To farm or not to farm: Understanding the determinants of youth livelihood aspirations in Vietnam

In the context of commercial agriculture in Vietnam, this study investigates rural youth livelihood aspirations through an analysis of young people’s value for family farming and an assessment of whether or not they foresee agriculture as their main occupation. Using an intra-household dataset of cassava farmers in Vietnam, the study shows that the majority of youth aspire to work in agriculture, which is contrary to the popular belief that young people are not interested in agriculture. We employ the framework of opportunity space and embedded aspirations to assess the “push” and “pull” forces for youth engagement in commercial agriculture. We pay special attention to youth interest in agriculture, social (parental) influences, structural constraints (land, inputs, capital, market, and credit), and the precariousness of agricultural work due to the worsening impact of climate change. The findings of the study reveal that land access is a critical factor for young men’s aspirations, although less important for young women’s aspirations, and the experiences of negative climatic shocks are strongly and negatively associated with youth aspirations to work in agriculture. We also find that parents’ expectation for their children to work in agriculture is positively associated with youth aspirations, more so for young women, pointing to strongly gendered determinants of youth aspirations for agricultural work. Our findings suggest that the policies and programs aiming to encourage youth engagement in agriculture must be rooted in context-specific economic and social constraints and opportunities, while acknowledgingthe underlying structural gender differences

Beyond the sex of the holder: understanding agricultural production decisions within household farms in Uganda

While gender equality is an integral part of the development conversation, there are still data gaps that inhibit the measurement and analysis of gender-related issues. In particular, traditional agricultural surveys are administered to a representative male "holder" and often do not collect information about who else in the household is managing the different agricultural activities. As a result, they risk misrepresenting women’s participation in agricultural decision-making. This paper examines the extent of such misrepresentation using data from Uganda that included an agricultural decision-making module administered to both the holder and the holder’s spouse. We find that within men’s holdings many decisions are made jointly, and a notable number of decisions are made exclusively by women. We also find that male holders often underestimate their spouse’s management of agricultural activities. The traditional approach thus may conceal the complexity of decision-making in agricultural households and may consequently limit the design and implementation of inclusive agricultural programs

The 5Q approach for gender data on empowerment in climate adaptation projects: Case study in Ghana

Our research validates the 5Q approach (5Q) for the collection of gender data on empowerment in climate adaptation projects. 5Q was developed as a cost-effective and innovative system for capturing near-real-time feedback within projects. 5Q uses smart-question-trees (5Q-SQTs) and digital tools to complement traditional methods of data collection. It has been widely used to measure changes in knowledge/attitudes/skills to understand the adoption of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices and for M&E systems of climate-smart villages. It uses simple sets of questions part of a logic-question-tree structure, implemented at multiple rounds, thus simplifying the burden for respondents while rapidly and with high frequency providing feedback to the project implementers

User guide to experimental auctions of vegetatively propagated seed. RTB User Guide

Experimental auctions are used to understand the value of different products to consumers through estimations of willingness to pay (WTP). This information is valuable for many reasons, from obtaining local prices attached to seed traits to informing seed businesses about acceptable production costs. Experimental auctions do a better job of estimating this than simple questionnaires or surveys. By engaging participants actively, experimental auctions lead to real or hypothetical consequences that make people think and act carefully according to their personal preferences. This user guide provides an overview of different types of experimental auctions and their use in seed system research. The guide discusses the structure of auctions, planning and conducting them, and lessons from the field. Reading this guide will help you to be prepared to design and implement an auction in your own project or intervention

Cómo abordar la temática de género en el manejo de plagas y enfermedades: Preguntas y respuestas frecuentes sobre la recolección de datos y trabajos de extensión con enfoque de género

Este resumen explora el potencial y los beneficios que se pueden obtener al aplicar la perspectiva de género en la investigación y extensión agrícola. Si bien muchas personas reconocerían fácilmente la importancia del género en cualquier tipo de investigación agrícola, los métodos y las técnicas para la aplicación de esta perspectiva no son siempre tan obvios ni fáciles de llevar a la práctica. A continuación presentamos una guía útil de preguntas y respuestas preparadas por el equipo interdisciplinario que trabaja en género y en manejo de plagas y enfermedades del Programa de Investigación del CGIAR en Raíces, Tubérculos y Bananos (RTB). Al final del documento se incluyen algunas referencias adicionales

Considering gender in pest and disease management: FAQs for gender-responsive data collection and extension work

This brief explores the potentials and gains to be made by applying a gender perspective in agronomic research and extension work. While many people would readily acknowledge the importance of gender in any kind of agronomic research, the methods and techniques for applying the perspective are not as obvious nor easy to implement. What follows is a helpful Q&A by the interdisciplinary team who work on gender and pest and disease management in the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB). Some additional references are available at the end of the article

Can call detail records provide insights into women’s empowerment? A case study from Uganda

We use CDRs of mobile phone users in Uganda combined with data from a phone survey to train machine-learning models to predict the sex of the mobile phone user and several indicators of economic empowerment such as ownership of a house and land, occupation, and decision-making over household income. The most accurate of the models predicts the sex of the mobile phone user with 78% accuracy. The different indicators of economic empowerment are predicted with accuracies ranging from 57% to 61%. We also predict users’ sex and economic empowerment jointly. However, when we predict economic empowerment and then the sex of the user, we achieve high accuracy rates ranging from 81% to 87%. Mobile phone usage data hold potential for gender research although they are not without limitations

A gender perspective on pest and disease management from the cases of roots, tubers and bananas in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

Considering gender in research on pests and diseases is increasingly important as it facilitates development of more efficient approaches to increasing the adoption of crop protection technologies and practices by women and men farmers according to their roles, knowledge, and capacities. However, this task is often assigned to social scientists in isolation from agronomists. Meanwhile, agronomists often struggle to understand how taking a gender perspective could enrich their research. Drawing on a number of different cases from both published and unpublished field research in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, this perspective article illustrates how a gender perspective can broaden the aspects of agronomy research and thereby contribute to improving crop production and scaling up of existing technologies and practices. Its targeted audience are agronomists and development practitioners, in particular, young researchers who are central to transdisciplinary agricultural research in the future