ifoam women and organic plant breeding a galie 24 august 09

The future role of women in organic plant breeding

Alessandra Galiè

PhD candidate, Wageningen University, NL Research Fellow, ICARDA

Supported by:Participatory Research and Gender Analysis (PRGA)

and Wageningen University

This presentation

• Aim: Present the findings of my research about women and participatory plant breeding (PPB) and show the importance of women in organic plant breeding (OPB)

• Structure: – Brief introduction to PPB, OPB and gender– Why women and OPB– Research problem – My research: Methodology, methods, findings and

analysis– Conclusions

The future role of women in organic plant breeding - A. Galiè - IFOAM 2009 1

My research is

A social impact assessment (SIA) of Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) and

women farmers in Syria

The SIA is complemented by a

system analysis that interlocks issues of rights, governance, and action research

with women farmers


Introductory concepts

Participatory plant breeding (PPB)

PPB and gender

Organic plant breeding (OPB) and gender

OPB principles and women

Participation of women in OPB


Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) is

the systematic and regular involvement of farmers

as decision-makers

in all stages of a plant breeding programme.

Crop varieties are produced reflecting

the agro-ecological, geographical and socio-cultural context

farmers live in and

the traits both men and women farmers need and prefer (Ceccarelli et al 2000)

Participatory Plant Breeding


In PPB crops are the product of:

Genotypes X agro-ecological environments X people

Gender issues because men and women might have different uses of crops that entail

specific knowledge, needs and varietal traits priorities

A gender-balanced PPB is necessary to achieve equity, efficiency and effectiveness

PPB and Gender


Agricultural practices are site-specific and culturally embedded:

participatory strategies are needed

Principles of fairness, care and effectiveness entail focus on:

• most marginal and poor areas of the world• most poor and marginal households and individuals

• most disadvantaged individuals in the farming system

A gender approach is needed to properly involve all these stakeholders

Organic Plant Breeding and Gender


OPB principles and Women

• Fairness: food sovereignty and poverty reduction

• Health: high quality and nutritious food

• Ecology: adaptation to local conditions and involvement of all stakeholders

• Care: local knowledge and experience


Participation of women is particularly relevant in OPB

• Women are much more likely than men to operate small scale farms and farms in marginal environments (Farnworth and Hutchings 2009: 2)

• Women have limited access to water, land and biodiversity

• Women have a central role in weed, pest and disease management


International recommendations

• Convention for Biological Diversity (1992)

• The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (2009)

• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2008)

• FAO, WB and IFAD (2009)


Reality on the ground

Women worldwide are:

• Not acknowledged as farmers and natural resource managers (FAO, WB and IFAD 2009)

• Marginalised in resource access (CEDAW 2004)

• Excluded from participation in agricultural development and natural resource management (World Bank 2007)

• Disadvantaged in sharing benefits from natural resources and genetic material (FAO, WB and IFAD 2009)


Consequences of gender-blind Plant Breeding (PB) on:

• Progress towards poverty reduction

• Safeguarding local biodiversity

• Fair access to genetic resources and benefit sharing

• Social and gender justice


My researchConceptual framework

Women in the Syrian context

Research aim

Methodology

Methods and activities

Findings

Analysis and discussion


Conceptual framework

The core of social and gender justice is self-determination

Three pillars of self-determination are:

• Recognition

• Distribution of resources

• Opportunities


Women in the Syrian context

Syrian women are not recognised as:

– Farmers and natural resource managers

– Citizens equal to men

Women have been little addressed by

conventional agricultural development


Research aim• Baseline study to:

– Appreciate actual involvement of Syrian women in agronomic management

– Explore the recognition of their role in

agronomic management – Assess their control of and access to resources– Evaluate their access to opportunities

• Social impact assessment to:– Understand the impact of PPB on the recognition,

access to resources and opportunities of women farmers


Methodology

– Social impact assessment

– Empirical study

– Small-N research

– Action research


Ajaz: Population: 550

Rainfall: 320 mm

Main crops: barley, wheat (65% total)

My research: 4 households non-participating in PPB

Souran: Population: 32.000

Rainfall: 300 mm

Main crops: barley, olives, wheat

My research: 1 household participating in PPB

Lahetha: Population: 3500 Rainfall: 174 mmMain crops: barley, wheat My research: 5 households participating in PPB

Methods and activitiesFieldwork: • Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) approaches• Single-sex group interviews in 3 villages with 11 women• 4-5 months a year over 3 years (2008-2010)• Main crop: barley

PPB activities:• meetings for crop selection• meeting between women farmers from Jordan and Syria• conferences on seed legislation and farmers’ knowledge

e.g.: The Farmers’ Conference – ICARDA, May 2008

www.icarda.org/farmersconference/


http://www.icarda.org/farmersconference/

Fieldwork in Ajaz, February 2008


Visit to the fields, Farmers’ Conference, May 2008


Seed and Food Fair, Farmers’ Conference, May 2008


Findings

Women and agronomic management

Access to resources

Sources of knowledge

Perception of decision making

Perception of ‘who is a farmer’

Achievements of PPB


Women and agronomic management (1)

Ajaz and Souran

Women work 8 hours a day in planting, weeding, hoeing, fertilising, harvesting, processing vegetables, seed storing and animal care. Older women also sell the produce

Men mainly work as daily labourers in non-agricultural jobs

In agriculture men are in charge of: mechanised work, buying and selling produce, irrigation, loading weights


Women and agronomic management (2)

Lahetha

Older women are involved in agriculture with their husbands and perform the same activities

Widows manage the farm alone

Majority of farmers have a non-agricultural part-time job

Women only, look after vegetable gardens


Access to resources

None of the women owns any property

Water is managed by the men

In Ajaz and Souran seed and all agricultural inputsare generally purchased by the men; produce is

sold by women over 60 and men

In Lahetha both men and women buy and sell

agricultural products


Women Men

Family

Experience

Experimentation over years

RelativesNeighbours

Women’s union

Women’s meetings

Extension officeAgricultural Pharmacy

Farmers’ union

Markets

Agricultural shops

Seed exchange with villages and neighbours

Farmers’ gatherings

Sources of knowledge

Gender and age influence perception of ‘who knows’

0 1 2 3

House keeping

Agricultural work, Choicesfor future, Marketing

Off-farm paid work, Courtesyvisits

widows older women unmarried women

Perception of decision making in women’s daily activities

Y=decision-making power

Y

X

Perception of ‘who is a farmer’

Men only, are usually called ‘farmers’ because of:

• gender roles in society

• decision making • land ownership

• passion about agricultural work

• knowledge


Achievements of PPB in:• Increasing the visibility of women farmers and of

their knowledge

• Enhancing women’s access to improved seed, new information and new agricultural technologies

• Producing and supplying crops that fit men’s and women’s needs

• Providing an opportunity for women to decide what to grow thereby enhancing women food-sovereignty

• Providing opportunities to participate in international events that have contributed to increasing farmers’ self-confidence and knowledge


Analysis and discussion (1)

Impact of PPB varies between communities, households, individuals

Women I work with:• Do agricultural work as much as or more than the men

• Perform gender-specific and mainly manual activities

• Acquire knowledge and information from a small and mainly domestic network

• Get more and more involved in agriculture when small-scale farming is not sufficient to sustain the household


Analysis and discussion (2)Also, the women I work with: • Are disadvantaged in terms of accessing agricultural

resources

• Have limited control over the marketing of the produce

• Have reduced decision-making power over their daily activities

• Are overlooked as farmers therefore excluded by development programmes

These findings reflect the situation of women worldwide


Potential achievements of gender-balanced OPB

• Technology development for food security and health

• Better response to climate change

• Fair development and increase in social and gender justice


Conclusions

Climate change and the increasing un-sustainability of small-scale farming:

focus on food security and agricultural development inmarginal environments and with marginal farmers

Gender-sensitive OPB is well placed to provide:

a perspective on how to deal with globalization and

an institutional mechanism and a process for equal, efficient and effective

agricultural development


Thank you