Gender Aware Approaches in Agricultural Programmes: International Literature Review

This document presents gender aware approaches in agricultural programmes. In response to the persistent inequalities of women in farming despite decades of development assistance, Team Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security at Sida headquarters has initiated a thematic evaluation of how gender issues are tackled in Sida-supported agricultural programmes. The purpose is to increase understanding of how Sida's development assistance in agriculture should be designed, implemented and funded to ensure that female farmers are reached, that their needs as producers are met, and that they are able to benefit from the support to achieve a positive impact on their livelihoods. As part of this, the study also aims to understand the ways in which particular aid modalities impact upon the ability of programmes to reach women farmers effectively. The ILR aims to address the following questions: * Which methodologies and instruments have been used by donors to widen the scope of women's agency in agricultural development programmes? * To what extent has the work of programmes on involving female farmers impacted upon overall agricultural outcomes? * What are the most important lessons? What is working well and what is working not so well (effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability)? Below are recommendations to increase understanding of how Sida's development assistance in agriculture should be designed, implemented and funded to ensure that female farmers are reached, that their needs as producers are met, and that they are able to benefit from the support to achieve a positive impact on their livelihoods

Gender dynamics in dairy production in Kenya: A literature review

This literature review serves as a background document to better understand gender roles and dynamics in the dairy sector in Kenya and thus aims to inform research activities on the gender dimensions of mitigation options, such as sustainable dairy intensification. Technology change has strong gender and labor implications, as it typically involves renegotiation, reassignment, or deepening of roles and responsibilities within households. It can also alter traditional patterns of access to resources such as milk, land, and income. Clarifying gender issues is critical to inform programs and policies for effective design and delivery of mitigation technologies among smallholder households, and to ensure that the benefits of mitigation technologies reach women and men fairly, and thus contribute to both poverty reduction and sustainability

Gender dynamics in the cattle sector in Central America: A literature review

Cattle production is an important economic activity throughout Central America. Dairy production, in particular, is an important activity for many smallholder farmers in Costa Rica and across the Central America region. Women’s role in cattle production tends to be poorly valued and recognized, however. This literature review summarizes the scant research published about gender in the cattle sector in Central America, including the findings that (1) women lack access to and control over productive resources in the cattle sector and (2) extension services and training do not focus on women, likely because women’s contributions are undervalued. The paper then describes a successful project in Nicaragua and recommends areas for research

Gender dynamics in rice-farming households in Vietnam: A literature review

This literature review is part of the CCAFS program on low emission agriculture flagship of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. It serves as a background document to better understand gender roles and dynamics in the rice sector in Vietnam, and provides input into research activities on the gender dimensions of mitigation options such as alternate wetting and drying. An understanding of gender issues helps to both improve effective design and delivery of mitigation technologies and ensure that the benefits of mitigation technologies reach women and men equitably. This will enable mitigation technologies to contribute to livelihood resilience, gender equity, and other development objectives as well as to lowering greenhouse gas emissions

Rural women’s participation in producer organizations: An analysis of the barriers that women face and strategies to foster equitable and effective participation

Over the last several decades, participation in producer organizations has become a key principle of development, enabling people’s empowerment, inclusiveness, and facilitating democracy. Producer organizations have become crucial actors to provide services to the rural poor, and women’s participation and leadership in producer organizations has become a focus of rural and agricultural development efforts. This review paper aims to document the factors that hinder women’s participation in producer organizations. The review identifies several factors as major barriers for women’s participation, including: socio-cultural norms; women’s double burden and triple roles; women’s status, age and previous membership in organizations; access to assets and resources; educational level; organizations’ rules of entry, and; legal and policy environment. The paper also provides a review of lessons and good practice that can be applied by Agricultural Research for Development institutions. The review identified strategies for strengthening women’s participation in producer organizations at the individual/household, community/producer organization, and policy level. The review found that at the individual/household level, strategies to improve individual capabilities and intra-household relations were crucial for promoting women’s participation and leadership in producer organizations. Similarly, at the producer organizational level strategies to ensure that the structures and governance mechanisms are more gender sensitive, and promote women’s inclusion, are crucial. Equally important are policies for promoting gender-sensitive producer organizations and specific measures geared at promoting women’s active participation in producers’ organizations

Silica nanoparticles actively engage with mesenchymal stem cells in improving acute functional cardiac integration

Aim: To assess functional effects of silica nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) on humanmesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) cardiac integration potential. Methods: SiO2-NPs were synthesized and their internalization effects on hMSCs analyzed with particular emphasis on interaction of hMSCs with the cardiac environment Results: SiO2-NP internalization affected the area and maturation level of hMSC focal adhesions, accounting for increased in vitro adhesion capacity and augmented engraftment in the myocardial tissue upon cell injection in infarcted isolated rat hearts. SiO2-NP treatment also enhanced hMSC expression of Connexin-43, favoring hMSC interactionwith cocultured cardiac myoblasts in an ischemia-like environment. Conclusion: These findings provide strong evidence that SiO2-NPs actively engage in mediating biological effects, ultimately resulting in augmented hMSC acute cardiac integration potential