Collective action for small-scale producers of agricultural biodiversity products:

"The role of well-functioning markets for development is now widely recognized, however the challenge remains to make these markets benefit the poor and the environment. Increasing attention is being given to the potential role markets can play for agrobiodiversity conservation through product diversification and increasing competitiveness in niche and novelty markets. Bioversity International has undertaken several studies that explore the use of market-based approaches to on-farm agrobiodiversity management and livelihood improvement. Case studies have been developed on a range of species, varieties and derived products, including underutilized species and commodities in several regions of the world. This paper explores how the theory of collective action can provide a more synthetic understanding of how market chains operate and how changes in the market chain and market institutions can permit a more equitable distribution of welfare benefits. The case studies illustrate the need for improved trust, a mutual understanding of each actor's involvement and the need for an agreed process of collective action that involves a high level of community participation to achieve an improved market chain organization benefiting the poor. The cases differ in their degree of collective action, the level of market organization and the ways in which handling, processing, and innovative marketing add value to the agrobiodiversity products. Comparative analysis of these cases identified a range of options and situations in which market development can support agrobiodiversity conservation and livelihoods. Bringing together these experiences will also help to identify the situations in which a collective approach can maximize the capturing of market benefits for smallholders. Trade-offs between income generation, livelihood security, and agrobiodiversity conservation should be further examined in order to find solutions that support sustainable development of poor communities that manage agricultural biodiversity." authors' abstractAgricultural biodiversity, Market chain, Market access, Livelihoods, Collective action, Small farmers, Biodiversity,

Informal fish retailing in rural Egypt: Opportunities to enhance income and work conditions for women and men

Poor rural consumers benefit from Egypt’s aquaculture sector through access to small and medium-sized farmed tilapia sold by informal fish retailers, many of whom are women. In fact, informal fish retail is the main, if not only, segment of the farmed fish value chain where women are found. This report aims to inform current and future strategies to improve conditions in informal fish retail by understanding in more depth the similarities and differences in employment quality and outcomes across different fish retailers. It is particularly focused on identifying whether and how gender inequality influences different dimensions of the work, and whether women and men have similar outcomes and employment conditions. This knowledge will help to design interventions to overcome gender-based constraints, as well as approaches that address shared obstacles and include both women and men in gender-responsive ways to ensure that all of those involved in the sector benefit

Transforming the fish value chain in Bangladesh: What a gender lens brings

Peer Revie

Adding gender transformation into value chain analysis

Peer Revie

TH1.2: Boosting women's participation and empowerment in aquaculture: Evidence from Ghana

This paper provides empirical evidence on the processes and strategies of encouraging women's entrepreneurship and the impact of women's entrepreneurship on their empowerment in the context of emerging aquaculture value chains in Sub-Saharan Africa. We do this by analyzing two survey rounds with 500 fish-producing household, A-WEAI, 11 in-depth interviews, and 7 FGDs of women in six major producing regions in Ghana. Baseline data show that 9% of fish farm managers/owners were women; and women contributed 16% of labor days. Gender norms persist around aquaculture as men's job; only few women entered aquaculture. Once women entered aquaculture, they were at least as productive and profitable as men on average. Women aqua-entrepreneurs were at least as empowered as the men aqua-entrepreneurs. Being able to break the popular perspective and gender norm that "aquaculture is a men's job" and still started and operated aquafarms, these women were empowered to begin with. Their engagement in aquaculture had benefited them and empowered them more. The majority of the spouses of men aqua-entrepreneurs were not involved in aquaculture, and had lower empowerment score and were less likely to be empowered than the women and men aqua-entrepreneurs. Most of them indicated that they would like to get involved in aquaculture as it will generate more income. We discuss in this paper opportunities and strategies to involve more women in fish-producing households and to encourage new female farmers to enter aquaculture and other aspects of the value chains

Gender integration and intersectionality in food systems research for development: A guidance note

This Guidance Note highlights key points for gender integration in the research for development (R4D) project cycle. It uses an intersectional lens to recognize how aspects of social identity such as age or life stage, class, caste, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation and so forth crosscut and shape gender and power. It provides an overall introduction, guide and set of signposts to help point you in the right direction

Climate change, gender and aquatic food systems: call for action to address gender and social inequalities matters in the nexus

The uneven distribution of the adverse impacts of climate change on aquatic food systems is not only being felt between countries, but also within them. Particularly hard-hit are people who already experience intersecting power inequalities due to gender, socioeconomic class, age, location, ethnicity, ability, religion and caste. Among poor and marginalized groups, women are especially vulnerable to climate change due to their over-dependence on natural resources. They have limited coping and adaptive capacity owing to their multiple, competing responsibilities, further exacerbated by power inequalities. Therefore, research on the resilience of aquatic food systems to climate change must take gender and intersectional dimensions into account. Quantitative and qualitative research must transcend the household level and gender-binary (men-women) focus to explore adaptation strategies of actors in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture chains. In addition, to address entrenched power inequalities at formal, informal, local and systemic levels, it is imperative that there be more collaboration across research, interventions and policies on climate adaptation and mitigation, and on aquatic food systems. A collaborative agenda premised on the diversity inherent in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture has the potential to build resilient, equitable, efficient and effective aquatic food systems