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1. NATURE+
Nature-positive solutions for shifting agrifood
systems to more resilient and sustainable
pathways

2. Gender-responsive nature positive solutions for
resilient agri-food systems
Co-authors: Elsa Wallin, Elizabeth Bryan, Kristin Davis and Balentine Oingo
New Delhi, India | 9th
October 2023
Dickson Minjire Kinuthia – Research Officer
Natural Resources and Resilience Unit
International Food Policy Research Institute

3. About Nature +
https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/3-action_track_3_scientific_group_draft_paper_26-10-2020.pdf
Objective: this initiative will contribute to reshaping food
production system in 4 countries ( Colombia, India, Kenya, and
Vietnam) and 10 rural communities, to meet growing food
demand by working with farm- and community to tackle the root
causes of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss from
agricultural production and ensure that negative trends on
natural assets are reversed.
WP1: Conserve.
Agrobiodiversity
conservation in
situ and ex situ
WP2:
Manage.
Sustainable
management
of natural
resources
WP4:
Recycle.
Agro-waste
management
WP3: Restore.
Restoration in
degraded land
WP5: Engage.
Social
inclusion,
capacity
development
and policy
Vision: NATURE+ will produce actionable science that enables the
CGIAR and broader AR4D ecosystem to plan for nature-positive
agricultural approaches that promote productivity in parallel with
ZERO biodiversity loss, ZERO deforestation, ZERO land
degradation, MINIMAL carbon and water footprint, ENHANCED
water- and nutrient-cycle management, and ENHANCED equity
outcomes

4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What is the level of
awareness, adoption, and
perceptions of Nature
Positive Solutions (among
farmers and local
experts)?
What are the constraints
to adoption of Nature
Positive Solutions?
What is the current
resource base and who
has access to it?
What are gendered roles
in the community)?
What are the current
sources of knowledge,
information and learning
on Nature Positive
Solutions?

5. About the Study
Themes
- Nature Positive practices
- Gender
- Nutrition and food security
- Agricultural inputs
- Institutional coordination and contribution
- Resource management and governance
-Movement and migration
Areas of study in Kenya
Kisumu County
Vihiga County
Kajiado County

6. Data Collection Tools
1. A participatory resource mapping tool to capture available natural resources and
infrastructure of the community/landscape based on participants’ collective
knowledge, followed by discussion on changes and management of these
resources;
2. A seasonal calendar used to capture gender-based seasonality patterns for
agriculture-based livelihoods;
3. A focus group discussion guide to capture current farming practices; issues
related to nutrition/diet diversity; perceptions of, experience with, and adoption
of nature-positive solutions, and the institutional landscape; and
4. A key informant interview guide to understand externalities of current
unsustainable farming practices, promising nature-positive solutions,
nutrition/food security, shocks, groups, and organizational efforts to promote
nature-positive solutions
5. A guide for semi-structured interviews with individual farmers was prepared to
get more insights into individual experiences and perceptions.

7. Sample Size
Method County Male Female Total
Key Informant Interviews Kajiado 5 2 7
Kisumu 3 2 5
Vihiga 4 2 6
Focus Group Discussions Kajiado 24 33 57
Kisumu 31 29 60
Vihiga 38 44 82
Resource Maps Kajiado 5 5 10
Kisumu 4 4 8
Vihiga 5 5 10
Seasonal Calendars Kajiado 4 5 9
Kisumu 4 4 8
Vihiga 5 5 10
Individual farmer Interviews Kisumu 8 8 16
Total 140 148 288

8. Why Focus on Gender in Nature +?
www.cgiar.org
• Landscape, natural resource degradation, climate change, etc.
are bad for women (and men)—women vulnerable in particular
ways
• Women may be more likely to be left behind with agricultural
intensification, with less access to inputs (e.g. fertilizer) and
complementary services (ag and market information, finance
etc.)
• Introduction of Nature + solutions have (+/-) implications for
women (gender roles, labor allocation, women's empowerment—
including decision-making and leadership at multiple scales)
• Women play important roles in seed storage, diversification,
value chains, and sourcing and preparing food
• To maximize women’s contribution, it is important to look
for opportunities to reach, benefit and empower women,

9. Roles and Decision Making at the Household level
▪ Men still mainly involved in land
preparation, women involved in planting,
weeding, harvesting. "women will do the
planting and weeding, and later harvesting. Women
are the ones that generally participate in these
farming activities."
▪ Men mostly active in cash crop farming,
while women concentrate more on
subsistence farming
▪ Crops of high value enticing men to take
up farming such as for beans. "a sack of
beans goes for about twelve thousand
shillings so as a man you cannot accept
to lose such an amount of money."
▪ Decision making on spending remains a
major contributor to household conflict
and gender-based violence. Women
avoid household disagreements by not
going contrary to husband’s decisions. “in
instances where my husband declines a request on how to
proceed with planting, I accept this decision to avoid
household disagreements.”
▪ Women’s rewards from produce sale are
indirect but men’s are direct
“A woman from what I have understood, if the child goes
to school and succeeds, then the mother would benefit
too”
“Alcoholism is also identified as a major cause of conflict
as alcohol consumption is perceived by women to be a
misuseand mismanagement of resources that would be
better spent on household welfare.”
▪ Women make decisions on sales of
vegetables and poultry: not cash crops or
other livestock animals (cattle, goats,
sheep)

10. Management of Natural Resources
▪ Community associations formed to help the government in management
and conservation of natural resources
▪ Women membership growing in community resource management
associations.
▪ A male participant in Kajiado explains that despite the Maasai not recognizing women's role in leadership in
the past, women are more empowered now and " there are some Community Forest Associations (CFAs)
groups made of only women and I know of three."
▪ Despite women “utilising” water more than men because of their
traditional gender role, men still dominate community water management
associations. In Kajiado "majority of the leadership of the Water Committees are men."

11. Perception of Nature+ Uptake
MEN
• Practices adopted by men because
they own the farms
• Men have the money, so they
adopt faster
• Sometimes men are better placed
to adopt these practices because
they receive extension services as
heads of the household
WOMEN
• Women are more receptive to
nature+ practise and likely to
implement them.
• Women groups have become an
avenue of training for nature+ and
GAPs. Making use of water
harvesting for kitchen gardens
• If women had more training and
information, they would be better
placed to adopt to these practices

12. Constraints to adoption of Nature Positive Practices
▪ Lack of adequate access to extension services- soil conservation, soil
testing, terraces building, preparation of seed beds, preparation of
compost pits
▪ Ownership of productive resources such as land, access to financial
resources
▪ Seclusion from decision making process of spending income
▪ Traditions that exclude women from planting trees – Vihiga county “In
Bunyore, women cannot plant bananas or trees, those are considered men crops.”
▪ Traditional gender roles- women have to divide time between household
chores and agriculture (crops, livestock, fetching water, collecting firewood)

13. www.cgiar.org
Incentives and Opportunities for Nature Positive Solutions in Bridging Gender Gaps
Make use of women groups
as an avenue to share
information, build capacities
on nature positive solutions
Use these groups as
avenues for incentives to the
communities e.g provision of
water tanks, seedlings etc
Continue advocating for land
justice – women to own land
as these comes with freedom
to practise nature+ solutions
without restrictions
Seed banks – . Provide
seeds and education on
planting of the seeds.
Majority of the members are
women
Institutional coordination and
collaboration in conservation,
management and restoration
of natural resources

14. www.cgiar.org
Conclusion
▪ Nature+ provides an opportunity for biodiversity restoration and
fight against gender inequality.
▪ Social norms have to change- some act as an impediment and
slows down the process of adopting nature+ practices
▪ Important to understand gender-differentiated roles, decision
making, impediments and preferences. For better Gender
responsive design and scaling.
▪ Women have to actively participate in management, conservation
and restoration of biodiversity