Both the overall FAO livestock project and the Women's Programme gained from the introduction of PIHAM's participatory appraisal and monitoring approaches. Both male project staff and male villagers recognised the important contributions of women to livestock management. They subsequently revised both their training and their field-level activities to reflect and incorporate this new-found "gender" awareness. Women's Programme staff set out to revise their own programme more in line with PIHAM's participatory approaches to needs identification and problem solving.
The following very practical advice is provided for those wishing to support gender-responsive, participatory planning processes, particularly in Afghanistan and other countries (or areas) with similar socio-cultural contexts.
· Project planning and strategies must be flexible enough to respond to changing situations.. This is important at all levels, from field level, through project management, and up to the donor level.
· Recognise that project activities may be more costly and time-consuming. Plan accordingly (project document, budget, workplans, etc). To include women both at the technical level and at the village level is potentially more costly due to several constraints, i.e. having to talk to women in each household rather than in a village group setting as for men. Also, women may be required to have a male relative travel with them, or they may have to travel in pairs, therefore travel may be more costly. Training for female and male project staff may have to be held separately. This must also be considered in drawing up a budget and allocating staff/consultancy time. Also, participatory approaches, in and of themselves, can be more time-consuming and more costly over the short-term, but the long-term benefits are worth the effort.
· Ensure that women initiators/village workers carry clear messages from village women back to central planners, project headquarters. This should include noting any other needs/priorities/concerns identified by women, e.g. women's lack of access to resources and inputs so that planning process can specifically respond to those needs (possibly different from men's).
· "Harmonise planning needs of the community" - Need for regular dialogue between female and male staff at an levels (both horizontal and vertical). Regular staff sessions should be conducted (between male and female staff, not just female staff and project management) to share experiences and lessons learned from working with both women and men farmers and to identify issues that need to be addressed by the "other".
Map - PIHAM working areas in Afghanistan
Brief statistical data on Afghanistan are set out below. Varied Sources and time periods have been used for the data.xxvii Care should therefore be taken in making comparisons between periods. (Note: gender-disaggregated information was not provided in Source)
1. Population
Estimated population |
3.05 million (979 Government census) |
7.64 million (990 Unidata population project estimate) | |
8-20 million (996 unofficial UN estimates) |
It is estimated that 70-80 percent of the total population are engaged in agriculture.
2. Land Use xxviii
Land area by form of land use(as at 1972) |
Area (ha) |
percent |
Area |
percent |
irrigated land orchards cereal crops |
80,200 |
2.4 |
||
x 2/year |
451,400 |
13.7 |
||
x 1/year |
733,700 |
22.3 |
||
Sub-total irrigated land |
100.0 |
3,288,300 |
5.12 |
Rainfed crop land (total area, only 20-25 per cent cropped each year) |
4,835,700 |
7.52 |
Forest area |
1,987,000 |
3.09 |
Rangeland and other |
45,128,500 |
84,26 |
Total land area |
64,239,500 |
100.00 |
3. Production of Principal Crops xxix
Crop |
Gov't Stats 1976 |
Estimated 1996 | ||
Area '000 ha |
Productivity kg/ha |
Area '000 ha |
Productivity kg/ha | |
Wheat |
3404 |
1316 |
3600 |
1700 |
Barley |
320 |
1200 |
310 |
1150 |
Maize |
484 |
1612 |
485 |
1700 |
Rice |
210 |
2071 |
215 |
2100 |
Cotton |
112 |
1429 |
80 |
1450 |
Sugarcane |
4 |
15 |
4.5 |
16 |
Sugarbeet |
5 |
20 |
2 |
19 |
Fruit orchards including citrus |
140 |
880 |
70 |
400-450 |
Vegetables |
92 |
7830 |
90 |
7900 |
4. Livestock Numbers xxx (000's)
Livestock class |
1967 T |
1981 T |
1991 T |
1995 | ||
Cattle |
3633 |
3750 |
4049 |
3495 |
198 |
3693 |
Sheep |
21455 |
18900 |
18688 |
15504 |
6508 |
22012 |
Goats |
3187 |
2900 |
5458 |
3472 |
8930 |
|
Horses |
403 |
400 |
245 |
168 |
200 |
367 |
Donkeys |
138 |
1300 |
1131 |
872 |
147 |
1019 |
Camels |
299 |
265 |
80 |
101 |
176 |
277 |
The following table summarises some of the most critical aspects in the social, economic, institutional and environmental context of Afghanistan:
Governance and Social Stability
· Disruption and isolation of civil society and its traditional structures which used to form the basis of community resilience, self-reliance and self-help.
Women/Gender
· In Taliban-controlled areas, women's mobility severely restricted. Affecting all sectors in both rural and urban areas.
Food Security and Nutrition
· Food production per capita still substantially lower than in 1979.
· Livestock production severely affected by conflict and disease.
· Chronic malnutrition and dietary imbalances in parts of Afghanistan.
Education
· School currently suspended for girls; women unable to teach in Taliban-controlled areas.12
12 This information added from recent discussions.
· Only 13 percent of adult females and 44 percent of adult males are literate.
· From 3,500 primary schools in 1978, to 600 in 1990.
Refugee Return
· Since 1978, up to 6 million Afghans have fled from armed conflict, finding refuge in neighbouring countries; nearly half of them have returned and many more are now in the process of returning.
· Another 2 million people are internally displaced.
De-mining
· Ten million unexploded mines across the country.
· An estimated 10 people per day are killed or maimed by landmines.
Health
· One of the highest rates of infant mortality (165 per 1,000 live births), child mortality (257 per 1,000) and maternal mortality (640 per 100,000 live births) in the world.
· 3 to 4 percent of the population are disabled.
Shelter
Over 1 million houses need rebuilding.
