Pictorial snapshot of the different roles men and women play along the bean value chain in Africa

The socio-cultural, economic and political environment over time has shaped and is still re-shaping gender roles, participation, decision making and benefit sharing in farming households in Africa. The pictures below are a reflection of the labour division by women, men and youths on farm and at the household. Identifying the different roles played by all actors at the different hubs in the value chain will guide appropriate program designs and interventions aimed at reducing inequality and promoting inclusivity. Complemented with the right partnership, infrastructural support, human capital and environment, we will be able to close the gender gap in the bean value chain and agriculture as a whole

Bean transformation in Africa: where are we and where are we going?

Common bean, (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) generally grown as a subsistence crop for home consumption is fast becoming a commercial crop sold by farmers for income. The call for bean transformation comes at a time when the population is increasing and the demand for bean grains and bean products is at its highest, especially as it’s being considered a “poor man's meat”. The Pan-African Bean Alliance (PABRA) is leading this transformation by increasing access to mechanisation, technology, capacity building, credit, markets for men with emphasis on women and youths, thus creating an enabling environment for business

Repositioning women and youths in the bean corridors in sub-Saharan Africa

Women constitute more than 60% of bean producers across Africa, providing more than 60% of labour in bean production. Women are also involved in activities in the distribution and consumption hubs along the bean value chain. In collaboration with public and private partners, we have designed gender sensitive interventions aimed at reducing gender inequity through the provision of innovative bean-based technologies, credit and markets thus creating an enabling business environment for beans

Gender frameworks

Infographic on how to practically integrate gender in your research using the Reach, Benefit, Empower and Transform Framework

The future of women and youths in the bean transformation agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa

The call for a bean transformative agenda is led by the Pan-African Bean Alliance (PABRA). It aims to position common bean as a commercial crop, though it is still grown for home consumption. They have designed and put in place gender sensitive interventions aimed at increasing women and youths access to innovative technology, support services, credit and markets. Thus reducing gender inequity and creating an enabling business environment for beans production and business

Increasing women's visibility in the bean value chain in Cameroon

Women’s role in agri-food system are varied but are often not visible as they are not considered farmers but helpers. This has resulted to women having limited access to productive agricultural resources. Women should be at the centre of activities in the agrifood systems hence involving women at all levels of the value chain. women are not a homogenous group, so intersectionality categories should guide the process. We are cognizant of the fact that bean businesses are mostly family businesses with different household members playing different roles, therefore our interventions target men, women and youths within the households

The poor agricultural system in Africa, who is to blame?

Although agriculture is the backbone of the African economy, it has faced considerable challenges in the past sixty years. Africa has moved from being a self-sufficiency continent before the 1960s, to net food importers, with a handful of countries facing severe food shortages from drought, desertification, climate change and wars. In this article, we use the case of Northern Ghana to explore some of the salient dynamics that have resulted in the current crisis in the African agricultural sector over time. Using historical and contemporary evidence gathered from Northern Ghana during several field trips from 2013 to 2015, we argue that practices adopted as a result of colonial influence in combination with socio-economic and biophysical factors and ineffective economic policies have contributed immensely to the poor state of agriculture in Africa. Note should be taken that most of these economic policies have origins from the Structural Adjustment Policies and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. We conclude that our agricultural systems can be improved if policies are inclusive, equitable and sustainable and also if there are synergies between international or government organisations implementing agricultural projects over time and space

Progress Report on Gender Data Collection

The Bundles Innovations for Women’s Empowerment work package (WP 2), co- led by the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT (ABC), is meant to design and collect systematic evidence on whether and how STIBs (Socio-Technical Innovative Bundles) can enhance women’s empowerment and resilience to later design and implement context-specific and gender-responsive STIBs. We intend to build on available and relevant CGIAR and non-CGIAR innovations through learning labs to enhance their uptake and impacts via enhancing women’s access, resilience, and empowerment. The overall objective of the consultancy is to contribute by identifying and pulling out information on existing socio-technical from different data sets across the CGIAR and visualize it in various formats; however, for this report, we have only started with the CGIAR Gender impact platform, which houses most of the gender datasets