Photo Credit Goes Here Photo credit: IWMI Flickr, Ghana, 2011; Passarelli, Ghana, 2015 Sophie Theis, April 13, 2016 Accra, Ghana Seeing irrigation through a gender lens: Introduction to a participatory checklist

Common assumptions about gender and water Women are only responsible for domestic water (e.g. drinking, cooking, cleaning water), not “productive” uses If the household benefits from irrigation, women in the household also benefit Assuming they can afford it, women should be able to invest and adopt irrigation technology as easily as men

To “do” gender, need to “see” gender Gender is increasingly recognized as important, but what does this mean in practice in the water sector? To get to the right actions and solutions, need to identify the issues

Intention of the checklist Identify the gender issues related to water, (including gender roles, norms, and rights) that are important to address to promote gender equality in access to water – Before, during, and after irrigation intervention

The checklist can be: A diagnostic tool to identify water-related needs, preferences, constraints, and risks that differ by gender and social group A guide for community-led solutions, project design, implementation (think through possible consequences of a project), M&E indicators and assessment, policy development

Five Sections of the Checklist Community-level: How effective are current water sources and technologies meeting people’s different needs for water? Household-level: How are decisions made over household and farm-level water use? Access to technology: How do constraints in access to water technologies differ between groups of people? Water governance: How are decisions over water use made within communities and above communities? Impacts of irrigation: How do the impacts and benefits of agricultural water management practices affect people differently?

Checklist Structure

Short example to prepare for case study activity using the checklist A project promotes affordable treadle pumps for sale

Community-level questions that ask about how people use water throughout the year in the community reveal that this technology is not preferred by women for several reasons: – Not culturally appropriate for women to use – Location of pumps are far from women’s agricultural plots

Household-level questions that ask about power in household decisions reveal that women tend not to have much say in decisions related to the technology: – Wife decides jointly with husband what to grow on the plot of land that is irrigated by the treadle pump but does not control income generated by the sale of this produce – Though less time is spent overall on lifting water, women still spend more time than men on water-related tasks (technology does not reduce or redistribute women’s unpaid work)

Access to technology questions reveal that women in female- headed households and male-headed households alike are less likely to adopt this technology because they: – Have not heard about the technology – Are not members of producer groups that are helping finance the pumps – Have restrictions on access to credit relative to men – Rent land to cultivate and do not have tenure security to invest in a pump – Can’t afford maintenance and operational costs – Technology is hard to use and too time and labor intensive

Water governance questions that ask about decisions are made about water use and allocations in the community: – Land title is a criteria for membership in water user associations, and women are less likely to have land titled in their name – If women are eligible to become members, women face time, mobility, and social norm constraints to attend meetings or participate actively

Impacts of irrigation questions ask about who benefits from irrigation and find that: – The pump shifts household focus to irrigated plot and leaves less time for traditional women’s crops – Irrigated land becomes more valuable and threatens tenure security as well as control over the pump

Common themes? – Time use – Decision making over technology adoption, farm decisions, and use of income generated – Decision making at the community level – Access to credit, information, inputs, extension services – Marketing and value chain issues

Try it out Case study activity: – Small group discussions with two case study presenters – Count off into 5 groups – Discuss for 45 minutes the first case study then rotate to the second – Choose a rapporteur to take notes and report back on your second case study discussion – Rapporteurs report back in plenary: What are the main gender issues and lessons learned in each of the five categories of the checklist?

Case Studies Household Irrigation 1. Anna Minkah, Upper East Program Manager, iDEiDE Small-scale Irrigation 2. Edward Ahiabor, Samuel Jones, Mercy Logah & Afi Ahovi Keta and Ketu South, Municipal Vegetable Farmers and Marketers Association 3. Romanus Baayakuu, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist, MEDAMEDA Multiple Use Systems: 4. Kofi Adade Debrah, Northern Sector Manager, Plan InternationalPlan International Small Reservoirs 5. Bedru Balana, Researcher-Economics, IWMIIWMI

What are the main gender issues and lessons learned in each of the five categories of the checklist? 1.Community-level: How effective are current water sources and technologies meeting people’s different needs for water? 2.Household-level: How are decisions made over household and farm-level water use? 3.Access to technology: How do constraints in access to water technologies differ between groups of people? 4.Water governance: How are decisions over water use made within communities and above communities? 5.Impacts of irrigation: How do the impacts and benefits of agricultural water management practices affect people differently?

Other checklists and guidance Checklists for gender and agriculture are limited with respect to water: – International Fund for Agricultural Development Manual for Gender-Focused Field Diagnostic StudiesManual for Gender-Focused Field Diagnostic Studies – An International Food Policy Research Institute checklist developed for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation checklist developed for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Gender and water guidance: – Gender and Agriculture Sourcebook, chapter on gender and agricultural water management chapter on gender and agricultural water management – UN World Water Assessment Program (WWAP) Gender-sensitive indicators project, but relatively more developed WASH than productive uses UN World Water Assessment Program – Gender and Water Alliance resources Gender and Water Alliance

Common assumptions

“There is nothing stopping women from accessing irrigation technologies”

“If the household benefits, women in the household benefit”