| About Necofa | General Acitivities | Projects | National Network Groups | Picture Gallery | Services | Contact & Imprint |
|
Vol. 8, No. 1 |
|
NECOFA NEWSLETTER
Capacity Building International, Germany ( Established through the merger of CDG II and DSE ) InWEnt gGmbH Rural and Agricultural Development, Development Management Division Wielinger Str. 52 D-82340 Feldafing Germany Tel: ++49 8157 / 938 - 0 Fax: ++49 8157 / 938 - 777 email: feldafing@inwent.org
and : |
|||||||
|
International Centre North South Dialogue
P.O.Box 1361 D-37203 Witzenhausen Germany Tel: ++49 5542 / 502 - 9173 Fax: ++49 5542 / 502 - 9175 email: info@icnsd.org |
OPENING ADDRESS
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I request you all to stand up and together we observe a minute’s silence in hounour of our departed colleague and sister in NECOFA the late Pricsillar Mishi Mnene.
May I also take this opportunity to welcome you all to Nakuru District of Rift Valley province in Kenya especially our colleagues from Uganda and Tanzania. It is my hope that you will enjoy your stay here.
The International Coordinator of NECOFA Dr. Sahle Tesfai sends his regards and greetings to us all and wises us to have a successful workshop. He is committed to the growth of NECOFA and its contribution to community development. More so, holistic development that targets both men and women in society. This approach is the only sure way of laying a sound and solid foundation for sustainable development
I feel greatly honored to be with you this morning to make key remarks as we begin this workshop. It is quite encouraging to see the partnership that has developed between the NECOFA chapters of East Africa. Indeed I recognize the enhanced networking between us.
Ladies and gentlemen it is not possible to achieve the goal and objectives of NECOFA without due consideration for all in society especially the needs and aspirations of the marginalized It is therefore my challenge to this workshop to “ go back to the roots “ and unearth the gender based obstacles that hinder progress and development; and to come up with workable and sustainable interventions. It is my hope that this workshop will endeavor to provide opportunities for experience sharing and equip the participants to face the challenges a head with more determination and confidence.
Finally it my pleasure to declare this workshop on “Gender Development for NECOFA in East Africa” officially opened.
Thank you.
Samuel K Muhunyu
Country Coordinator
NECOFA Kenya
(Also Regional Coordinator).
By this occasion we would like to express our gratitude and thanks to the Departments of InWEnt , especially Mrs. Dr Kückelhaus Adelheid, Mrs. Graber Jacqueline, the NECOFA ADVISER Mr. Gast Hartmut and Dr. Sahle Tesfai ICNSD-NECOFA Intern. Coordinator who have been very active and kind enough, in supporting and sponsoring NECOFA Kenya to conduct the envisaged Workshop “Gender Development for NECOFA”
INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In its efforts to better address the needs of small-scale farmers in the Africa, NECOFA seeks a broader and more “farmer-oriented” approach. Ecofarming approaches must be gender conscious and responsive. They must take into account the total socio-cultural, environmental, institutional, economic and infrastructural milieu. Gender integration in the total project cycle should be one of the expected outputs of NECOFA.
By paying serious attention to gender equity, we can contribute to reaching the objectives of NECOFA that include:-
Helping farmers (men and women) achieve their full productive potential demands strategies that respond to gender needs at all levels of natural resource management projects. This can be achieved through:
In addition, the gender sensitization of women and men in NECOFA, community social group leaders and representatives of common interest groups is productive both for the change agents and for the client communities. Both female and male farmers will be encourages to participate in Ecofarming activities within their area if their special training needs and interests are addressed. Also it will be feasible to formulate, develop, package and disseminate gender sensitive technologies.
In all societies, men and women play different roles, have different needs, and face different constraints. Gender roles differ from the biological roles of men and women, although they may overlap. For example, women’s biological roles in child bearing may extend their gender roles to child rearing, food preparation, and household maintenance. Gender roles demarcate responsibilities between men and women in:
These roles can and do shift with social, cultural economic, and technological change. For example, factors such as the introduction of new crops and technologies, mounting pressure on land, or increasing poverty or migration can change the roles of men and women in agriculture. In agriculture, women are actively involved in production in most countries. However, men’s and women’s roles differ widely across regions. Among some groups, for example, women are responsible for milking. In others, men do the work.
The workshop was very participatory and on the first day the participants set for themselves “ground rules” to guide them during the workshop. Each participant then went a head to write their expectations and in plenary session the expectations were “harmonized”.
Network for Ecofarming in Africa (NECOFA) Kenya wishes to acknowledge all those people and organizations/institutions who contributed to the successful organization and implementation of the workshop on “Gender Development for NECOFA in East “.
We are particularly indebted to Capacity Building Internal (InWent) of Germany who gave the financial resources for holding the workshop. We recognize the important role played by Dr. Heidi of InWEnt for ensuring that we receive the financial support and in good time.
Next we acknowledge the important part played by Dr. Sahle Tesfai the International Coordinator of NECOFA in coordinating our financial support request and the subsequent transfer of the funds.
We salute our NECOFA Coordinators of Tanzania and Uganda for their role in recruiting and organizing workshop participants form their countries.
We do also register appreciation to Mrs. Priscilla Nthenya Nzamalu (the lead workshop facilitator) for her excellent and efficient facilitation of the workshop.
The Baruku Community and especially Mwireri women group cannot go unnoticed. They hosted the workshop participants for one day during excursion and provided a lot of input on the community set-up. They provided vital information that was used during the workshop.
We cannot forget to thank the management of Jams Hotel- Nakuru for their excellent service and hospitality and in a special way the hotel manger Mrs. Lidya Kimani for finding the time to present paper on “Gender and nutrition” during the workshop.
We recognize the efforts of Mr. Ugo Vallauri of the United Nations in Nairobi (formally of Slow Food) for finding time to come and present paper on Communication in Networking during the workshop.
The workshop would not have been successful without the participation and contribution of the participants. We thank all most sincerely for finding time out of their busy schedules (especially the community group leaders) to come and participate in the workshop.
Although we cannot list all individual names; we sincerely appreciate the dedicated efforts of all those people and organizations/institutions who contributed either directly or indirectly towards the success of the workshop.
To all of you we say THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!
To examine the different gender roles and define their constraints and opportunities to ecofarming promotion and develop appropriate interventions that will ensure equity and equality.
By S Muhunyu
The term “gender” refers to the socially and culturally constructed differences between men and women, as distinct from “sex”, which refers to their biological differences. Gender concerns the socially constructed roles and the resulting relationships between women and men, girls and boys in terms of rights, obligations and opportunities in a specified setting. Sex, on the other hand, refers to biological, anatomical, physiological features of females and males. Gender, is better viewed as the cultural interpretation of the sex. Sex considers the difference between male and female in terms of anatomy, body structure, hormones and role in biological reproduction.
Gender trainers must appreciate the undisputed fact that gender roles are:
Social and economic factors can reinforce or decrease gender-based disparities. These factors include:
Institutional arrangements: These create and reinforce gender-based constraints or, conversely, foster an environment in which gender disparities can be reduced. For example, where women primarily grow crops, institutions providing agricultural credit for food crop production can either promote or discourage women’s access to credit.
The formal legal system: This reinforces customary practices and gives some vulnerable gender groups especially women inferior legal status in many countries. Women are discouraged, and in some countries legally barred- from owning land, property, and other agricultural assets; opening bank accounts; or contracting for credit in their own names..
Socio-cultural attitudes, taboos and norms: These affect farming systems and determine which crops men and women grow, who drives tractors or gives livestock vaccinations, or whether women need their husbands’ approval to sell their cattle or the products of their Labour.
Religious beliefs and practices; these limit the mobility, social contact, access to resources of some gender groups and the types of activities they can pursue. Some interpretations of religious law, for example, often-stipulate gender-based differences in inheriting land.
In many socio-economic settings, gender is a constraint to increasing agricultural productivity. It can be argued that resource endowments such as farm size, or social factors, may have a greater influence on factors of production than gender. However, within each social and economic group, gender roles will mediate the response to change and can reinforce the constraints on women and men.
Clearly, constraints to agricultural productivity are often gender-based. For example, women farmers generally face more barriers than men in operating effectively in markets. As a result, they incur higher costs for information, technology, inputs, land credit and their productivity is lowered. Women also have relatively lower incentives to increase productivity. The often
|
NECOFA BENIN sensibilise, suscite et encourage la production de bananiers Plantain et Planta(doux, jaune ou vert savoureux, odorant) dans les maisons, au sein des populations rurales du Nord Bénin où le bananier Plantain n’était pas cultivé. |
