a ripple effect of positive change across multiple sectors while ensuring that maternal and child health remains a top priority.

I hope this perspective enriches the discussion and sparks ideas for new synergies.

Looking forward to engaging further!

Best regards,
Salahuddeen Mohammed Shitu
Independent Consultant
Kaduna State, Nigeria

Good afternoon, congratulations for this work. 
I am enclosing an experience we have had in Spain. 
Thank you very much for all the work done.
Best regards

A flower can decorate a space. Or it can be used in gastronomy. The project consists precisely in transforming ornamental flowers into edible flowers. Their composition makes them suitable for inclusion in the diet: they are rich in antioxidants and fiber, have a low sugar content and contain no fat. There are two ways to consume this product: fresh or dehydrated / freeze-dried (in both processes the water is removed, although using different techniques). When consumed fresh, the flowers have a short shelf life. If they are subjected to a dehydration or freeze-drying process, the flowers retain their properties for a longer period of time. It is precisely these preservation techniques that constitute the innovative feature of this work, as far as its scientific aspect is concerned. 
The project posed some challenges. It was necessary to improve the germination process, as well as to carry out tests with the small amounts of product available: since plants are composed mainly of water, little matter remains after dehydration. An organoleptic analysis (related to sensory characteristics) was also carried out, using a tasting panel, to make a detailed description of the product. 
The name “Inclusive flower” refers to the social component of the initiative: once developed, the flower production process was transferred and scaled to the special employment center of the Valora2 Foundation, located in the city of Palencia and dedicated to the inclusion of people with disabilities. Therefore, it was necessary to adapt the procedures, as well as the terminology and pace of work, so that the production could be carried out by non-specialized personnel. 

Preserving and developing shea parks: a sustainable solution to the sector's problems
 

This predominantly female sector (more than 8 million women are involved in the sector in West Africa) represents on average nearly 12% of total rural household income, and contributes up to 32% of the financial resources available to women. However, the shea industry is under increasing pressure from human activity, with trees being cut down for firewood, and deforestation by felling and bulldozing to make land suitable for cultivation or even construction.

Faced with the urgency of these challenges, 7 cooperatives in Mali and Burkina Faso involved in the EQUITE program in the organic and fair trade certified shea sector are organizing themselves and looking for solutions to sustainably preserve the resource and guarantee its quality.
 

Drawing on agro-ecological farming practices identified in their cooperatives or networks (notably through exchanges between cooperatives on national fair trade platforms and in the sub-region), and in consultation with local agricultural and rural development stakeholders, the cooperatives have chosen to develop and protect shea parks as a strategy to meet the economic, environmental and social challenges facing the sector.
 

This strategy is based on multi-stakeholder concertation and mobilization, creating spaces for collective and individual dialogue and discussion to identify levers for the development and protection of shea parks: farmers and herders, local communities, youth associations, territorial authorities, decentralized environmental and agricultural services (including Eaux et Forêts), customary authorities and traditional practitioners have mobilized to develop and protect shea parks.

Developing shea parks involves identifying and selecting the park to be developed, training cooperative members and mobilizing the community to carry out collective work.
 

The identification of the park to be developed is done in consultation with the various stakeholders: producers, cooperative members and non-members, herders, local community members, traditional and public authorities, agricultural and environmental services. Management cannot be carried out without the agreement of the various stakeholders, hence the need for dialogue, consultation and awareness-raising sessions. This is all the more important when development work precedes the securing of the park.
 

Training is provided either by a trainer directly to the members of the cooperative, or by endogenous facilitators or relay farmers who have been trained and are responsible for delivering the training. The cooperatives have also been able to call on external trainers, notably from the Water and Forestry Department and the Regional Environment Directorate.
 

Community development work takes place over several days, mobilizing men and women according to a schedule agreed with the stakeholders. Different agroecological practices are implemented, depending on the needs of the park to be developed: Assisted natural regeneration, stone cordon, pruning and grafting and agroforestry. 

Securing the park is the subject of a consultation process involving all the stakeholders concerned by life in and around the park. The aim is to find a compromise that will guarantee the protection of a shea harvesting area from anthropic pressures (logging, deforestation for agricultural purposes, contamination by synthetic chemical inputs used in nearby crops) and from animal roaming. Secure parks generally have a buffer zone that communities can use for human, agricultural and livestock activities. The secured zone is the subject of official documents that guarantee shea nut collectors living alongside the parks secure access to the resource for an average of 15 years, while defining the rules for management and exploitation:
 

- Usufrut contract: a harvesting agreement between the PO and the Chantier or Unité d'Aménagement Forestier (UAF or CAF) or the local management committee responsible for managing the forest;
 

- The “cahier des charges”, which is the participatory definition of the rules governing forest use and the commitment of the various users to respect these rules.
 

- The Five-Year Management Plan, which commits the PO to seeking funding for forest management projects to compensate for logging and ensure the sustainability of the forest and its resources.
 

These documents are approved by the relevant local authorities, such as the Regional Environment Directorates. Not all the parks developed under the EQUITE 2 program have been secured (of the 30 parks developed, 16 have been secured), so securing is studied on a case-by-case basis with stakeholders.
 

Focus on securing the NUNUNA Federation's shea parks in Burkina Faso
 

Through the EQUITE 2 program, the Nununa federation was able to secure 3 shea parks in the communes of Léo, Sapouy and Boura, by mobilizing various local authorities, namely traditional leaders, members of the Village Development Council (CVD), village councillors and women's groups, forest management site managers (CAF) and forest management unions (UGGF). The process culminated in an operating agreement authorizing the use of the park by the women collectors, and the drawing up of specifications and a five-year plan for future development and maintenance. A management committee has been set up for each park. In all, 1,800 shea trees have benefited from RNA, pruning and grafting, 40 km of firebreaks have been erected, and 200 m buffer zones installed between the parks and the fields.

In the attached document (in french), you can find out more about the development of shea parks, particularly in terms of economic spin-offs, the long-term participatory approach, the impact on agricultural cooperatives, the effects on environmental protection, the sustainability factors identified and the challenges involved in setting up the parks.

I am pleased to submit my contribution for the FAO initiative on Community Engagement for Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality. This input highlights practical approaches and strategies that align with the initiative's goals of promoting gender equality and empowering rural communities.
Please let me know if additional details or clarifications are needed. I am eager to collaborate further to support FAO’s impactful work.

I am submitting an article to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) titled Awareness and Adoption of Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Sanitary Napkins in Bihar, India. This article explores how affordable sanitary napkins, introduced under the Jan Aushadhi initiative, have improved menstrual hygiene management among rural women. Aligning with the theme Community Engagement for Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality, the study emphasizes the role of grassroots awareness campaigns in breaking menstrual taboos and promoting health equity. By highlighting the community’s involvement in adopting cost-effective solutions, the article underscores the transformative potential of inclusive practices in fostering gender equality in rural areas.

I share how We Effect has worked with Savings and loaning groups. Quoted here is a report in which We Effect documents the methodology, implementation, adaptations, case stories and areas which could benefit from further work. The report is titled, "Village Savings and Loaning Associations as a corner stone for women's rights and community development". 

The community engagement cannot be achieved unless powers of decision making for their areas and improving their quality of life are delegated to the villages through the local self government. For the transformation the first entry point is to bring in change in the governance by ensuring formation of local administrative units that are provided with untied funds to bring in the change in infrastructure and involve the community in decision making process for setting priorities, identifying social evils/practices that need to be changed. This brings in not just empowerment but also effective execution. In this system of local governance, successfully reserving the seats to women to extend of 30-50% has been transformative in not just women getting involved with active participation but then the priorities and issues also address to resolve with perspective of women. 

Mahatma Gandhi advocated strongly shift to local self governance model in rural areas as the foundation to the political system. The emphasis is on decentralized form of government as the local are best equipped to identify, prioritize, and effectively get stakeholders to resolve the issues. This is ‘village governance model’ the ‘Gram Swaraj’.

In India Lord Ripon, as Viceroy realized the diversity and local issues cannot be resolved with centralized policy making brought in reforms for introduction of local self government in the British India for the counties, municipalities, cities, group of villages. All these directly worked with the districts that also had delegation of powers. 

Community engagement can be formalized as has been done in India in the local self government system ‘Panchayati Raj’ by the constitutional amendment to ensure local governance with minimum 30% of seats of elected members to women. Besides these representatives each of the expenditure and all approvals are taken in village assembly- the community participation called ‘Gram Sabha”. On date now that there has been churn of 4 elections on average in each of the state, the women leaders have emerged and contesting in many unreserved seats as well. Local Self Government is the management of local affairs by local bodies who have been elected by the local people. The local self-Government includes both rural and urban government. Rural Local Governments: Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) is a system of rural local self-government in India.

This formalized arrangement is producing the leadership as they have experienced and participated in financial decision making as well as to understand the nuances and also bring on table the social concerns of their villages in the Panchayat. These transformations are done from a grant that is untied fund, enabling them to plan and execute. The resultant in good governed states has resulted in quality infrastructure bringing down the incidents of malaria and gastro related issues. The enrollment and learning in schools have improved as teachers monitoring is done by the local government and same applies to local health staff etc. The holistic approach to infrastructure along with safe drinking water and sanitation helps more and more involvement of women. 

Even technical knowledge of agriculture or any business processing is sought from experts improving their opportunity for sustainable livelihood opportunities and improving their quality of life. All of this is the community participation in terms of formation of self help groups focusing to improve their livelihood opportunities by having dairy, construction material business, home making food items etc. Women are now also trained in digital payments and e commerce. The base of transformation is delegating decision making to the communities themselves for the infrastructure and livelihood opportunities. 

The need is to make this as the established practice across the globe adapting the lessons learnt in India experiment for the community engagement through delegation of powers for local governance supplemented by the requisite funding. The barriers for inclusiveness, being vocal of their needs , participation in financial dealings and more so for education of their children and hygiene enables to create concrete small steps of success to absorb the abstract concepts like empowerment and change of mindset of women themselves and the community. That can be further supplemented, with appropriate training and skilling to fill the gaps and thus it is tailored and better targeted to the local relevance than generic interventions. The community and especially women plays vital role in the vulnerable group as she is major deciding factor as to what goes on the plate, not just calories but a nutritious diet using the traditional inputs grown in locality needs the focus and skill them to cook in nutritious manner using the ingredients what they have access and can afford. This to be supplemented by hygienic habitats infrastructure that comes from the state investment, but quality is to be monitored by the community.

The developed economies and developing economies across globe have good practices by embracing two types of “local self-government.” One is the Anglo-Saxon- styled “self-government of the people” or “self-government of the civilians” based on parliamentary sovereignty and popular sovereignty; the other one is the peoples group. Countries like the Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden strongly established the local self government. The Nordic Countries have demonstrated not just better governance but also enabled more and more women leadership even as head of the countries.  

Thus, the entry point is the mechanism of community and women participation in the local self government to achieve the objective of Community engagement for the inclusive rural transformation ensuring the gender equality. The holistic approach holds the key. The silo approach in just organizing women for a single activity many a times collapse the moment handholding is stopped. The intension has to be sustainable mechanism to ensure involvement of community and participation of women in decision making and that will be sustainable and more result oriented. The community will witness small successes and women will be elated of their issues taking prominence resulting in better decision making.

The resultant is the more and more participation of women at all levels of governance and more sensitivity towards the concerns of food, nutrition, and education. Thus, the model is not new, it is important for FAO to bring the concept center stage to ensure better participation in decision making at local levels and women fulfilling their long standing needs. More than 88 countries have legislated gender quotas at the local elections to form the decision making administrative body at the village levels. The empirical evidence shows the better inclusive decision making and women taking active roles. 

Thus, to ensure improvement in quality of life of households with combined decision making for collective betterment is ensured by delegation of governance equipped with the powers and making the local self government accountable to ensure the same. Now technology has enabled data based decision making with precision and not just blind policy making or investing. The efforts are also for better monitoring of interventions on real time basis than awaiting impact studies, enables quick course correction.

The SDG target of gender parity can be accelerated by focusing on more and more delegation to the local self government and ensuring valid participation by women in the process. The impact assessment of SDG, as on date have also demonstrated that countries that resorted to women’s representation in local government and ensuring participation with embedded authority.FAO need to strategize to hand hold by enabling the lagging countries to have legislation for women participation in local governments and delegating sufficient powers to them if SDG by 2030 is not to become a rhetoric.  The hand holding be focused on these changes to ensure community participation with gender parity. 

Community led collective action is also more impactful and also sustainable for social evils and practices. That transformation enables them to flag, eradicate and ensures more and more participation. Women leadership empirical evidence of better community participation-Having female leaders in positions of influence to serve as role models is not only critical to the career advancement of women.