Presentación de Roslyn Jackson (RADA), en el Taller regional Género en Sistemas de Asistencia Técnica y Extensión Rural, realizado el 4 y 5 de julio de 2017 en Santiago de Chile.

1. Gender-sensitive Rural Advisory Services: A Transformation Strategy
Systematization of Jamaica´s Experience
Presented By : Roslyn Jackson

2. Introduction
 The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is a
statutory body under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce,
Agriculture & Fisheries.
 It is Jamaica's chief agricultural extension and rural
development agency.

3. Introduction
 RADA is committed to promoting the development of
agriculture in Jamaica, as the main engine of economic growth
in rural communities, through an efficient, modern and
sustainable extension service which will enhance the national
economy and improve the quality of life of rural farm families.

4. Introduction
In serving the over 200,000 farmers islandwide of which 186,458 are
currently registered with the Agricultural Business Information System (ABIS),
RADA boasts a cadre of well trained extension staff to include:
 98 Agricultural Extension Officers,
 60 Agricultural Assistants,
 14 Marketing Extension Officers
 13 Social Services and Home Economics Officers
 5 Livestock Extension Officers and
 6 Land Husbandry Officers.

5. Introduction
In March 2011, the National Policy for Gender Equality (NPGE) was passed.
The implementation of the NPGE is crucial to the attainment of Jamaica’s
development goals and maintenance of regional and international
commitments towards gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Chief among them, the third Millennium Development Goal (MDG 3) which
aims at promoting gender equality and empowering women.

6. The National Policy for Gender Equality (NPGE)
The policy framework suggests that women and men need to have equal
opportunities to work together in partnership to achieve gender equality. This
translates into gains not only for women but also for men and, necessarily,
society as a whole.
The cornerstone of Jamaica’s development is our people; therefore eliminating
barriers to equal participation at all levels of society for women and men will
translate into meaningful and sustainable human and national development.

8. The Rural Agricultural Development Authority – Gender Equality
Policy Statement
With support from the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), in March 2016, the
Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) developed a Gender
Equality Policy Statement. This Policy Statement sets out actions to be taken
by RADA to ensure gender equality is fully incorporated in all of RADA’s
activities towards a more sustainable agricultural sector.

9. The Rural Agricultural Development Authority – Gender Equality
Policy Statement
Goal:
To institutionalize gender mainstreaming in RADA
through a systematic approach by considering the
differences between the needs of women and men,
the relations existing between them and
differentiated impact of policy on their lives through
planning, designing, implementation, monitoring
and evaluation of all programmes, plans and
projects.

10. Core Commitments
• To establish a formal organizational mandate on gender mainstreaming and maintain a
formal advisory mechanism in order to promote the integration of gender into all areas of
work of the RADA.
• To mainstream the gender approach into the policies and programs of the Organization,
including research and training activities;
• To strive for parity between the sexes in matters of recruitment, career development,
and employment in decision-making positions within the Authority.

11. Core Commitments
• To promote gender concerns and support gender initiatives in the work of partner
organizations and other stakeholders.
• To develop gender sensitivity of all staff and the capacity of technical staff to undertake
gender analysis, gender planning and gender related research in professional fields.
• To develop training materials and programs that promotes gender equality and gender
neutrality;
• To give priority to data generation and analysis, disaggregated by sex and other relevant
variables;

12. RADA Social Services and Home Economics
The work of the Social Services Home
Economics Unit forms an important part
of the RADA’s extension delivery
system. It integrates the needs, interests
and potentialities of rural women into the
design of training programmes, projects
and activities aimed at enhancing their
quality of life and that of their families
and communities.

13. RADA Social Services and Home Economics
In keeping with the philosophy for the total development of the family, the
training programme focuses on the development of their social, economic as
well as intellectual well-being. The major areas of training include:
• Home management and resource utilization;
• Home food production and preparation and family nutrition;
• Agro- Processing
• Income Generation

14. Gender Findings- Gender and Youth in Agriculture Study ( June
2017)
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has provided a grant to the
government of Jamaica through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority
(RADA) for the commission of a Baseline Survey to gather information on the
role of gender and the involvement of youths in the agriculture sector.

15. Gender Findings- Gender and Youth in Agriculture Study ( June
2017)
Gender inequalities have a measurable and significant limit on agricultural
productivity and efficiency, and undermine rural economic development. The
study will assist in identifying specific gender roles and issues in the
agricultural sector and in designing appropriate gender–sensitivity strategies,
components, and indicators to respond to these issues.

16. Gender Findings- Gender and Youth in Agriculture Study ( June
2017)
Random sampling of a total of 604 farmers in the 14
parishes of Jamaica cutting across gender and the youth
cohort to ascertain demographic information and to
collect socio-economic, agronomic and agricultural
production data was carried out;

17. Recommendations for the transformation of ATER services.
• Organize training programmes for staff on gender difference in agriculture and gender
analysis tools
• Employ more women extension staff to work closely with women groups
• Target women as clients for extension and organize separate programmes (trainings,
demonstrations, exposure visits) for them
• Form groups of women farmers (common interest groups or thrift-and-credit groups); and
provide them with the micro-capital assistance for enterprise development

18. Key Challenges
• Lack of clearly underpinned policies geared towards gender in agriculture
• Limited coordination or cooperation among actors in the agricultural sector.
• Distribution of Agricultural Inputs
• Lack of financing
• Lack of access to Land

19. Technical Support and Follow Up
The Gender study is considered as a stepping-stone towards a longer-
term initiative to effectively bridge the gap that still exists between
males and females involved in agriculture across the value chain.

20. Technical Support and Follow Up
The output of this study will strengthen projects and activities implemented by
RADA and MICAF as well as policy makers from different types of
organizations –civil society organizations, research institutions and other
governmental organizations. It is expected that such an approach would later
inform a Gender in Agriculture Policy.

21. The End!