FAO-JP GTA training explores gender and climate change in agricultural value chains

15 NOVEMBER 2023

The JP GTA collaborated with FAO’s Gender Team and the WeCaN community of Knowledge Practice for the Sustainable Forest Management Impact Program on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes (DSL-IP) to build the capacity of 20 development practitioners and service providers during a four-day virtual training workshop on gender transformative and climate-resilient dimensions of agricultural value chains.

This adapted training curriculum is one of many examples of how the JP GTA is working with various teams, units and divisions within FAO to embed gender transformative approaches in programming, policy dialogues, working modalities and institutional culture of the Rome-based Agencies.

Women, while not systematically marginalized from agrifood value chains, often find their participation constrained by discriminatory social norms, which lead to limited access to resources and participation in decision-making processes. Yet, when given the opportunity, they can play a crucial role in strengthening value chains against climate-induced threats through adaptation actions and disaster risk reduction.

Gender transformative and climate-resilient value chain interventions – which promote economic growth, environmental sustainability and women’s empowerment in a synergic way – contribute substantially not only to reduce the gender gaps in agriculture, but also to enhance the sustainability of food systems and, ultimately, to improve the food security and nutrition of local communities and households.

“The workshop allowed participants to practice how to effectively and actively promote gender equality in value chain projects and programmes,” said Erika Valerio, Gender and Agrifood Systems Specialist at FAO. “They are now equipped with tools and methodologies to conduct a gender sensitive and climate-resilient value chain analysis and address the particular constraints faced by rural women in accessing markets.”

Lucia Gerbaldo, Coordinator of the WeCaN Network, highlighted the particular focus on dryland sustainable landscapes: “Women in drylands are underrepresented in leadership roles and decision-making processes and encounter societal biases that limit their access to land, financing and technology. However, integrating women more effectively into forestry value chains presents substantial opportunities.”

The group of 20 training participants comprised 16 women and 4 men from a wide range of countries, including Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Malawi, Mongolia, Morocco, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, representing non-governmental and civil society organizations, governmental institutions, academia and the private sector. They will now seek to apply the newly gained knowledge and skills in the context of their own work.

“This workshop was useful because I learned how to identify subtle gender barriers, which helps me better address the challenge of women’s participation in my [DSL-IP] project,” commented Lloyd Muponda, a green value chain expert from Zimbabwe.

Another participant, gender expert Makandi Munyuah, said: “I used to think that 'gender' is just women. But now I understand that for women to grow there’s a need for symbiosis, for partnership, to work with both men and women. I’ve been awakened to the fact that we can’t just operate as women, we need the men as well.”

Contacts:

• Fiona Funke, Knowledge Management & Communication Specialist, JP GTA: [email protected]
• [email protected] 
  

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