Gender Equality Mainstreaming Digest – August 2016 Issue
Here are the highlights of this month’s Gender Equality Mainstreaming Digest! Click HERE for the full version.
Photo courtesy of D. Ceplis.
Highlights:
Opportunities and Upcoming Events:
Calling all Women Interested in Industry Board Opportunities – The Government of Canada is now seeking applications for their boards. These include the Canadian Grain Commission and Canadian Dairy Commission. The Minister of Agriculture is also looking for applicants to the Farm Debt Mediation Council.
IDRC Research Awards 2017 – IDRC makes research awards to citizens and permanent residents of Canada, and to citizens of developing countries. The award provides for a one-year paid program of research in addition to hands-on experience in research management, grant administration, and the use of knowledge from an international perspective. Positions are available at IDRC’s head office in Ottawa and at its regional office in Nairobi. Program areas include agriculture and food security; climate change and water; and several others.
Partnership for Economic Policy – Policy Analysis on Growth and Employment – With funding from the governments of UK and Canada, PEP [Partnership for Economic Policy] has launched a new call for proposals addressing “Policy on Growth and Employment” (PAGE II) in developing countries. The issues to be examined span a broad spectrum of development policy, including themes related to labor productivity in agriculture, entrepreneurship, and others.
This Month’s News:
Can better technology lure Asia’s Youth back to farming? – Farming and agriculture may not seem cool to young people, but if they can learn the thrill of nurturing plants to produce food, and are provided with their favorite app and communications software on agriculture, food insecurity will not be an issue, food and agriculture experts said during the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Food Security Forum from June 22 to 24 in Manila. Calls for nonstop innovation in communications software development in the field of agriculture, continuing instruction in agriculture and agriculture research to educate young people, improving research and technology development, adopting measures such as ecological agriculture and innovative irrigation and fertilization techniques were echoed by panelists from agriculture-related organizations and academicians.
Governments look for ways to stop rural youth drain – It’s a challenge small communities across Canada have faced for decades: how to convince young people to stay. Education, training opportunities, jobs, entrepreneurship, social infrastructure, internet access, improved transportation and civic leadership were all up for discussion as community leaders grappled with how to convince the younger generation that rural communities are viable places to call home. At the heart of the conversation is Ontario’s agriculture industry, an industry in which ongoing investments in innovation and technology will help lure the next generation. Exposing young people to these opportunities is critical.
Women in Agriculture – Empowering female farmers boots family incomes, nutrition, and overall well-being. Read their stories and more in the current issue of Perspectives, an interactive, biannual publication of IFDC [International Fertilizer Development Center].
Reports Publications and Resources:
Gender, agriculture and water insecurity – El Niño has already had devastating impacts on countries in Africa that primarily rely on agriculture. Drought, loss of livestock and failed harvests push poor households into food stress and result in children being removed from school or families migrating. Policy and programme implementation for water insecurity must consider social norms around gender and other drivers on inequality. Too often policies and programmes on agricultural water management are gender blind and don’t consider women’s unique needs and experiences. This paper explains how and why improved water management on the farm matters for women and girls, and what can be done to better support opportunities for them, as well as for men and boys, in the face of climate change.
Annual Report from CIGAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) – 2015 was a crucial year for climate research and action. Agriculture gained prominence in the Paris climate agreement, and CCAFS science increasingly informed initiatives to enhanve millions of farmers’ resilience to climate impacts and help them reduce emissions. There was strategic support to 9 national and 23 subnational initiatives, with scientists closely partnering with policy makers to strengthen the national plans that will deliver the Paris Agreement, among others.
Gender analysis in building climate resilience in Da Nang: Challenges and solutions – Although the legal framework for gender equality exists in Vietnam, gender mainstreaming in climate change planning and action have not yet been fully realised and addressed by local actors. In Da Nang, a gendered view to climate resilience building was also a new approach for the city and local authorities and vulnerable communities. This study examines the gender issue through the climate resilience lens within the context of Da Nang to see how gender and its link to climate change was locally perceived and at what level(s) gender equality and women’s role were appreciated and incorporated in climate change planning and action.
The Gender Equality Mainstreaming (GEM) Working Group of the Agricultural Institute of Canada gathers information and articles on an ongoing basis on gender quality mainstreaming within agriculture, scientific research, rural development, climate change, organizational development and international development. The views and opinions presented are not necessarily representative of AIC.
Back issues of the GEM Digest are available here.