Gender in Value Chain: ILRI/IPMS
Experience in Ethiopia
Ephrem Tesema
Multi-Stakeholder’s Symposium on Empowering Women in Value Chains
Beshale Hotel, Addis Ababa, 15 March 2012

Outline
 Background
 Objective
 Target PLW
 Objective of Gender Analysis
 Methods & Processes
 Findings & Learning
 Conclusion

Background to ILRI/IPMS Project
 Market Oriented Agricultural Productivity
(Crop & Livestock)
 Gender Sensitive Approach
 Innovative Approach
 Targeted Smallholder men & women
Farmers
 Commodity Based

Objective of ILRI/IPMS
 Increased Productivity
 Ensured Market Success
 Capacity Building and Partnership

Target PLW
 10 PLW in 4 regions
 4PAS/woreda
 10-28 community members/PA
 1/3-1/2 are women participants
 Separate discussions held with M&W
 4 communities involved in the analysis

Objective IPMS Gender Analysis
 To understand the role of men & women in
rural communities:
-Production
-Marketing
-Decision Making
- Benefit Sharing

Gender Objective Cont’d
 To identify potential barriers:
-For men’s and women’s participation in
market led development initiative
 To identify
-The required action by the project
-potential partners

Methods and Processes
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Focus of the Analysis
 Division of labor in commodity production
 Gender roles in marketing commodities
 Access, control and benefits of resources
 Control of income from the sale of
commodities
 Decision making roles…

Sharing & Dissemination
 Using various events
 Using various communication Mediums
 Publication
-Working papers
-Participatory toolkits
-Training manuals
-IEC Materials

Findings/Learning (Gender in Rural
Population)
 Gender Characteristics of Rural populations
 Women
-Workload of rural women In Ethiopia
-Most rural women work 10-12 hours/day
-Vary b/n wet & dry season
-Have little time for leisure or socializing
-Major source of labor in agriculture

Findings/Learning Cont’d
-Engaged in diverse off-farm activities,
-Influenced by the local farming
systems
-Resource endowments
-Wealth in rich and middle wealth hhs
-Half less time to participate in formal dev.

Findings/Learning Cont’d
-Sell fuel wood, sorghum/maize stalk
-Engaged in cotton spinning or injera
making for sell
-Brewing and selling local alcohol
 Men
-Work as casual laborer on farm and
in the home of rich HHs

Findings/Learning Cont’d
-Men also undertake a wide range of off-
farm activities influenced by wealth
-Rich men involved in activities that
require capital
-Trading in agricultural product
-Investing in processing equipments
-Lending money
-Poor HHs work as casual laborers
-Migrate temporarily for work

Findings/Learning Cont’d
-In rain fed farming systems, men’s
workload is lightest during the dry season
compared to HHs with access to irrigated
land
 FHH
-15-35% average in Ethiopia
-Belongs to poorer HH in most communities

Findings/Learning Cont’d
• -Few FHH in the rich or middle wealth
categories
-The challenges of FHHs are different
from those MHHs
-Often overlooked by development
partners

Findings/Learning Cont’d
Production (skill, input & Technology)
Men
-Dominate decisions HH /information
-Higher access for technology/Skills
-Higher control for productive assets
-Dominate decision in Technology uptake

Findings/Learning Cont’d
Women
 Lack of access for formal information
sources
 Lack of access for skills training
 Lack of access for extensions services
 Less involved in uptake of improved T.
 But situations vary ( HH types, region etc.)

Key Lessons from IPMS
 Couples Training
 Enforce gender balanced involvement in
Trainings
 Taking skills to the village (FTC)
 Capacitate front line development agents
 Women’s involvement:
- field day, visits, exhibitions etc.
 Linkage with GO,NGO and PS

Key Lessons from IPMS
 Women Dominated commodities
 Men Dominated commodities
 Commodities done by both sexes
 Training Composition (%)
 Ways of Information Dissemination

Findings/Learning Cont’d
 Market( men, women, poor, middle & rich)
-Men from R & M HH sell major crops
-Travel distant markets/secure better prices
-Women & poor farmers accept prices at
local markets
-Same directly sell to consumers
-Men in better off HH sell P. to P. traders
& cooperatives

Key Lesson from Marketing
 Market engagement differs for men &
women (wealth & HH category)
 Women have little control over high value
crops
 Of 13 crop commodities men controls
income from 11crops
 Women controls & share income only
from 2 crops

Challenges
 Partnership
 Availability of Technology
 Partner staff mobility
 Gender balance in partner public org.
 Capital scarcity stands as a major barrier
-women farmers
- poor
- tends to leave them out of the technology
development process

Conclusion
While designing projects
-Gender diagnostic analysis
-women potentials not part of the problems
It is also relevant to consider
• -input preferences of women in the
value chain analysis (market/home
consumption)
• -Mapping men and women roles
• -Its relevance in gender in value chain

Conclusion
• - Challenges of men/women in technology
uptake
• -Challenges in accessing financial and
other productive resources
• -Mapping institutions along the value
chain and its gender aspect

Conclusion
Emphasis:
It is required to conduct site and
commodity specific analysis to
understand gender roles and
relations in livestock and crop value
chain:
Diagnostic…Gender in V C.

Thanks
W/ro Elfinesh Bermeji, a successful women farmer sharing her experience on beekeeping
for AGP-gender Trainees, from Tigrai, Amhara, Oromiya and SNNP Regional
State,Denkaka PA, Adaa IPMS Pilot Learning Woreda, Oromia,Photo by Ephrem
Tesema,Nov.18,2011.