Andrea Bohn University of Illinois March 23, 2016 INGENAES recognizes that women are disproportionally affected by hunger and malnutrition, and addresses gender equity to achieve better agricultural and nutrition outcomes. There are the four pillars of food security based on the role of extension including availability, access, utilization, and stability.

1. “Bringing Agriculture, Nutrition and Extension
Together Using a Gender Lens”
Photo:DanQuinn,HorticultureInnovationLab
Andrea Bohn
University of Illinois
March 23, 2016
DWGS, Dhaka
University

2. www.speedbump.com/cg_speedbump.php Speed Bump by Dave Coverly
Introduce
yourself and
share some
good nutrition
practices you
believe in
(and maybe
even practice)

3. Photo:DanQuinn,HorticultureInnovationLab
IN
GE
N
A
E
S
Introducing INGENAES

4. Why INGENAES? Need to address these issues:
• Many agricultural development efforts
and extension services systematically
fail to target women farmers with
services, or utilize approaches that
make it difficult for women farmers to
engage
• Many extension services have a topic
bias towards trainings on staple crop
production and new seed varieties and
practices, not topics that are
particularly relevant for women (top
down instead of needs based)
• Significant capacity constraints (human
& institutional) along with social factors Young woman preparing potatoes.
© K. Colverson. Nepal, 12/2015.

5. Many reasons to engage more proactively with women in agriculture.
A major one:
“Women are disproportionally
affected by hunger and
malnutrition”
In order to achieve better agricultural and
nutrition outcomes we absolutely NEED to
address gender inequity.
“Bringing Agriculture, Nutrition and Extension
Together Using a Gender Lens”

6. Major references used
Verhart et al. (2015) and Fanzo (2015)
(see list of references, USB sticks, Mini Library)
1. Unpack food security and nutrition
2. Unpack extension
3. Unpack gender
And I need your help!
Outline for this talk

7. FOOD security defined
“Food security [is] a situation
that exists when all people,
at all times, have physical,
social and economic access
to sufficient, safe and
nutritious food that meets
their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and
healthy life”.
FAO, 2001: The State of Food Insecurity
© A. Bohn, Launch of IFPRI 2016 Global Food
Policy Report, Dhaka, Nov. 4, 2015

8. The Four Pillars of FOOD security
Availability
• National level:
Enough food
through
domestic
production or
import
• Household
level:
Ability to
produce or
have the
resources to
purchase
enough food
Access
• Physical,
social,
economic
• Household
must have
assets, labor,
knowledge to
produce food
and market
prices must
be affordable
Utilization
• Actual
consumption
patterns must
meet
nutritional
needs
• Includes
processing
and storage,
preparation,
allocation and
consumption
within
household
Stability
• Availability,
access, and
utilization
need to be
stable /
reliable /
consistent
Based on 2009 World Summit on Food Security

9. NUTRITION (incompletely) defined
Simple Definition:
• the process of eating the right kind of
food so you can grow properly
and be healthy
Full Definition:
• the act or process of nourishing
or being nourished;
• specifically: the sum of the
processes by which an animal or plant
takes in and utilizes food substances
(Merriam Webster)
Ideal Food Plate
for Bangladesh
© FHI360, 2015

10. From FOOD to NUTRITION security
Food
Health
Care
Nutritional status is determined by 3 factors:
Availability & Access But also:
Sufficient, Diverse, Nutritious, Safe
 Capacity to METABOLIZE food
properly depends on health status
(pathogens and contaminants in the environ-
ment, water quality, sanitation, health facilities)
Care, support and feeding practices,
cognitive stimulation (especially
children, pregnant mothers, elderly)

11. Linkages and Resources
Agriculture-Nutrition
Linkages
Nutrition-Health
Linkages
HEALTH NUTRITION AGRICULTURE
Nutrition Sensitive Agricultural Programming
Food Based Approaches
SUN and
First 1000 Days Extension specific: few
resources available
Income
labor
production
consumption

12. What is EXTENSION? A Definition:
“Extension is defined broadly to include
• all systems that facilitate access of farmers, their
organizations and other market actors to knowledge,
information and technologies;
• facilitate their interaction with partners in research,
education, agri-business, and other relevant institutions;
• and assist them to develop their own technical,
organizational and management skills and practices.”
Ian Christoplos, FAO, 2010 (emphasis added)

13. Which instrument are diverse ag extension service providers playing, when, and what's the tune?
What is the role of EXTENSION in a multi-
sectoral approach to improving nutrition?

14. What is the Role of Agricultural Extension
in terms of NUTRITION security?

15. • Established infrastructure
• Reach
• Community trust
• Cultural awareness
• Empathy and understanding
• Focus on “Food Based Approaches”
Fanzo (2015). GGP # 9
STRENGTHS of Engaging Extension

16. Food Based Approaches
Derived from: J. Fanzo (2015)
 Promote nutrition-rich crops and their
cultivation at the farm level (diversification,
biofortification, indigenous crops)
 Support livestock production and good animal
husbandry (sanitation!)
 Strengthen linkages of farmers to markets and
value chains to sell and buy nutritious foods at
the farm gate level

17. Food Based Approaches
 Advise on better utilization of foods available to the
household through home production or purchase
 Engage in nutrition messaging and education geared
towards behaviour change at the individual level (Example:
FAO Integrated Homestead Farm booklet)
 Advise on how to reduce post harvest losses and
improve storage
 Educate on improve food safety (in consumption,
storage and selling of previously stored or processed
food)
Derived from: J. Fanzo (2015)

18. Non-Food Based Approaches
 Provide women with the tools and technology to
improve their own livelihoods and reduce their work
and time burden, thus addressing (some aspects of)
women’s empowerment
 Generating income through raising livestock.
 Employing improved husbandry practices  likely
reduce incidence of environmental enteropathy
 Adopting good agricultural practices
 Safe use of chemicals and IPM
 Safe irrigation
Derived from: J. Fanzo (2015)

19. WEAKNESSES of Engaging Extension
 Nutrition: yet one more domain for extension! Expected to be “superwomen”
 There is limited understanding of nutrition within EAS. Lack even the basics.
 The agriculture and nutrition sectors speak different ‘languages’. Coming from
different disciplines, agriculturalists, and nutritionists use different language,
priorities, and terms, which constrains integration. (“Dominance of SUN and
ENHA”)
Source: J. Fanzo (2015)
 There needs to be a discussion across sectors to clarify the
role of each sector in addressing nutrition, and to decide
how to mobilize resources and create a budget for nutrition
interventions for EAS specifically.
 There is a lack of joint planning and dialogue at all levels.
Coordination of planning and dialogue among the relevant
agriculture, nutrition and health actors does not happen.
 identify and leverage existing mechanisms and avenues
for collaboration.

20. Extension does
not understand
gender
Weaknesses of Engaging Extensionists

21.  Holistic understanding of the
different roles of WOMEN and MEN
and their ability to negotiate on
PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, and
CONSUMPTION of food
Take on Gender Lens

22. Gender Relations Framework
Division
of Labor
Norms
and Values
Access to /
control over
resources
Intra-
household
decision
making
Consider Women’s
and Men’s
perspective
Adapted from Verhart et al, 2015

23. What needs to change
about Extension in
Bangladesh to improve
gender equity 
improved livelihoods,
improved nutrition?
Help me! Let’s discuss:

24.  …
 …
 …
Discussion Notes

25. • Both men & women are involved in agriculture, food & nutrition but in different
ways (… with women’s contributions to ag are usually invisible or underestimated)
• Men & women face different constraints.
• Gender disparities exist in access to and benefits from technologies, extension
information, services and markets which have a consequence for household
welfare and economic development.
• Agriculture and livestock practices, technologies and interventions have
differential impacts on men & women.
• Reducing gendered constraints and impacts can increase the productivity and
nutritional dimension of crop and livestock systems, and improve food security
and nutrition.
• Both men & women are impacted differently and have a role to play in managing
emerging threats such as climate change, crop or livestock diseases and pest
outbreaks.
• Finally, addressing gender and striving for equity is a addressing a human right!
Why we should care and do something
Source: Nargiza Ludgate

26. Fanzo, J. et al. (2014): The Integration of Nutrition within Extension
and Advisory Services (EAS) A Synthesis of Experiences, Lessons,
and Recommendations. The full report is available here.
Resources – Page 1
Verhart, Noortjje, A. van den Wijngaart,N. Dhamankar, K. Danielsen (2015): Bringing
agriculture and nutrition together using a gender lens. Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and SNV
Netherlands Development Organisation, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
www.fsnnetwork.org/bringing-agriculture-and-nutrition-together-using-gender-lens
MEAS (2015): Whose Job is it? Integrating Agriculture and Nutrition in Public Sector
Agricultural Extension Services (Malawi Example) by Vickie Sigman.
www.meas-extension.org/meas-offers/technical-notes
Fanzo, J. (2015) Global Good Practice NOTE 9:
Integrating Nutrition into Rural Advisory
Services and Extension www.g-
fras.org/en/knowledge/global-good-practice-
notes.html

27. MEAS (2015): Integrating Nutrition in Farmer Field Schools in Eastern Africa
Full Report (click to read), Summary Paper.
www.meas-extension.org/meas-offers/program-evaluation
Mercy Corps (2015) Nutrition-sensitive agricultural programming. A nutrition sensitive
approach for market-based agricultural projects. http://www.mercycorps.org/research-
resources/nutrition-sensitive-agriculture-programming-nutrition-sensitive-approach-market
Online training course on nutrition-sensitive agricultural programming.
http://agrilinks.org/training/nutrition-sensitive-agriculture
SPRING (2014): Improving Nutrition through Agriculture Technical Brief Series www.spring-
nutrition.org/publications/series/improving-nutrition-through-agriculture-technical-
brief-series . The conceptual frameworks of the pathways and principles for improving
nutrition through agriculture are described in Brief 1: Understanding and Applying
Primary Pathways and Principles. Each subsequent brief explores a different route
between agriculture and nutrition: food production, income generation, and women’s
empowerment.
Helen Keller International. 2014. Nurturing Connections. www.hki.org/our-
impact/stories/nurturing-connectionsbangladesh#.VZTJh6b4ijw
Resources – Page 2

28. IFPRI. 2012. Gender, Agriculture and Assets Project (GAAP) toolkit. Washington DC: IFPRI. Available at:
http://gaap.ifpri.info/files/2010/12/GAAP_Toolkit_Update_ FINAL.pdf
IFPRI. 2013. Gender differences in access to extension services and agricultural productivity. Available at:
www.ifpri.org/publication/genderdifferences-access-extension-services-and-agricultural-
productivity
Manfre, C., Rubin, D., Allen, A., Summerfield, G., Colverson, K., & Akeredolu, M. (2013). Reducing the
gender gap in agricultural extension and advisory services: How to find the best fit for men and
women farmers. MEAS Discussion Paper 2.
Meinzen-Dick, R., Quisumbing, A., Behrman, J., BiermayrJenzano, P., Wilde, V., Noordeloos, M., Ragasa,
C., and Beintema, N. 2011. Engendering agricultural research, development, and extension.
Washington DC, USA.
Ragasa, C., Berhane, G., Tadesse, F., & Seyoum Taffesse, A. (2013). Gender differences in access to
extension services and agricultural productivity. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension,
19(5), 437-468.
SUN Malawi: http://scalingupnutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Malawi_IYCN_KeyMessages-
for-1000-Special-Days.pdf
World Fish. 2013. www.aas.cgiar.org/content/gender-transformative-approach-crucial-successful-
agricultural-development
http://ingenaes.illinois.edu Reaching Rural Women website: www.reachingruralwomen.org
Resources – Page 3

29. Disclaimer and License
This presentation was made possible by the generous support of the American people through
the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. The contents are the
responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the
United States Government.
All work by INGENAES is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License

30. Global Good Practice Note - Synthesis
www.g-fras.org/en/ggp-notes/integrating-gender-into-rural-advisory-services.html
 Who is present and who is not
present (e.g., are meetings)? How is
information shared (or not)?
Network analysis!
 Who does what?
 When are they doing it?
 Where are they doing it?
 Why are they doing it not doing it?
“SIMPLE” Analysis  Develop the
program/service based on understanding of:
Gender analysis: There are many tools!

31. Manfre, C. et al (2013). MEAS Discussion Paper # 2 as well as Brief # 2.
Accounting for time and mobility
Key considerations Illustrative strategies
 How much time do women have
available to attend meetings?
 What day of the week and time of
day are appropriate for reaching
them?
 How far can women travel (given
time and mobility constraints)?
 Where can they meet?
 Are women with children among
the targeted population?
 Schedule trainings at times when women
can attend. For example, the Kenya
Horticulture Development Program held
training outside of lunch hours to avoid
conflicts with their household
responsibilities. They also limited the length
of training so that women could attend and
still see to other activities.
 Take training to farmer demonstration plots
or to individual plots can ease the burden of
traveling for women.
 Provide transportation and daily stipends
and/or encourage men and women to stay
at the on-site residential facilities when they
are attending trainings.
 Organize childcare service.

32. Key considerations Illustrative strategies
 What training methods are
appropriate to the education
level of women farmers?
 Can audio or visual methods
be incorporated?
 Adapt methods to numeracy and
literacy levels. For example, in
Mozambique, the International
Potato Center used colors instead of
words to allow men and women to
indicate preferences among sweet
potato varieties.
 Incorporate ICTs to deliver messages
(voice, images, video)
Adapting to differing levels of
education and literacy

33. Manfre, C. et al (2013). MEAS Discussion Paper # 2 as well as Brief # 2.
Using Farmer Groups to Deliver EAS
Key considerations Illustrative strategies
 What kinds of assets are required to
receive EAS: physical (e.g., land);
financial (incl. credit); social (e.g., FBO)
 Are women eligible to become
members of FBOs?
 Do these requirements exclude the
possibility for women / other resource-
poor farmers to receive services?
 Can men and women interact freely in
public?
 Do social norms limit women’s ability
to speak in the presence of men?
 Are women able to voice their needs in
mixed groups?
 Do women belong to other community
groups?
 Work with organizations to adopt more equitable
eligibility criteria for membership.
 Provide recommendations for equitable
governance structures in FBOs to support women
in leadership positions.
 Identify and consult women’s groups that could
serve as vehicles for capturing and delivering
information.
 Where women cannot interact with men outside
the community, work through community leaders
to introduce men extension agents to the
community and gain acceptance. Alternatively,
hire women extension agents who can interact
more freely with women farmers.
 Organize single-sex group meetings if social norms
limit women’s ability speak in men’s presence

34. Challenges to recruiting and retaining women
extension officers:
 small numbers of women in agricultural
research and education;
 inability of their spouses (or other family
members) to relocate to remote locations;
 sexual harassment or threats to security in
some locations;
 cultural restrictions on women’s mobility
or interactions with men; and
 little opportunity for advancement or
professional development.
Strategies for overcoming the shortage of
women extension officers:
 quotas for women’s participation in EAS
delivery organizations;
 deployment of unmarried recent
graduates who may view a two-year
field placement as a career boost;
 incentives, such as higher salaries and
good housing; and
 use of a bottom-up approach –
recruiting women farmers who are
active in the community (including those
with lower literacy levels and no
academic qualifications) and training
them to provide EAS.
Feminization of Agriculture –
Feminization of Extension Service Providers

35. Strengths of Engaging Extensionists
 “Many extension agents have substantial reach into the
communities in which they operate, and trust and rapport with
community members.  Harness this social capital to improve
nutrition.
 Improving yield and incomes are major goals for farmers (they are
not asking for nutrition advice …). Integrating communication
about nutrition and dietary-related behavior change into the
portfolio of activities of extension agents may create the
conditions for improved nutrition to be adopted and demanded
within farmer families.
 Extension agents focus on local food production systems. Through
knowledge and adoption of new practices that integrate nutrition
within local cropping, livestock, and food safety technologies and
innovations, extension agents can better address the causal factors
impacting the communities in which they work.” Source: J. Fanzo (2015)

36. Food Based Approaches for
Extension to focus on
1. Promote diversification of production and livelihoods for better
nutrient mix and to reduce seasonality of food-insecurity
2. Increase production of nutrient-dense foods, particularly locally-
adapted varieties rich in micronutrients and protein
a. Horticultural crops
b. Animal-source foods
c. Legumes
d. Biofortification
e. Nutritious underutilized and indigenous foods
f. Staple crop and cash crops: be careful
3. Reduce post-harvest losses and improve processing
4. Increase market access and opportunities to improve smallholder
incomes (especially for women)

37. Delivery Channels and Methods
 On-farm demonstrations
 Farmer field schools or study groups with
integrated nutrition components
 Homestead gardening
 Nutrition education in schools, school gardens
 Public health platforms, WASH programs

38. Weaknesses of HEALTH and NUTRITION
EDUCATORS in terms of nutrition
sensitive agriculture
- Lack of understanding of farming systems, crop and livestock production, post
harvest handling, processing, marketing
- Economic dimension of decision making in farming (diversification may make
sense from nutrition standpoint, but not from economic standpoint:
economies of scale, more nutritious crops and indigenous varieties may not
fetch good prices, risk minimization may be more important than “good
nutrition”,
- Diversification of production may mean need for more diverse inputs (e.g.,
seeds, plantings, livestock) and require specific knowledge of production of
those crops, animal husbandry

39. Principles of Participatory Facilitation
• Learning from the people: Recognise the value of local knowledge and
people’s ability to solve their own problems.
• Discussion and sharing of experiences: ‘Outsiders’ (RAS) and ‘insiders’
(community members) share their knowledge and experiences and analyse
problems from different perspectives.
• Involvement of all within the community: Facilitate a learner-centred process
that involves all community members, including different ages, religions, and
socioeconomic statuses.
• Outsiders are facilitators: Create a ‘learning environment’ together.
Facilitators should not lecture or talk down to the community even if they are
experts in their subject matter.
• Practical orientation: Problems are investigated together with the community
to achieve practical solutions.
• Triangulation: Information is studied from various sources using different
methods; findings are repeatedly checked to validate results.
Source: Kathy E. Colverson, GGP 4, 2015

40. Manfre, C. et al (2013). MEAS Discussion Paper # 2 as well as Brief # 2.
 Increase the proportion of women extension officers.
 Equip all extension officers with the knowledge and skills to
address men and women farmers equitably.
 Adapt gender-responsive techniques and methods to the local
context.
 Deliver cross-sectorial programming.
 Collect sex-disaggregated data.
 Evaluate the impact of extension services on reducing gender
disparities in agricultural productivity.
Principles for Gender-Equitable RAS
And strengthen women’s right to land

41. Gender roles and power dynamic determine
• who does what kind of work around the home, in
the field, fisheries, livestock (own, as wage laborer)
(work assigned to women often marked by
“drudgery”)
• who is responsible for feeding and caring for family
members, who grows the food for household
consumption (often women),
• who does what along agricultural value chains as
producers, processors, marketers, and distributors.
Decisions over how to generate income and how to
use it.

42. Gender roles and power dynamic determine
Gendered differences in
• autonomy and agency in decision
making,
• ownership vs. access to assets and
resources,
• access to services (health, education,
credit, …, extension).

43. xxx
© A. Bohn, Launch of IFPRI 2016 Global Food
Policy Report, Dhaka, Nov. 4, 2015