A FOCUS ON GENDER AUGUST 2012 - World Food Programme · 21 P4P pilot countries ISSUE 7 PURCHASE FOR...
Transcript of A FOCUS ON GENDER AUGUST 2012 - World Food Programme · 21 P4P pilot countries ISSUE 7 PURCHASE FOR...
ISSUE 7
PURCHASE FOR PROGRESS
AUGUST UPDATE
A FOCUS ON GENDER
ISSUE 47
AUGUST 2012
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH
Building on recommendations of the Mid-Term Evaluation, significant strides have been made in understanding and
addressing gender issues. This newsletter highlights some of the issues.
Other highlights include:
The Government of Tanzania and WFP signed a Memorandum of Understanding that allows WFP to buy up to
200,000 tons of maize annually from the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA). Ten percent of NFRA’s purchases are reserved for smallholders participating in P4P, while these smallholders can also compete for other
standard tenders.
WFP signed a revised Joint Action Agreement with the Government of Uganda (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries). The tri-partite agreement will
harmonize the parties’ interventions in addressing the economic marginalization of smallholder farmers and support the development of well-functioning local, national and regional markets.
The Executive Director Ertharin Cousin attended an Olympic Nutrition Event at 10 Downing Street, announcing
the collaboration between WFP and Harvest Plus in Rwanda. P4P-supported farmers have been selected to grow bio-fortified beans rich in iron for seed multiplication. The Rwanda CO has already purchased 50 MT of
fortified beans for its current operations.
Making space for women: P4P’s Global Gender Strategy Imagine being a guest at a party with all the other guests around you enjoying the food and drink while you watch. You would
like to join the feast, but everything is perched just a little above your reach. By extrapolation, the above analogy could be
equated to the state of gender inequity in many societies. WFP is aware of the metaphorical “height difference” or “gender gap”
that generally results in women having less access to productive resources. P4P’s gender mainstreaming effort is intended to
facilitate fair and full inclusion of all participating smallholder farmers, allowing them to have equal opportunity to benefit from
the initiative.
The P4P global gender strategy, developed with the support of the Agriculture Learning and Impacts Network (ALINe) of the
University of Sussex’s Institute of Development Studies, categorizes women working in agriculture into four distinct groups of
interest to P4P.
This categorization of women is a crucial merit of the gender strategy and it has allowed P4P to identify alternative entry points
to reach a larger number of women involved in agriculture. It is important to note that these categories may overlap in practice,
as women have more than one productive role.
Four groups of women relevant to P4P
Women producers and/or marketers of staple crops/
food products currently procured through P4P - They
already have the essential prerequisite for selling surplus
produce through P4P, but might be disadvantaged in com-
parison to their male counterparts for a variety of reasons.
Women producers and/or petty traders of crops/ food
products not currently procured through P4P - They have no
link to P4P, but could potentially become involved. These women
produce enough surplus crops/ food products and to some extent
already engage in the market and/ or are part of collective organi-
sations.
Women unpaid family workers – They are linked to P4P
through their husbands and primarily partake in P4P
activities through supporting their husbands on their farms.
Women engage in this work because they see it as their
obligation as household members.
Women casual agricultural labourers - They may be working as
seasonal labourers on farms that sell produce through P4P, or as
labourers in processing and packing activities.
21 P4P pilot countries Asia: Afghanistan, Laos Africa: DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone,
South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia Central America: El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua
P4P Global Gender Objectives
1) Increase the understanding of the importance of gender relations based on
equity within beneficiaries’ households, Farmer Organisations (FOs) and
supply side partners.
2) Increase and create opportunities for women to participate in groups and
decision making.
3) Facilitate and increase the ability of rural women to access, control and
manage resources and agricultural services.
4) Diversify opportunities for women in income-generating agro-activities.
A woman sharing her views at a mixed-gender meeting in Anjachefa, Ethiopia
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FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN P4P FARMERS’ ORGANIZATIONS
Ethiopia has the lowest female membership among the global pilots, with women representing just 13% of the registered members of farmers’ organizations
(FOs) targeted by P4P.
In the Ethiopian context, membership of a farmer’s cooperative is the pathway for low-income smallholder farmers to access various productive resources and inputs. However, land ownership is a pre-requisite for membership of a multi-purpose
primary cooperative.
The sociocultural framework in Ethiopia privileges land ownership towards men. As such, few women besides widows meet the essential criteria of land ownership and cannot register as members of primary cooperatives. This situation hints at the limitations
facing efforts towards mainstreaming gender.
P4P in Ethiopia has focused on the promotion of gender sensitization activities through the use of the “community conversations” methodology. In addition, support has been provided to establish an all-women’s multi-purpose processing cooperative in the SNPPR
region, in the Woreda of Borecha.
A revolving fund will assist the women to start income generating activities, including the purchase of a milling machine to process flour for seven schools under the
home grown school feeding program in Anjachefa.
Countries # Male
Members
# Female
Members
% Women
Members
% Women
Leaders
Afghanistan 224 - 0% 0%
Burkina Faso 145,763 146,107 50% 33%
DRC 4,210 2,290 35% 35%
El Salvador 2,823 1,883 40% 39%
Ethiopia 513,552 73,575 13% 10%
Ghana 710 634 47% 29%
Guatemala 4,572 5,180 53% 39%
Honduras 8,475 2,897 25% 23%
Kenya 4,480 6,002 57% 45%
Liberia 2,578 4,344 63% 48%
Malawi 5,021 2,111 30% 45%
Mali 20,323 18,447 48% 32%
Mozambique 19,305 11,463 37% 30%
Nicaragua 12,608 5,383 30% 23%
Rwanda 12,107 9,572 44% 44%
Sierra Leone 3,687 4,813 57% 40%
South Sudan 827 331 29% 0%
Tanzania 8,764 5,987 41% 37%
Uganda 21,403 23,837 53% 41%
Zambia 934 577 38% 7%
Global Total minus Ethiopia 278,814 251,858 47% 35%
Global Total 792,366 325,433 29% 34%
CHALLENGES OF MAINSTREAMING GENDER IN P4P
In developing the P4P global gender strategy, ALINe reviewed WFP’s
Gender Policy and undertook an extensive literature review in addition
to carrying out fieldwork in 3 of the 21 pilot countries. The gender
strategy also benefited from extensive feedback from P4P field and HQ
staff. ALINe cautioned that P4P’s efforts to translate its gender targets
into practical action to empower women farmers face three key hurdles:
1. Women are, strictly speaking, not considered smallholder
farmers in the rural social discourse of most developing countries.
Fewer women than men own land, or control the production
process, trading and/or income from cash crops.
2. In most cases, with the notable exception of some West African
countries, P4P procures relatively limited quantities of crops/
food products (such as pulses) whose production is primarily
controlled by women. 3. WFP and partner staff have limited knowledge on how to
effectively mainstream gender into development programmes
including P4P.
Despite these challenges, country offices have significantly facilitated
women’s participation in the P4P initiative as seen by the increase in the
proportion of women members of FOs having increased from 19% in
2010 to 29% in 2012 (47% excluding Ethiopia). These encouraging figures
of women’s participation in FOs however, mask the fact that women’s
contributions to P4P contracts lag behind those of their male
counterparts, despite contributions from women being prioritized. Pilot
countries are working with partners to address this aspect. In Rwanda, a
study with UN Women should pinpoint practical measures to improve
women’s production outputs and sales.
Women discussing their situation during a focus group discussion in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
Despite the good intentions of development practitioners, women may find themselves at the margins of interventions, with less access to productive resources than their male counterparts. Moreover, deep seated gender stereotypes, challenge efforts to deliver strong benefits to women. Some perceptions that have been shared with us include the following: ”Women farm, they are not farmers” Members of a farmers organization participating in P4P in Ethiopia.
“Farming doesn’t require women, they back us from behind, not the front. There are no front activities for women” Male member of a farmers organization participating in P4P in Kenya
”Women should not be expected to farm at the same levels of men when they have all their other domestic duties, how can you expect this?” Male member of farmers organization participating in P4P in Tanzania
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PRACTICAL APPROACHES TAKEN TO MAINSTREAM GENDER IN P4P
While P4P brings the capacity to put money directly in the hands of female smallholder farmers by ensuring that women are
included as members and leaders of the farmers organisations from whom WFP buys and are paid directly for their produce,
these activities are not sufficient in themselves to guarantee women’s sustained access to and benefit from the available market
opportunities. A gender consultant has been recruited within the P4P Coordination Unit to assist pilot countries to review
their gender activities and align them to the P4P global gender strategy. Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, and
Mozambique have been selected for particular attention in this regard and lessons will be learnt from these pilots on how the
global gender strategy has been applied in practice. Practical actions since the launch of the gender strategy in August 2011
have been to:
i) Undertake a gender value chain analysis: Assessments have been completed in El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana,
Guatemala, Rwanda and Mozambique in order to explore the roles of women and men at various points of the value chain and
thus identify clear opportunities for support to women through P4P. The P4P coordination unit developed a tool to
disaggregate the assessment findings in a way that identifies the differences in the contributions and potentials of women’s and
men’s agricultural economic activity throughout the entire value chain. The broad themes explored using the matrix are
constraints to agricultural production and marketing of produce. The implication of each issue found are analysed for:
ii) Design a gender action plan and select appropriate indicators to measure progress: The results have been used
as the basis on which to develop strategies, activities and indicators tailored for the country context and the needs of the
different categories of women of interest to P4P. Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and
Zambia have developed/revised their gender action plans to reflect the P4P global gender strategy. recommendations.
For the P4P Gender Strategy, please click here: http://www.wfp.org/content/p4p-gender-strategy
PRACTICAL APPROACHES FROM THE FIELD: IMPLEMENTING GENDER STRATGIES IN
GUATEMALA
During the implementation of the P4P initiative, the Guatemala team faced a series
of challenges regarding gender integration. The unequal distribution of tasks
between women and men, such as excessive housework duties, is one of the most
pressing constraints for women which affects their participation in community
activities. Likewise, limited access to education is a constraint in building self-
esteem and leadership skills to foster participation and recognition of women in
many organisations.
The Gender Specialist Josefina Tamayo’s first actions consisted of building and
boosting staff’s awareness through training sessions to all team members, WFP as
well as partner agencies. Furthermore, Josefina developed strategies to
incorporate equality criteria in the framework of the P4P initiative, facilitate a
gender analysis of partner organizations and their action plans as well as promote
the use of a gender-inclusive language that fosters women’s visibility.
“Our approach to smallholder farmers’ organizations has been gender-inclusive as
this has proven critically important to make gender-equitable decisions”.
Consequently, farmer’s organizations which were not open to women’s participation faced exclusion from the initiative. A
Rapid assessment of the situation of women in each participating organization was carried out, followed by discussions of the
results with the entire membership. This encouraged both members and leaders to promote gender equality within the
organization. Quota use within an farmer organisation is also used as a tool to ensure women´s participation in the training
exercises, such as demonstration plots.
“During such events, we ensured that trainers provided translation to women who could only communicate in the
indigenous language. We also ensured food and care for the accompanying children”.
In order to achieve sustainability, the P4P Guatemala team is urging each farmer’s organisation to establish a gender
commission, from which women and men can promote transformations within organisational spaces, homes and
communities. Through this space members can raise awareness on issues that still limit participation of women, such as
violence from domestic partners, lack of educational opportunity for girls and lack of access to land.
Josefina Tamayo, Gender Specialist, P4P Guatemala
Women’s participation the challenges to be aware of
female household heads specifically the potential or existing opportunities to address the issue
the potential partners who could play a role along WFP’s
value chain
the relevant group of women as identified in the P4P
gender strategy.
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PARTNERSHIPS FOR GENDER MAINSTREAMING
WFP on its own is limited in the impact it can make on women’s income through its procurement demand. Partners are
needed to implement complementary activities that help women to increase their productivity; improve on the quality of
their commodities; access credit; and gain a voice in household and within farmers’ organizations in relation to
agricultural production and marketing. A sample of the diverse partnerships that pilot countries are developing to
promote gender action are provided below. Private sector partners
In Zambia, WFP has worked with partners to establish two
revolving funds under P4P: 1. WFP and Dunavant (a private company) have established a
revolving fund for the creation of tillage service providers. Enterprising farmers, including women, are provided with
tractors and rippers on a repayment basis leading to ownership. 2. In a second partnership with Dunavant, Profit (a USAID funded project), and the Zambia Agricultural Commodity
Exchange (ZAMACE), maize shellers have provided loaned to farmers’ organizations and individual farmers on a repayment
basis. Having access to shelling services has not only increased post-harvest processing productivity, but also significantly
decreased the burden on women and children, given that shelling is traditionally their work.
Female recipient of tractor, trailer and maize sheller loans,
Southern Province, Zambia
Joint programmes with UN Agencies UN Women, working with WFP, IFAD and FAO, will launch a 5-year joint global programme targeting rural women in
New York during the UN General Assembly in September 2012 and in Rome on the International Day of Rural Women
on the 15th October 2012. The programme which has commitment from the highest levels of each organization,
aims to economically empower rural women based on four outcome areas: improved food and nutrition security;
increased income to secure their livelihoods; enhanced leadership and participation in rural institutions and in shaping laws, policies and programmes; and gender
responsive policy environments for the economic empowerment of rural women. Participating countries
include Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Nepal, Niger and Rwanda. WFP is the Lead Agency for the Joint
Programme in Guatemala and Rwanda. P4P is providing WFP’s entry point for participation in these joint endeavors in Ethiopia, Guatemala, Liberia and Rwanda.
In Ethiopia, WFP has partnered with IFAD to provide women with access to revolving funds for income generating
activities.
In Ghana, WFP has signed a MoU with UN Women to work jointly on implementation. UN Women has committed to provide technical support to mainstream gender into P4P including assistance to identify and bring on board the
relevant partners in country.
WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin with (from left to right) José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General, H.E. Gerda Verburg, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Netherlands, and Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women during an informal consultation on the joint women’s economic
Working with NGOs In Guatemala, Asociación para el Desarrollo de las Comunicaciones Sociales (ADCS), a local NGO provided training to P4P targeted farmers organisations on women and gender equality. ADCS is a NGO specialized in training and educational communication services. WFP has contracted ADCS to provide training in organizational strengthening and gender to both male and female members of farmers’ organizations. The content of the training is focused on self esteem, organization and gender and creative group dynamics are used. These are oriented towards the environment found in the communities and the region and use techniques appropriate for adult men and women, many of whom are illiterate. Women only focus group in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
Page 5 ISSUE 47
Introducing Catherine Feeney & Edouard Nizeyimana New Senior Programme Advisors at the P4P Coordination Unit
Catherine began working for WFP as a JPO in Ethiopia, after which she served as Head of Mekele Sub-Office (Tigray) and later became Deputy Country Director in Swaziland. Before joining the P4P Coordination Unit, Catherine worked at the WFP Washington Liaison Office where she led the team responsible for managing the US contributions to WFP while also spending two years as the WFP focal person for relations with the World Bank. Catherine holds a Master of Science in Agricultural Development with a focus on rural development. Prior to working on humanitarian issues she gained valuable experience in IT and also worked as a secondary school teacher in Ireland. “With P4P, we are realising entirely new areas of collaboration, not only interagency with FAO, IFAD, donors and implementing partners, but also within WFP. We are piloting exciting new ideas and approaches with procurement, logistics, nutrition and many other units. Through P4P, we have the potential to progressively transform the way WFP does business”. Catherine is Senior Programme Advisor for Partnerships, Liason and Advocacy.
Edouard has been with WFP since 1998, after starting his career on a joint WFP/FAO project in his native Rwanda. He also worked with USAID FSM/LCS (Food storage and marketing/Local crop storage programme) including CLUSA Projects on strengthening food marketing cooperatives. He has been involved in a wide spectrum of WFP operations since 1998, from emergency operations in Niger, Somalia, Central Africa Republic to more development oriented postings in Tanzania, Benin & Togo, and the Central African Republic, where he served as Deputy Country Director before joining the P4P team in Rome. Edouard hold two Masters Degrees in Agricultural Economics and International Development. His research areas and expertise are in agricultural extension services, social safety nets and strengthening food marketing cooperatives.
For the P4P project, he is looking forward to disseminating the lessons learnt for future implementation of projects aimed at empowering farmer organisations to penetrate new potential markets and give value-added to their commodities. “I believe P4P is one of the best interventions to directly address poverty and speed up community development, therefore I wish to specifically engage national governments in policy and best practices dialogues that support smallholders.” Edouard is Senior Programme Advisor for Ethiopia, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda & Zambia.
Story from the Field: Marita Domingo, Board Secretary of a Farmer Organisation in Mozambique
Marita Domingo is a married woman and mother of three in her mid-thirties. She is a member of the Associação Chiguirizano,
a FO that was created in November 2008 in Domue, in Angonia District, Mozambique, and she holds a leadership position as
secretary of the FO board. Because of proximity with Malawi, her parents moved to the other side of the border, where her
father got a job and where Marita attended school. But in 1997, after her father passed away, her mother decided to relocate
back home to Mozambique with her and her siblings. Marita understood, then, that her dream to further her education was
not only halted, it was shattered, as her widowed mother settled on the plot of land her late father had secured. Though her dream for advanced education was interrupted, her dream for a good life lives on.
Marita and her husband own five acres of farm land – two of which she inherited from her late
mother and the remaining three owned by her husband. Her household mainly grows maize and
soy. Marita’s literacy skills have proven handy as she engaged in farming. It allows her to follow
instructions from agricultural extension agents more easily. She also takes advantage of her
literacy skills to budget, plan, and track expenses on her farm. During the last season Marita
sold fifteen 50-kilogram bags / 750kg of maize from the family’s harvest to P4P through her FO.
Thanks to the fair price she received from WFP, she has been able to save money in a bank
account, after paying for the children’s education, family food, and other basic expenses. Marita
and her husband enjoy harmony within the family.
The secret, she says, ‘’we discuss every issue. We put the money together, and then we make a
plan’’. Their next plan is to build a house. Marita’s ultimate dream is to engage in business,
buying and selling grains, mainly beans, while managing her farm as a small business. She hopes
the good prices she receives from sales to P4P through her FO will allow her to achieve this life
dream.
Martia Domingo, board member of the
Associacon Chigwirizano, Mozambique
Page 6 ISSUE 47
P4P Country Coordinators / Focal Points
Asia
Afghanistan: Djordje Vdovic <[email protected]>
Laos: Sengpaseuth Simmanivong <[email protected]>
Regional Bureau Focal Point: Francois Buratto
Eastern, Southern & Central Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo: Francis Bere <[email protected]>
Ethiopia: Enrico Pausilli <[email protected]>
Kenya: Martin Kabaluapa <[email protected]>
Malawi: Irene Del Rio <Irene.Del-Rio@wfp,org>
Mozambique: Billy Mwiinga <[email protected]>
Rwanda: Emmanuela Mashayo <[email protected]>
South Sudan: Marc Sauveur <[email protected]>
Tanzania: Dominique Leclercq <[email protected]>
Uganda: Germain Akoubia <[email protected]>
Zambia: Aurore Rusiga <[email protected]>
Regional Bureau Focal Point: Simon Denhere
West Africa
Burkina Faso: Veronique Sainte-Luce <[email protected]>
Ghana: Hassan Abdelrazig <[email protected]>
Liberia: James Legg <[email protected]>
Mali: Isabelle Mballa <[email protected]>
Sierra Leone: Miyuki Yamashita <[email protected]>
Regional Bureau Focal Point: <[email protected]>
Latin American & Caribbean
El Salvador: Hebert Lopez <[email protected]>
Guatemala: Sheryl Schneider <[email protected]>
Honduras: Ana Touza <[email protected]>
Nicaragua: Francisco Alvarado <[email protected]>
Regional Bureau Focal Point: Laura Melo <[email protected]>
KEY P4P CONTACTS IN ROME
P4P COORDINATION UNIT
Ken Davies, P4P Coordinator: [email protected]
Catherine Feeney, Snr Programme Adviser, Partnerships:
Jorge Fanlo, Snr Programme Adviser for Afghanistan, Burkina
Faso, DRC, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone & South Sudan:
Edouard Nizeyimana, Snr Programme Advisor for Ethiopia,
Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda
& Zambia: [email protected]
Clare Mbizule, Programme Adviser, M&E:
Alessia De Caterina, M&E Officer:
Damien Fontaine, M&E Officer:
Tobias Bauer, Communications and Advocacy Officer:
Bhai Thapa, Finance Officer:
Raphael Grojnowski, Reports Officer:
Ester Rapuano, Snr Finance Assistant:
Judy Gicharu, Snr. Admin Assistant:
Gianluca Guerrini, Admin Assistant:
Alessia Rossi, Admin Assistant:
PROCUREMENT DIVISION
Shane Prigge, Food Technologist:
Van Hoan Nguyen, Food Technologist:
Jeffrey Marzilli, P4P liaison: [email protected]
Laila Ahadi, Procurement Officer: [email protected]
Brigitte Labbe, Procurement Officer:
The update is published by the P4P Coordination Unit in Rome, Italy. Contact us at [email protected]
External: www.wfp.org/p4p Internal: http://go.wfp.org/web/purchaseforprogress
CALENDAR
27–29 September: African Green Revolution Forum 2012, Tanzania http://agrforum.com/
15-20 October: 38th Session of the Committee on Food Security, Rome
15 October: Rural Women’s Day
16 October: World Food Day: “Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world"
17-19 October: World Food Prize, Des Moines, Iowa
New on the P4P website:
The P4P Coordination Unit regularly consolidates reports from the 20 implementing countries and
identifies key lessons & challenges. The updated procurement report for the reporting period
Sept. 2008—Jun. 2012 has been released:
http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/reports/wfp250327.pdf