Empowering Women in Equitable Agricultural Systems at Scale Beating Famine Conference 14 th – 17 th April, 2015, Lilongwe - Malawi Salome Mhango Empowering Women in Equitable Agricultural Systems at Scale Beating Famine Conference 14 th – 17 th April, 2015, Lilongwe - Malawi Salome Mhango

ABOUT CARE Humanitarian action - preparedness and early action, emergency response and recovery, future resilience and equitable development Promoting innovative solutions for sustainable development - through essential services, building capacities, reducing risk, and empowering the most vulnerable, particularly women & girls. Multiplying impact - use evidence and learning from humanitarian action and development programs to influence social change. CARE works in partnership with a wide range of actors from civil society, government and the private sector. Humanitarian action - preparedness and early action, emergency response and recovery, future resilience and equitable development Promoting innovative solutions for sustainable development - through essential services, building capacities, reducing risk, and empowering the most vulnerable, particularly women & girls. Multiplying impact - use evidence and learning from humanitarian action and development programs to influence social change. CARE works in partnership with a wide range of actors from civil society, government and the private sector.

Women and Girls at the Centre Impact population is rural women small holder farmers and adolescent girls; - but works through Men and boys and a number of stakeholders Social accountability / Advocacy Participatory governance & gender dialogue Skills building in multiple sectors Rural Women & Adolescent Girls

CARE’s Women Empowerment Framework A woman’s own aspirations and capabilities -Skills, capacities, information -Self-confidence -Decision making confidence -Knowledge of laws and rights The power relations through which she negotiates her path -Male partners -Market Actors -Community leaders, gate keepers -Collective action, group solidarity -Change agents The environment that surrounds and conditions her choices -Customs, traditions, norms -Laws, policies -Rules for accessing services, resources-extn, natural resources

Pathways Approach to Gender Integration (1)Empowering Interventions: a.Women’s empowerment: agency, relations and structures – productivity & efficacy b.Engaging men and boys c.Collectives and groups: -social empowerment (2)Towards Gender Transformative Strategies: Moving the bar in 5 years (3)CARE and partners: Building the organizational systems and culture that ensure we are partners of choice for poor and marginalized women

The Gender Continuum

Gender Continuum Explained  Exploitative: Using existing gender roles for efficient project gains (which reinforce gender norms or inequalities) e.g. market committees, mechanized weeding-India  Accommodating: Working within existing divisions. Compensates for gender differences but doesn’t try to challenge underlying norms. Eg selecting women friendly value chains  Transformative: Recognizing and changing fundamental inequalities. - Challenge the false dichotomy of the breadwinner vs caregiver - How?? FFBS Gender component

Farmer field and Business Schools - A Pathways programming approach A learning by doing approach through which farmers meet regularly during a cropping cycle to experiment and learn about new production and marketing options Builds on FFS FFBS is unique in that it includes community approaches to visioning and planning, sustainable agriculture, market engagement, nutrition, gender and performance monitoring A learning by doing approach through which farmers meet regularly during a cropping cycle to experiment and learn about new production and marketing options Builds on FFS FFBS is unique in that it includes community approaches to visioning and planning, sustainable agriculture, market engagement, nutrition, gender and performance monitoring

FFBS Nutrition CB in family nutrition, home gardens, cookery demos Sustainable Agriculture Soil and water management Pest and disease mgt Post harvest management GenderCB, Dialogue sessionsTFD; male involvementVision/PlanSeasonal calendars PPME MarketingCB in Mrkting basics Linkages devt Collective bulking  Improved knowledge, skills and relationships  Improved access to productive resources, assets and Markets  Improvement in yields and income  Increased contribution to and influence over household income and decision making  More enabling attitudes behaviours, social norms, policy and institution Farmer Field and Business School approach’ - an innovative agriculture extension and delivery approach

Male change agents Gender and Nutrition role play FFBS Demonstration Plot Postharvest technique: Mandera Cork

THANK YOU……. 11