Challenging Chains to Change: Gender Equity in Agricul- Tural Value Chain Development
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CHALLENGING CHAINS TO CHANGE CHALLENGING CHAINS TO CHANGE GENDER EQUITY IN AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT Challenging chains to change This publication is jointly produced by: Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), PO Box 95001, 1090 HA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands [email protected], www.kit.nl Agri-ProFocus, PO Box 108, 6800 AC Arnhem, The Netherlands [email protected], www.agri-profocus.nl International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), Africa Regional Centre, PO Box 66873, Nai- robi, Kenya [email protected], www.iirr.org Sponsors Content editing and coordination: Anna Laven and Rhiannon Pyburn, KIT Language editing: Paul Mundy, www.mamud.com ISBN: 978-94-6022-212-2 Order from: [email protected] (for Africa) and [email protected], www.kitpublishers.nl (rest of the world) Correct citation: KIT, Agri-ProFocus and IIRR. 2012. Challenging chains to change: Gender equity in agricul- tural value chain development. KIT Publishers, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam. iv Challenging chains to change Contents Boxes viii Figures xi Tables xiii Foreword xiv Preface xvi Acknowledgments xviii Contributors xix 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Poverty and gender inequality in agriculture 1 1.2 Gender and value chains: Strange bedfellows? 5 1.3 About this book 7 2 Why focus on gender equity in agricultural value chains? 13 2.1 Presenting the arguments 13 2.2 Which arguments to use? 24 3 Analytical framework 27 3.1 A starting point: Chain empowerment 28 3.2 A gender critique of upgrading strategies 30 3.3 Basic concepts for engendering chain empowerment 35 3.4 Making gender intrinsic to chain empowerment 43 3.5 Analysing the cases in this book 46 4 Mitigating resistance by building on tradition 49 4.1 Shea: Professionalizing informal female chains 53 Case 4.1 New vigour in a shea butter union in Guinea 55 Case 4.2 When trees mean empowerment in Ghana 59 Making butter out of shea 63 4.2 Livestock: From traditional responsibilities to new opportunities 67 Case 4.3 A livestock market empowers women in northern Kenya 69 Case 4.4 Rebuilding after the tsunami: Chickens in Tamil Nadu, India 73 Taking stock of livestock 77 4.3 Dairy: Transforming systems through new roles for women 80 v Challenging chains to change Case 4.5 Developing opportunities in dairying in northern Sri Lanka 82 Case 4.6 Training livestock health workers in Bangladesh 86 Making more from milk 90 4.4 Improving women’s position through green agriculture 92 Case 4.7 Natural rice farming in Java, Indonesia 94 Case 4.8 Organic vegetables: An opportunity for Mayan women in Guatemala 99 Green agriculture and benefits for women 103 4.5 Conclusions 105 5 Creating space for women 113 5.1 Positioning and engaging women in male-dominated chains 115 Case 5.1 Women and bees? Impossible! Honey in Rwanda 118 Case 5.2 “Women don’t climb trees”: Beekeeping in Ethiopia 121 Case 5.3 Making women dairy farmers visible in Nicaragua 126 Women in a man’s world 130 5.2 Female entrepreneurship 136 Case 5.4 Women-run restaurants in Bolivia 140 Case 5.5 Hedge funds: Jatropha in Tanzania 143 Women building businesses 146 5.3 Conclusions 153 6 Organizing for change 155 6.1 Capacity building 157 Case 6.1 Women rice farmers in Mali master their crop 159 Case 6.2 A strong coffee from western Uganda 163 New abilities, new capacity 167 6.2 Collective action 171 Case 6.3 Money doesn’t grow on trees: It grows on the ground! 175 Case 6.4 Aonla: Changing the lives of rural women in India 179 Getting together 183 6.3 Sensitizing men 186 6.4 Financing value chains for women 194 Case 6.5 Microfinance for women entrepreneurs in the Philippines 201 Financing women 205 6.5 Conclusions 207 7 Standards, certification and labels 209 7.1 Labels and seals: Selling women’s participation 214 Case 7.1 Café Femenino: Empowering women in rural Peru 217 vi Challenging chains to change Case 7.2 The “Con Manos de Mujer” standard in Guatemala 222 Products “produced by women” 226 7.2 Making use of existing third-party certified standards 235 Case 7.3 Helping women benefit from organic farming in Uganda and Tanzania 238 Case 7.4 Gender and geraniums: Ikirezi natural products in Rwanda 241 Case 7.5 A new blend: Bringing women into the coffee chain in Kenya 244 Using existing standards and certification channels 248 7.3 Conclusions 257 8 Gender-responsible business 261 8.1 Corporate social responsibility and shared value 262 Case 8.1 Allanblackia seeds in Muheza, Tanzania 267 Case 8.2 Fostering a socially responsible business: Cynara Peru 270 8.2 Becoming a better business for women 275 9 Conclusions 281 9.1 Going back to the arguments 282 9.2 Choosing the right strategy 282 9.3 Engendering the chain empowerment matrix 285 9.4 A final word on gender and value chain development 290 10 Approaches, tools and resources 293 10.1 Approaches in practice 293 Approach 1: Gender Action Learning System 294 Approach 2: Integrating gender into agricultural value chains 296 Approach 3: Gendered economic competitiveness 298 10.2 Tools 299 Tool 1: Selecting a value chain to improve 300 Tool 2: Analysing the chain from a gender perspective at the macro, meso and micro levels 306 Tool 3: Gender mapping 312 Tool 4: Cost and benefits for men and women 318 Tool 5: Democratic decision-making: Household vs producer organization 320 10.3 Reference guides and websites 322 References 329 Participants’ profiles 337 vii Challenging chains to change Boxes 1 Introduction 1.1. Gender equality and gender equity 2 1.2. Productive, reproductive and community work 4 1.3. Boxes with individual profiles 8 2 Why focus on gender equity in agricultural value chains? 2.1. Key treaties and conferences on women’s human rights 16 2.2. Poverty is about a lack of choices 20 2.3. Why gender equity in value chains? 25 3 Analytical framework 3.1. Practical vs. strategic gender needs 36 3.2. “Women” versus “gender” vis-à-vis empowerment 37 3.3. Gender intervention terminology 38 3.4. Definitions of agency and structure 41 3.5. Condition and position 42 4 Mitigating resistance by building on tradition 4.1. Gender roles 49 4.2. Power = the ability to make choices 50 4.3. Professionalizing informal activities traditionally done by women 54 4.4. Assessing 10 years of shea chain support in Burkina Faso 62 4.5. Linking refugees with the market in Uganda 65 4.6. Removing barriers to transform traditional responsibilities into new opportunities 67 4.7. Create new roles for women in traditional activities 81 4.8. Bulbuly Begum: A dairy group leader in Bangladesh 89 4.9. Green agriculture 92 4.10. Reframing “caretaker” roles 93 4.11. Purwohadi: Husband of Suprati, a community organizer in Indonesia 96 4.12. A women’s farmer field school in Armenia 98 4.13. Structural problems in rural Guatemala 102 viii Challenging chains to change 5 Creating space for women 5.1. Supporting women in male-dominated chains 116 5.2. Amsal Endale: A beekeeper in Ethiopia 121 5.3. Gender-sensitive payment systems 131 5.4. Men’s coffee, women’s bananas and vanilla 132 5.5. Developing the cashew value chain in Benin 133 5.6. Promoting female entrepreneurs 138 5.7. Marina: A Ricomida restaurant entrepreneur in Bolivia 141 5.8. Jilo Gayo Tache: Making aloe vera soap in Ethiopia 147 5.9. Rahel Tamrat: From adviser to honey entrepreneur in Ethiopia 149 5.10. Lactéos Doña Esmilda: From small trader to dairy entrepreneur in Nicaragua 150 6 Organizing for change 6.1. Capacity building 157 6.2. What do women like to eat? 158 6.3. Fighting chicken disease in Kenya 168 6.4. Collective action 172 6.5. Custard apples bear fruit 173 6.6. A proud moment for women in Pratapgarh 182 6.7. Sensitizing men 186 6.8. A traditional institution persuades men 187 6.9. Involving men in a “women-only” brand 188 6.10. Drink less beer, grow more coffee 189 6.11. Paineto Baluku: One man’s transformation 190 6.12. Gender sensitivity from the board down: CEDECO in Costa Rica 191 6.13. Badelal: Learning to appreciate women’s self-help groups in India 194 6.14. Financing value chains for women 195 6.15. Signatures, not thumbprints 196 6.16. Cattle help Srikantharasa Gnanaveni rebuild her life 197 6.17. Financial services for women dairy farmers 198 6.18. Building financial ties for grass ropes 198 6.19. Five steps to mainstream gender in finance institutions 202 ix Challenging chains to change 6.20. Money grows on trees: Tree Aid’s revolving fund in northern Ghana 205 7 Standards, certification and labels 7.1. A word on coffee 210 7.2. Understanding the label jungle 212 7.3. Using “produced by women” labels, seals and standards 215 7.4. Organic honey in Ethiopia 216 7.5. Sabina Hernandez: From victim to board member 227 7.6. Gay Smith: Creating a “produced by women” label 230 7.7. Piggybacking on existing standards and certification infrastructure 236 7.8. The added value of certification 249 7.9. Traceabilty is the same – for organic, Fairtrade or gender 250 7.10. Gendered internal control system 251 7.11. The Con Manos de Mujer standard 253 7.12. Developing gender indicators 254 7.13. Making biopesticides for organic cotton: A better fit for women in Mali 255 8 Gender-responsible business 8.1.