Presented by Annet A. Mulema at the Ethiopia Small Ruminants Value Chain Strategy and Implementation Planning Workshop, Addis Ababa, 13-14 June 2014

1. Gender in the Ethiopia small ruminant value chain
Annet A. Mulema
Ethiopia Small Ruminants Value Chain
Strategy and Implementation Planning Workshop
Addis Ababa, 13-14 June 2014

2. Presentation outline
• Livestock and Fish Gender Strategy
• Achievements and what we’ve learned
• Planned activities 2014-2016

3. Gender Strategy - outputs
• Increased gender capacity within CG’s, partner
organizations, and value chain actors to diagnose and
overcome gender based constraints within value chains
• Strategies and approaches through which women and
marginalized groups improve the nature and level of
participation in livestock and fish value chains
• Strategies and approaches that increase women and
marginalized groups entitlement to access markets and
control resources, technologies, labor, power and the
benefits of their work
• Strategies and approaches to promote increased level
and equity in animal source food consumption within
poor households

4. Where are we and what have we learned?
• Conducted three gender strategic studies
1. Cross country study on resource ownership (Ethiopia,
Tanzania and Nicaragua
• To generate an understanding of how women and men in
different contexts understand, perceive or define the term
‘resource ownership’ with a focus on livestock.
• To establish the relationship between the meanings attached
to resource ownership and food security.

5. Ownership study…
• Ownership is associated with resource acquisition,
decision-making, benefiting from resource, responsibility
• Norms influencing resource ownership
• Journal article: “Exploring gender perceptions of resource
ownership and their implications on food security”

6. Where are we?
2. Gender analysis of the SRVC
– Document women’ and men’s participation along the value chain.
– Identify already existing opportunities that have the potential to
change gender norms that inhibit the range and quality of women’s
engagement in target value chains.
– Document the distribution and consumption of meat and milk in
poor households.

7. Gender analysis of the SRV…
• Low participation of women in supply and marketing nodes
• There are some opportunities to exploit e.g. the CBBP,
government and NGO support, demand of products
• Consumption of ASF influenced by socio-economic
conditions
• Working document: “A review of Ethiopia small ruminant
value from a gender perspective”
• Journal article: “Constraints and opportunities to women’s
access and control of resources in the Ethiopia SRVC”

8. Where are we…
3. Assessment of Safe Food Fair Food in Ethiopia small
ruminant value chains from a gender perspective
– Determine the extent to which gender affects intra-household
access to and consumption of milk and meat products.
– Determine how gender roles, food safety and animal health
affect exposures to health risks.
– Determine the extent to which gender norms and cultural factors
affect women’s consumption of milk and meat.
– Identify existing opportunities that have the potential to change
gender norms and culture that inhibit women’s consumption of
meat and milk.

9. SFFF…
• Men and women understand some basic issues
associated with food safety and nutritional aspects of
ASF
• Further investigation of the health risks associated with
gender roles and consumption of ASFs
• Working document: “A review of Safe Food Fair Food in
Ethiopia small ruminant value chains from a gender
perspective”

10. Where are we…
• Community profiles
– Generated profiles of communities in Atsbi and Borana:
• Daily activity clocks
• seasonal calendars
• access to and control resources

11. Planned activities 2014-2016

12. Planned activities 2014-2016
• Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the community-
based sheep breeding program from a gender perspective
(drafted a proposal)
• Generate community profiles for the remaining sites
– Activity clocks, seasonal calendars, access to and control of
resources, mobility assessment
• Gender capacity building of field staff (Aug 18-20, 2014)
• Conduct a more in-depth study on perceptions of resource
ownership

13. Planned activities…
• Gender analysis of the benchmarking data
• Organize women and men into groups
• Strengthen enterprises were women dominant
– Processing of milk through introduction of labour saving milk
processing technologies
– Promote collective activities such as marketing of live animals
– Enhancement of knowledge on production, processing and
marketing

14. Planned activities…
• Do more of the integrated gender research in the already
existing interventions e.g. fodder
• Explore implications of the land reform policy on women’s
access to and control of resources
• Identify potential partners and strengthen existing
partnerships
• Contribute to the global cross CRP gender study on
“Gender, Norms and Agency”
• Identify gaps in existing knowledge and practices of
smallholder farmers

15. Planned activities…
• Explore perceptions of food safety and nutrition amongst men
and women farmers and pastoralists and health risks
associated with their gender roles

16. Expected benefits
• Greater access to and control over new technologies, resources,
leadership and market opportunities among poor women and
men.
• Improved household food and nutrition security outcomes and
equality in their distribution.
• Enhanced range and quality of choices for poor women and
men in where and how to participate in the SRV.
• Expanded capacity of value chain stakeholders to understand
and integrate gender balanced approaches in their work.

17. CGIAR is a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for a food secure future. The CGIAR
Research Program on Livestock and Fish aims to increase the productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems
in sustainable ways, making meat, milk and fish more available and affordable across the developing world.
CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish
livestockfish.cgiar.org