Issues in International Agricultural Development: Discussion

1983 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 455-457
Author(s):  
Reed Hertford
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Development ◽  
International Agricultural Development

scholarly journals Hitting the target and missing the point? On the risks of measuring women’s empowerment in agricultural development

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Tavenner ◽  
Todd A. Crane
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Agricultural Productivity ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Societal Relevance ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Scientific Accuracy ◽  
International Agricultural Development

AbstractThere is a strong impetus in international agricultural development to close ‘gender gaps’ in agricultural productivity. The goal of empowering women is often framed as the solution to closing these gaps, stimulating the proliferation of new indicators and instruments for the targeting, measurement, and tracking of programmatic goals in research for agricultural development. Despite these advances, current measurements and indices remain too simplified in terms of unit and scope of analysis, as well as being fundamentally flawed in how they aim to capture the relevance of ‘gender’ in diverse local contexts. We propose that the impulse to apply exogenously defined and weakly validated ‘women’s empowerment’ measures to diverse local contexts risks prioritizing practical expedience over scientific accuracy and societal relevance. Furthermore, the application of such measures risks creating the impression that programmatic “gender targets” are being achieved, while simultaneously undermining substantive gender transformative goals. The authors conclude that a different methodological approach grounded in participatory and qualitative methods is needed to create more meaningful metrics for assessing progress towards women’s empowerment.

scholarly journals Meeting World Food Needs: Lessons of the Green Revolution

1982 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-111
Author(s):  
D. R. MacKenzie
Keyword(s):  
Research Program ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Green Revolution ◽  
Genetic Material ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Food Needs ◽  
International Agricultural Development ◽  
Agriculture Development ◽  
Successful Production

The GREEN REVOLUTION has been offered as an example of both what to do and what not to do as international agriculture development. An appraisal is made of the benefits and consequences of the GREEN REVOLUTION for both wheat and rice. The history of the GREEN REVOLUTION is traced to its origins in pre-war Japan for both its concept and as the source of genetic material. The successful “production technology” approach of the wheat research program in Mexico is compared to the “appropriate technology” of the less successful maize research program. Lessons are drawn from the experience of the GREEN REVOLUTION that may prove helpful when planning or evaluating international agricultural development projects.

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