Rapid assessment of sweetpotato seed and root production and markets in Kamuli and Iganga districts, near Eastern Uganda

The International Potato Center (CIP) and National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) under the supervision of National Agricultural Research Organization are implementing a three-year project entitled, ‘Sweetpotato Genetic Advances and Innovative Seed Systems (SweetGAINS)’ funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The project aims to modernize the current Sweetpotato breeding systems and early generation seed production. SweetGAINS project is structured into work packages (WP1 - WP4) for effective and efficient implementation. As part of work package 4, a detailed rapid assessment of the sweetpotato seed system was conducted. The main objective of the study was to generate bench information to support the implementation of the sweetpotato system

FR1.2: Understanding Community Perceptions of Women Empowerment for Agricultural and Rural development

The concept of women empowerment has been widely embraced in development efforts aimed at achieving gender equality outcomes. However, intended outcomes are not always achieved due to a disconnect between how the concept of women empowerment is perceived by target communities and development actors. An understanding of how targeted communities perceive women empowerment helps development actors design context specific women empowerment approaches suited to prevailing social cultural norms and perceptions of men and women. This study therefore aims at understanding perceptions of women empowerment by local communities in rural farming villages of Kiboga district in central Uganda. A qualitative case study design was used to collect data on community perceptions about women empowerment through key informants and sex-disaggregated focus group discussions. The data were coded using Atlas Ti and analyzed to identify themes. We found that men perceived an empowered woman as un-submissive, and a competitor to men's household head position. To women, an empowered woman was perceived as un-submissive, hardworking and taking over culturally assigned men's household responsibilities. As women get empowered, what do men become and at what cost to women? Findings indicate that an empowered woman takes over the responsibilities of an "ideal man" and this adds work burden to women and a backlash from men. In order to counter this, development agencies should target men and women and invest in interventions and approaches that transform local gender norms that dis-empower women. The study is ongoing and further data collection will be completed in August 2022

TH2.1: Understanding femininities: Implications for women's Participation in Agricultural interventions in central Uganda

Research has documented how men's behaviors in patriarchal settings affect women's economic empowerment outcomes, while less attention has been paid to how gender identity constructions around femininities influence these outcomes. We define femininities as gender based roles and expected behaviors of women in a given community and economic empowerment as women's decision-making regarding access and control of productive resources and management of income. This paper presents research on how female and male farmers in rural communities of central Uganda define what it means to be a woman and how those identity constructions influence women's economic empowerment. This qualitative case study is based on focus group discussions conducted with Sasakawa Africa Association intervention farmers (28 women and 25 men) of Kiboga District. Six focus group discussions were conducted, two with men only, women only, and both men and women respectively. Findings reveal co-existence of traditional and progressive femininities, dubbed "unruly" by men and some women. Traditional femininities were depicted as women complying to community values which deter them from financial decision making and owning productive resources. Progressive femininities on the other hand are noncompliant to these community values, and enjoy more economic empowerment. Men valued economically empowered women because they relieve men of financial responsibilities. Incorporating gender transformative approaches in women's economic empowerment interventions could decode traditional femininities and increase women's intrinsic agency within the context of economic empowerment

TH2.1: Empowerment without Transformation? A Scoping Review on Women Empowerment, Masculinities and Social norms in Agricultural Research

There is an increasing focus on re-thinking women's "empowerment" strategic interventions in order to achieve meaningful transformation in gender norms. This move is increasingly characterized by initiatives that deliberately seek to engage women and men, highlighting not only how women's lives in agricultural communities are interwoven with men's lives but also calls for ‘involvement' of men in women's empowerment work to address the underlying social norms, attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate gender inequalities. How have social categories "women", "men" and notions of empowerment and masculinities been conceptualized in agricultural research on women's empowerment? How have these concepts been deployed in agricultural research and with what implications? This paper draws from a literature review. Search terms included "Women's empowerment", "masculinities", "gender norms", "agency" "Power relations", "Rural masculinities" "male involvement in agriculture". Drawing on literature within agri food system, seed systems, nutrition sensitive agriculture in different regions of Africa and Asia, the paper argues that conceptualization of categories women, men, masculinities and femininities and the approaches drawn therefrom (the assumptions we work with about women and men) have potential to transform and/or reproduce unequal gender power relations

TH2.1: Who is a man? Understanding the local normative climate for transformative interventions in rural farming communities of Central Uganda

Local gender normative climate refers to how norms in a community interact with men and women agency- their ability to make strategic life choices. Understanding the normative climate includes unpacking the community's expectations of what it means to be a man "masculinity norms". Such normative factors interact with and constrain opportunities for women's equitable participation in agriculture, yet most women empowerment literature focuses on individual women level factors. This ongoing study aims to determine masculinity norms that affect women's ability to make strategic choices within the Sasakawa Africa's Nutrition sensitive agricultural extension project intervention areas in Kiboga District, Central Uganda. The study utilized an interpretive qualitative case study with data collected from sex disagreggated focus group discussions with intervention beneficiaries. Findings indicate that the community expectation of who a man should be are along family formation and provisioning; dominance in household decision making and leadership; and community level participation. The normative structures also exempted men from participating in domestic chores and negative sanctions were experienced by men that did so. Gender roles espousing notions like "vegetable growing is a woman's domain" dissuaded men's engagement in this activity. Consequently, domestic chores on top of additional activities from vegetables growing under the project present an increased labor burden for women. Inability to make strategic life choices like attending training that would build their capacities in areas important for their development curtails their economic investments. This calls for development agents' deliberate efforts to engage both women and men to reframe norms and new behaviors that will foster gender equality and a harmoniously transformed community