scholarly journals Gender mainstreaming in root tuber and banana crops seed systems interventions: identification of lessons learnt and gaps

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Lessons Learnt ◽  
Root Tuber ◽  
Banana Crops

scholarly journals Gender mainstreaming in local potato seed system in Georgia

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Potato Production ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Potato Seed ◽  
Production Environment ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Root Tuber ◽  
Seed System

This report presents the study findings associated with the project “Enhancing Rural Livelihoods in Georgia: Introducing Integrated Seed Health Approaches to Local Potato Seed Systems” in Georgia. It also incorporates information from the results of gender training conducted within the framework of the USAID Potato Program in Georgia. The study had three major aims: 1) to understand the gender-related opportunities and constraints impacting the participation of men and women in potato seed systems in Georgia; 2) to test the multistakeholder framework for intervening in root, tuber, and banana (RTB) seed systems as a means to understand the systems themselves and the possibilities of improving gender-related interventions in the potato seed system; and 3) to develop farmers’ leadership skills to facilitate women’s active involvement in project activities. Results of the project assessment identified certain constraints on gender mainstreaming in the potato seed system: a low level of female participation in decision-making processes, women’s limited access to finances that would enable their greater involvement in larger scale potato farming, and a low awareness of potato seed systems and of possible female involvement in associated activities. Significantly, the perception of gender roles and stereotypes differs from region to region in Georgia; this difference is quite pronounced in the target municipalities of Kazbegi, Marneuli, and Akhalkalaki, with the last two having populations of ethnic minorities (Azeri and Armenian, respectively). For example, in Marneuli, although women are actively involved in potato production, they are not considered farmers but mainly as assistants to farmers, who are men. This type of diversity (or lack thereof) results in a different understanding of gender mainstreaming in the potato seed system as well. Based on the training results obtained in three target regions—Akhalkalaki, Akhaltsikhe, and Marneuli—it is evident that women are keen on learning new technologies and on acquiring updated agricultural information, including on potato production. It is also clear that women spend as much time as men do on farming activities such as potato production, particularly in weeding and harvesting. However, women are heavily burdened with domestic work, and they are not major decision-makers with regard to potato variety selection, agricultural investments, and product sales, nor with the inclusion of participants in any training provided. Involving women in project activities will lead to greater efficiency in the potato production environment, as women’s increased knowledge will certainly contribute to an improved production process, and their new ideas will help to improve existing production systems, through which women could also gain confidence and power. As a general recommendation, it is extremely important to develop equitable seed systems that take into consideration, among other factors, social context and the cultural aspects of local communities. Thus, understanding male and female farmers’ knowledge may promote the development of seed systems that are sustainable and responsive to farmers’ needs and capacities.

scholarly journals Making sense of farmers’ demand for seed of root, tuber and banana crops: a systematic review of methods

Food Security ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Pircher ◽  
Conny J. M. Almekinders
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Classification Scheme ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
The Body ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Root Tuber ◽  
Agricultural Research And Development

AbstractA demand-driven approach is becoming increasingly central in the efforts to improve agricultural research and development. However, the question of how exactly demand is studied usually remains unstated and is rarely discussed. We therefore carried out a systematic review in order to better understand how farmers’ demand for seed in root, tuber and banana seed systems is studied. The review is based on data from a consultation with an expert panel and a structured literature search in the SCOPUS database. Screening the gathered articles resulted in 46 studies on a global scale, fitting the scope of our investigation. Through qualitative analysis and categorization of these studies, we developed a classification scheme according to the types of approaches applied in the retained studies. One group of studies explicitly articulates farmers’ preferences and choices through surveys or engagements in trials, auctions, choice experiments and interviews. Other studies implicitly articulate farmers’ demand by characterising their current use of varieties and seed. We discuss opportunities and limitations in the use of each type of study and we reflect on the body of available literature as a whole. Our conclusion is that a framework is necessary that purposefully combines the existing different methods and that it is necessary to involve stakeholders in a process where demand is articulated. Together, these two steps would characterise existing demands in a more effective and precise way, thus providing better guidance to decision-makers in their reactions pertaining to seed systems.

scholarly journals Suitability of root, tuber, and banana crops in Central Africa can be favoured under future climates

2021 ◽  
Vol 193 ◽  
pp. 103246
Author(s):  
Rhys Manners ◽  
Elke Vandamme ◽  
Julius Adewopo ◽  
Philip Thornton ◽  
Michael Friedmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Africa ◽  
Root Tuber ◽  
Banana Crops

scholarly journals Pesticide Use Practices in Root, Tuber, and Banana Crops by Smallholder Farmers in Rwanda and Burundi

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Okonya ◽  
Athanasios Petsakos ◽  
Victor Suarez ◽  
Anastase Nduwayezu ◽  
Déo Kantungeko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Accidental Poisoning ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Root Tuber ◽  
Disease Damage ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Chemical Pesticides ◽  
Banana Crops

Misuse and poor handling of chemical pesticides in agriculture is hazardous to the health of farmers, consumers, and to the environment. We studied the pest and disease management practices and the type of pesticides used in four root, tuber, and banana (RTB) crops in Rwanda and Burundi through in-depth interviews with a total of 811 smallholder farmers. No chemical pesticides were used in banana in either Rwanda and Burundi, whereas the use of insecticides and fungicides in potato was quite frequent. Nearly all insecticides and about one third of the fungicides used are moderately hazardous. Personal protective equipment was used by less than a half of the interviewed farmers in both countries. Reported cases of death due to self- or accidental-poisoning among humans and domestic animals in the previous 12 months were substantial in both countries. Training of farmers and agrochemical retailers in safe use of pesticide and handling and, use of integrated pest management approaches to reduce pest and disease damage is recommended.

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