Developing Gender-Sensitive Value Chains: Guidelines for Practitioners

By Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

These guidelines aim to respond to these questions and support practitioners in translating the Gender-Sensitive Value Chain Framework, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) into action (FAO, 2016a). Building on FAO’s comparative advantage on gender in agriculture and food security, these guidelines are primarily intended to assist practitioners in designing and implementing interventions that provide women and men with equal opportunities to benefit from agrifood value chain development. They offer practical tools and examples of successful approaches to foster a more systematic integration of gender equality dimensions in value chain interventions in the agricultural sector and enhance the social impact of these interventions.

The guidelines are targeted to practitioners in a wide range of organizations and institutions, including national governments, international and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), research institutes and the private sector, in particular:»» value chain practitioners who want to ensure that their interventions are inclusive and socially sustainable, and seek support on how best to address gender issues in their work on agrifood value chains;

»» gender experts who are tasked with supporting the integration of gender equality and women’s empowerment objectives in agrifood value chain interventions.

The publication consists of two main sections:

»» Part 1: Gender-sensitive analysis of the value chain presents tools and resources to assess and select value chains from a gender perspective, and guides practitioners in the identification of the gender-based constraints (GBCs) that undermine both the performance of the chain and women’s opportunities for economic empowerment.

Both Part I and Part II provide a selection of tools, approaches and resources developed by FAO and other partners working on gender, agriculture and value chain development. Their selection, and in some cases, adaptation, is based on recent FAO experience in the field. Case studies are presented throughout the guidelines to illustrate, with concrete examples, the ways the tools were applied and the interventions that were implemented in different contexts to address specific GBCs. A list of additional resources is provided at the end of each section to complement the main tools and approaches described in this publication.

»» Part 2: Actions for addressing GBCs in value chain interventions considers the key constraints that practitioners are likely to encounter when analysing agrifood value chains from a gender perspective, and explores possible solutions to address them as an integral part of the value chain upgrading strategy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Release date: Apr 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9789251322659

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

An intergovernmental organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has 194 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Its employees come from various cultural backgrounds and are experts in the multiple fields of activity FAO engages in. FAO’s staff capacity allows it to support improved governance inter alia, generate, develop and adapt existing tools and guidelines and provide targeted governance support as a resource to country and regional level FAO offices. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is present in over 130 countries.Founded in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO provides a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. The Organization publishes authoritative publications on agriculture, fisheries, forestry and nutrition.

Book preview

RECOMMENDED CITATION

FAO. 2018. Developing gender-sensitive value chains – Guidelines for practitioners. Rome

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO.

ISBN 978-92-5-130516-4

E-ISBN 978-92-5-132265-9 (EPUB)

© FAO, 2018

FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way.

All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [e-mail].

FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [e-mail].

Cover photos (from top)

Southern Philippines climbs out of war: From arms to farms with FAO-Japan help. Mindanao, Philippines.

© FAO/Bahag

Farming couple ploughing with two oxen at the village of Guri i Bardhe. Albania.

© FAO/C. Grace

Project: reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity to respond to impacts of climate change and variability for sustainable livelihoods in agriculture sector, Nepal.

© Chris Steele-Perkins/Magnum Photos

A man and woman pouring corn into an FAO-sponsored motorized mill during a demonstration in the village. Kitungulu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

© FAO/Olivier Asselin

GCP/INT/240/ITA Youth mobility, food security and rural poverty reduction: Fostering rural diversification through enhanced youth employment and better labour mobility. Tunisia.

© Nikos Economopoulos/Magnum Phot

Contents

Acknowledgements

Acronyms and abbreviations

Introduction

Part 1

Gender-sensitive analysis of the value chain

1 » Assessing the broader context

2 » Selecting a value chain based on its potential to promote gender equality

3 » Gender-sensitive value chain mapping

4 » Analysis of gender-based constraints

Part 2

Actions for addressing GBCs in value chain interventions

1 » Limited access to information, knowledge and training

2 » Unequal participation and decision-making power

3 » Limited access to financial services

4 » Limited access and adoption of inputs and technology

5 » Work burden and time poverty

References

FIGURES

Figure 1. The FAO Gender-Sensitive Value Chain Framework

Figure 2. Gender-sensitive mapping: product flow and value chain actors

Figure 3. Gender-sensitive mapping: support services along the chain

Figure 4. Gender-sensitive mapping of the dairy value chain in East Shewa (Ethiopia)

Figure 5. Examples of GBCs at different levels of the GSVC Framework

Figure 6. GBCs and their impact along the value chain

Figure 7. Elements of bargaining power

TABLES

Table 1. Guiding questions to assess the value chain potential to advance women’s empowerment

Table 2. Social criteria to be considered in value chain selection

Table 3. Constraints identified along the dairy value chain in Kenya, by gender

Table 4. Analysis of GBCs in the dairy value chain in Oromia, Ethiopia

Table 5. Entry points to enhance the gender-sensitivity of rural advisory services

Table 6. Enhancing the gender-sensitivity of business development services: suiTable strategies and entry points

Table 7. GBCs and counter-strategies for producer organizations

Table 8. Summary of strategies for strengthening women’s participation in producer organizations

Table 9. Innovative financial services/products for rural women and women-owned MSMEs in agrifood value chains

Table 10. List of technologies, services and practices with a labour-saving potential for women

Acknowledgements

Valentina Franchi is the lead author of this publication, which was developed in close collaboration with Alejandra Safa, under the technical supervision of Regina Laub (FAO Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division – ESP). Valuable inputs were provided by Anna Lentink, Angelica Senders (Fair & Sustainable Consulting and the AgriProFocus Network) and Sofie Isenberg (ESP, responsible for drafting Part II, Section 2, ‘Unequal participation and decision-making’).

Sincere appreciation is extended to colleagues who provided comments and reviewed different drafts of this publication: Marcello Vicovaro (Nutrition and Food Systems Division – ESN), Florence Tartanac (ESN), Cristina Scarpocchi (ESN), Valentina Sommacal (ESP), Flavia Grassi (ESP), Hajnalka Petrics (ESP), Nozomi Ide (ESP), Idil Yalman (ESP) and Massimo Pera (ESA).

Thanks also need to be extended to Gordon Ramsay for the editing and Andrea Wöhr for the layout and design of the publication.

Acronyms and abbreviations

ADB Asian Development Bank

AIDOS Italian Association of Women for Development

BDS business development services

CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

FFS Farmer Field School

FI financial institution

GBC gender-based constraint

GIZ German Agency for International Cooperation

GSVC Gender-sensitive value chain

ICT information and communication technology

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

IFC International Finance Corporation

ILO International Labour Organization

MFI microfinance institution