Gender in Agricultural Partnership (GAP) Case Study - Niger
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The aim of the Gender and Agriculture Partnership (GAP) – an open and inclusive partnership program between gender experts in the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) AWARD program, the FARA Sub Saharan Africa Challenge Program (SSA-CP), NGO networks and Regional and Sub-Regional Fora in SubSaharan Africa, Asia/Pacific and West Asia/North Africa – is to create a virtuous cycle of research prioritization, technology development and adaptation, dissemination and uptake that directly responds to the needs and priorities of resource-poor farmers, in particular those of women farmers.
The GAP has planned a set of activities aimed at analyzing, communicating and implementing gender mainstreaming to “make innovations better serve the needs of women farmers”. The case study in Niger is one of these activities.
The overall aim of the GAP is to “shake” the agricultural innovation process, with the ultimate aim of improving agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. In contributing to this, the Niger case study aims to further understanding and awareness of the differentiated needs and priorities of women and men farmers (demand) and whether or not innovation systems respond to these (supply), while highlighting relevant elements for change. This study makes the case for using a demand-driven and
gender approach in order to improve the efficiency of the innovation process. The methodology adopted is simple, participatory and easily replicable.
A FAO mission, composed of Anna Crole-Rees and Kirsten Mathieson, travelled to Niger from 13 to 23 October 2011 to carry out the case study research. Eliane Najros and Mauro Bottaro (FAO) accompanied and supported components of the mission.
