Innovating for impact in aquatic agricultural systems – transformative approaches for closing gender gaps

Patrick Dugan & Ranjitha Puskur

What we’ll cover• AAS rationale• Our focus• Innovating for

impact• Gender

transformative RinD

AASRationale

Aquatic Agricultural Systems

NOT ABOUT FISH!only

Aquatic Agricultural Systems

Systems and livelihoods – not commodities

Integrated Agricultural Systems

Sustainability & scale

CGIAR - STRATEGY AND RESULTS FRAMEWORK

• “Agricultural production system research should increase and progressively become the focal point for the integration of commodity and natural resources research.” (CGIAR SRF 2011)

Rural poverty

Number of rural poor (millions) (<US$1.25 per day)

“… there are serious and growing threats to the productivity and resilience of the Green Revolution lands. Equitability has also been low. The larger landowners have reaped most of the benefits, while the poor and landless have missed out.” (Conway 2012)

Our focus

Rural poverty and AAS

Ca. 80m people dependent on AAS

66% living in poverty

Source: Bené & Teoh, in prep.

Mekong The Coral TriangleGBM*

Zambezi

Population living on <$1.25/day, per grid cell (resolution : 9 km at the equator)

Niger Lakes Victoria-Kyoga

Source of poverty map: CGIAR SRF Domain Analysis Spatial Team (2009)

*GBM: Ganges-Brahmaputra-Megna delta

(where learning from Coral Triangle will be scaled out)

South Pacific Community

African InlandAsia mega deltas

• High numbers of poor and/or High % of total population dependent on AAS• High vulnerability to change (climate/sea level/water)• Potential to scale out

Geographical Focus

African Coastal

People using AAS

System Area (km²) People <US$1.25/day

Africa – f’water 800,000 70m 43m

Africa - coastal 300,000 12m 7m

Asian Deltas 50,000 100m 40m

Islands SEA + Pfc 650,000 54m 22m

236m 112m

Source: Bené & Teoh, in prep.

Innovating for impact

“… there are serious and growing threats to the productivity and resilience of the Green Revolution lands. Equitability has also been low. The larger landowners have reaped most of the benefits, while the poor and landless have missed out.” (Conway 2012)

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”Albert Einstein

Areas of innovation

• RinD• Gender• ME&IA• Scaling• Partnerships• Capacity

dep’t

The RinD Approach: Programmatic Theory of Change

Countries and hubs

Our research agenda

Gender transformative approaches

Integrated themes:Gender

Health & NutritionLearning/Sharing/Communication

Engagement & EmpowermentEffective Partnerships

High potential NRM value chainsFishAquatic Plants

Farm productivity & diversificationDiversified farming systemsDietary diversification

Baseline studiesEcosystem servicesAgrobiodiversityAgric. Knowledge + info systemsGovernance

High potential agric. value chainsCattleRice

HUB strategic initiativesFlood risk managementGender transformative approachAwareness + communication in schoolsCanal management

Program operationsGovernance

ManagementCommunications

Capacity building for implementation

Community level initiatives

Barotse Hub, Zambia

Research Themes

• Sustainable increases in productivity• Improved access to markets• Strengthened resilience and adaptive

capacity• Enhanced gender equality in access to and

control of resources and decision making• Improved policies and institutions• Scaling up (knowledge sharing and

learning)

Gender transformativeRinD

Gender gaps in Agriculture

• Sticky gaps

• Raises big questions…how to close this gap? Is ‘closing the gap’ enough to lead to lasting, positive development outcomes?

• Consequences of inequality being addressed, but not causes

Gender equality and Economic growth

• Asymmetrical relationship• More consistent and robust evidence that

gender equality contributes to economic growth – less the other way (Kabeer and Natali 2013)

• Interrelationships too weak to be self-sustaining (Duflo 2011)

Closing gender gaps

Economic empowerment

Changes in social norms and attitudes

Need a two- pronged approach to push both the levers

Sustainable? Inter-

generational?

Wider impacts?

Key features of Gender Transformative Approach in AAS

• Integrates transformative interventions with agricultural systems interventions

• Understands people and social diversity in their context

• Engages with both women and men• Enables critical learning, reflection & questioning• Dynamic & iterative• Multi-scale

Impact Pathway

Gender and development

analysis, methods and tools focused

on AAS development

challenges

Analysis, tools and methods

used to design and implement

gender transformative RinD strategies

and interventions in AAS

Changes in gender roles and norms

Increased access to assets, resources, knowledge, skills, social networks,

markets and services

Equity enabling policies and institutions

Improved range and quality of life choices

Control of decision-making

Enhanced engagement in

markets

Enhanced benefits from use

of assets, resources

Gender equitable systems and structures

Higher participation and leadership in

community initiatives

Reduced poverty

Increased food

security

Improved nutrition

Sustainable NRM

AAS Gender Research Agenda• How do social norms and gender relations influence agricultural development

outcomes for marginalized social groups?– In-depth social and gender analysis

• What combinations of technical and transformative interventions foster gender transformative change in different contexts?

– Design of technical + transformative interventions based on the analysis and Participatory development of Theories of change

– Integration of transformative interventions in Participatory Action Research under various initiatives in program

– Systematic testing of combinations of interventions• How do these transformative changes contribute to agricultural development

outcomes like poverty reduction, food and nutrition security?– Development of metrics to evaluate transformative change and its contribution to

development outcomes

Some transformative change mechanisms

• Household approaches• Behavioural change communication and African

Transformation Methodology (Johns Hopkins University)• Working with church leaders (Channels of Hope – World

Vision)• Learning from Dimitra project on gender in communication

for development (FAO)• Gender Equity Movement in Schools (GEMS – ICRW)• Collective action and networks

Generating evidence to demonstrate contributions

• Theory-based and participatory designs – understanding if and how change happened

• Qualitative comparative and quasi-experimental designs will be woven in as appropriate – to understand if and why the transformative approaches are better and generate evidence base to scale out

– Context-specific treatments identified based on the results of social and gender analysisExamples:

• In Barotse Flood Plain, Zambia-African Transformation methodology with randomly selected PAR groups -Applying for WorldBank Gender innovation Lab funding

• In Bangladesh, where Feed the Future Program is operating-Feed The Future, with GTA integrated in some communities- Feed the Future, regular

An example - Livelihood choices, gender roles and associated norms in Barotse Flood Plain, Zambia

Fish value chains•Men fish using nets in deep waters and women using baskets in shallow waters and when floods recede•Women mainly engaged in selling fish without any value addition

– Women do not use nets as they are heavy and difficult for them to handle and, going into deep waters is dangerous.

– ‘If a women fishes with a net, she cannot give birth.’– ‘Bible stipulates the different roles of men and women and there is

no need for change in gender division of labour.’ – ‘Ladies come from the rib of the man and cannot consider

themselves to be equals.’– Men and women take up roles based on

knowledge/awareness/training which they received as children• Girls learn from their mothers and boys from their fathers

Cultures and norms are not static!

• Significant changes in norms and acceptance of women going out fishing into deep waters and at nights with their husbands– ‘Women paddling is not a bad omen anymore.’– ‘A good wife these days is someone who can earn some money

to take care of the family’.• Men and women in village with multiple NGOs operating seemed

to be more open and accepting of changes in social norms• Increasing awareness of importance of education for girls – most

girls go to school now

Main actor groups

Practice changesKAS changes needed

• Gender analysis integrated into RinD process

• Gender analysis used to inform RinD design, conduct, analysis and M&E

• Gender-conscious outputs and communication content / techniques

• Implement programs using GTAs

• Become active acceptors of gender integration & analysis (ie. actively seek ways of integrating gender concerns into R&D)

• Develop skills to integrate gender into RinD programs

RinD collaborators- Government orgs- NGOs- Research institutions- Private sector- Media

• Gender analysis integrated into research process with adequate resources allocated

• Gender analysis + transformative approach used to inform research design, conduct, analysis, outputs and M&E

• Become active acceptors of gender integration & analysis (ie. actively seek ways of integrating gender concerns into research)

• Develop skills to integrate gender into RinD programs

AAS Internal- Implementing teams- PLT + POP

• Accepting a wider range and quality of life choices for men and women (including changes in the roles and responsibilities within households and communities).

• Joint decision-making in households and communities.

• Owing and controlling a wider range of resources and assets by women and other marginalized groups

• Understanding and appreciating that gender equality can be win-win

• Increased awareness and acceptance of alternative gender roles

• Overcoming fears of changing norms and roles

• Gaining confidence in exercising alternative behaviours and practices

• Developing communication and negotiation skills

• Communities• - Different social

groups• - Opinion leaders

Research to influence- Government / policy decision-makers- Politicians - Donors- Private sector-Media-NGOs

• Become active acceptors of relevance of gender equality to programs, policy, achieving dev and other goals

• Decrease fears of acting to change norms

• Increased understanding of gender

• Change policies / institutions / legal arrangements / regulations

• Allocate sufficient funding for gender transformative programs

• Acknowledge and reward value of both men and women in industry

• Change media portrayals of gender roles

• Adopt GTA as std practice (NGOs)

•Instigate organizational change processes •Capacity-building programs•Provide expertise and input to research, or direct to resources that can provide these

Program action

•Incentivize organizational change processes •Capacity-building programs•Provide technical advice on implementing a gender transformative approach

•Persuasive communication of gender research motivation, approach and outputs • Generate and communicate evidence of effects of GTAs•Partnerships with local policy advocacy groups

•Portraying alternative gender roles / Demonstrating positive deviance • Social media and behavioural change communication initiatives•Household and gender relations approaches

Translating the approach into action – what are key elements?