Gender Research Strategy for Dryland Systems in South Asia KH Anantha and Team Resilient Dryland Systems ICRISAT, Patancheru 502324 Andhra Pradesh, India Led by Partners

Agriculture in South Asia SA is home to about 20% of the world’s population. Three-quarters of this population live in rural areas, with one-third living in extreme poverty. More than 50% of employed women in South Asia work in the agriculture sector. Led by Partners

Women in agriculture Country Rural population (% of total) Female share of rural population (%) Agri share of economically active women (% of total) Afghanistan 75.2 NA 82 Bangladesh 71.9 51.4 57.4 Bhutan 63.1 47.2 97.2 India 69.9 48.7 61.8 Maldives 59.6 50.6 14.3 Nepal 81.8 51.6 97.8 Pakistan 63.0 50.2 56.9 Sri Lanka 84.9 50.5 41.6 Source: Saxena LP (2013) Led by Partners

Women in food production Particulars Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Female share of agr. Holders (% of total) NA 10.9 8.1 Share of rural households, female -headed (%) 13.2 14.9 24.0 11.0 Source: Saxena LP (2013) Led by Partners

Gender disparity in food production Women do not have equal access to and control over land, livestock, technology, credit, extension services and other essential resources. Women’s capacity/ability to cope with and recover from climate change-induced impacts on crop production and yields very limited Led by Partners

Priority areas Integrating gender participation in crop-livestock value chains. Quantifying women’s role in agricultural development. Identify entry points to reduce drudgery and increase efficiency of labour use; and Improving nutrition and food security for women. Led by Partners

Critical focus areas for strategic gender research Empowerment through enhanced and targeted knowledge sharing using ICT4D. Self employment generation for women through collective action in the crop-livestock systems. Inclusive market oriented holistic development through PR4D. Value addition and marketing. Enhanced nutrition and food security. Led by Partners

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Gender Research at ICRISAT Engagement, empowerment, and investment of and in women. Contributions to improve rural livelihoods through inclusive market oriented development (IMOD), improved food security, better health and nutrition, reducing drudgery for women and sustainable management of agriculturally-related natural resources. Led by Partners

ICRISAT’s Approach to Gender ICRISAT takes the position that gender is an integral element of its overall agenda and attaches great importance to the gender implications of its research with human face through training activities. Gender responsive goal of ICRISAT: Increase benefits for women and men in terms of income, nutrition, food security from improvements in the production and marketing of ICRISAT mandate crops so that gender inequality is reduced.   The Inclusive Market-Oriented Development (IMOD) conceptual framework: that underlies ICRISAT’s Strategic Plan to 2020 categorically mentions, “will enable the poor, particularly women, to participate and benefit rather than be sidelined” in the economic growth (ICRISAT, 2010). Led by Partners

The Strategy 1. Integrating gender in: programme development and implementation capacity building support to women’s empowerment 2. Documenting gender issues: Developing gender disaggregated database on ICRISAT’s core programs & research issues Documenting gender issues in ICRISAT’s research programs Disseminating information related to gender issues for advocacy and policy dialogue 3. Influencing Policies by: Documenting & disseminating information related to gender issues in ICRISAT’s research programs Integrating gender issues in dialogues and other initiatives with policy-makers Giving visibility to gender issues under ICRISAT’s research programs in the regional and international platforms Led by Partners

Thank you! ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium