FR1.1: Doing GREAT: Genesis and evolution of a gender training program for agricultural researchers

Women play a critical role in agriculture especially in developing countries despite gender-based constraints which limit their contribution. Women's empowerment has been strongly linked to achievement of development outcomes thus gaining precedence in global development discussion. While several studies have investigated the notions of empowerment, masculinities and social/gender norms, these thematic areas have been studied in isolation regardless of their linkages. For example, evidence indicates that masculinities and social norms are anchored in social cultural contexts, and are thus bound to vary in different agricultural systems. How do these themes intersect? Using a mixed methods approach, we interrogated the interconnection of women's empowerment, masculinities and social norms, and how these influence household food security and women's income. Qualitative case studies helped understand local constructions of masculinities and femininities, women's empowerment; and how these in turn influence development outcomes. The findings on masculinities and women empowerment are presented by Businge et al., ; femininities and women's economic empowerment by Shimali et al., and, community perception of women's empowerment by Nakyewa et al., (all submitted for this conference). A quantitative survey (to be conducted in July-August 2022) will be used to measure the level and drivers of women's empowerment and project outcomes as well as household food security and women's income using Pro-WEAI with an add-on masculinities module. This paper will present a synthesis of the qualitative and quantitative evidence around the interconnections between women empowerment, masculinities, household food security and women's income

Determinants of Performance in Smallholder Farmer Groups in Uganda

The performance of farmer groups is critical for the success of the farmer-led Agricultural Extension approach currently used in Uganda. This study examines factors affecting performance of farmer groups accessing agricultural extension and advisory services from the National Agricultural Advisory Services in Eastern Uganda. The study collected data 200 members of 19 farmer groups in Eastern Uganda. Performance of farmer groups was the dependent variable, which was perceived to be influenced by individual members’ objectives, participation culture, power distance, structure of task, perceived equity, reward allocation and participation in group activities. Farmer group performance had a statistically significant positive relationship with power distance and perceived equity. Group participation culture and structure of tasks had a statistically negative relationship with group performance. Members tended to deflect group losses to factors beyond the seasonality of group activities, quality of farm inputs, and poor training delivered by advisory service providers. The advisory service providers and farmer group members need to use the political and social capital possessed by the local leadership, groups and community members for enhancing support and collective participation of the community in farmer groups. Since farmer groups are a sub-set of wider community, this empirical study brings into perspective the role of community culture in influencing performance of farmer groups in smallholder farming communities

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: 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

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: 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

Extension Staffs' Perceptions of Factors Affecting Coordination and Partnerships in Agricultural Extension Services in Rakai District, Uganda

Abstract Introduction In Rakai district, Southern Uganda, there are over a dozen organisations and projects involved in the delivery of agricultural extension and related services. This is in addition to various smaller community-based organisations, private stockists (agro-input dealers), and farmers' groups, among others. Co-ordinating extension services is therefore a challenging role, moreover unlike in the more industrialised countries, pluralistic systems of social services delivery are still novel phenomena in many developing countries. In light of the diversity of organisations and projects involved in agricultural service delivery, improved coordination of programmes, projects, and/or activities of the different organisations and individuals involved in agricultural extension in Rakai district would improve the performance of the District's agricultural sector. But how can co-ordination be improved? Answering this question required a thorough understanding of factors affecting co-ordination of agricultural extension programs in the District