In 2018, the state of Himachal Pradesh in north India launched an initiative to convert all its farmers to natural farming (NF), an agroecological approach. The aim was to address multiple challenges related to rural livelihoods, high input costs, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. This paper is based on a...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected vulnerable households’ livelihoods in developing countries. Using high-frequency phone survey data from the World Bank, we assess rural Indian households’ vulnerability and poverty status during the pandemic. Results reveal that over three-fifths of Indian rural households are vulnerable to poverty in the...

National gender and climate change focal points from Africa, working under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as representatives from research entities and civil society organizations met in Nairobi on April 16-18, 2024, to exchange best practices and strategies for integrating gender considerations into climate...

This paper reviews land governance in Colombia to examine how legal, institutional, and cultural frameworks influence women’s land rights. It reviews existing statutory regulations and institutional structures defining land rights in Colombia and their relevance for women. It will examine tenure interventions in Colombia and the existing gaps and constraints...

This project introduced a range of renewable energy technologies to enhance the lives of rural people. Biogas digesters were coupled with latrines and slurry storage was developed. Sustainable bio slurry will replace chemical fertilizers, allowing households to save money and consume healthier foods. Biogas digesters also alleviate burdens on women...

The 'shell women' of the Pacific coast of Nariño have promoted sustainable harvesting and use of a native mollusk called piangua for the many generations. They are also at the forefront of mitigating climate change and leading mangrove conservation.

Réduire l’écart entre les sexes sur le marché du travail, pour assurer l’émancipation économique des femmes. Bien qu’elles enregistrent l’un des taux de participation au marché du travail parmi les plus élevés, les femmes d’Afrique subsaharienne sont toujours confrontées à de nombreux obstacles qui limitent leur accès à un emploi...

The IFPRI article, "Achieving Women’s Empowerment Beyond Income and Asset Increases," highlights the need to broaden our understanding of women’s empowerment beyond economic measures like income and asset ownership. It emphasizes that true empowerment includes addressing social norms, decision-making power, and agency within households and communities. While economic gains are...

Climate-Smart Cocoa (CSC), a strategic offshoot of the wider Climate-Smart Agriculture, is gaining ground in Ghana, a cocoa export-dependent country. CSC is imperative, given the rapidly declining forests, prolonged periods of drought, pest and disease infestations, and fluctuating cocoa yields attributed to climate variability and change. Although many interventions are...

It highlights Kenya's strides in integrating gender considerations into its climate policies and actions. The country has made significant progress in addressing gender inequalities in climate resilience and adaptation, particularly through the development of the Climate Change Act and the National Adaptation Plan. Kenya's efforts focus on ensuring that women,...

In response to the growing demand for WEAI surveys, IFPRI developed a distance learning course on pro-WEAI. This online course teaches specific skills related to using pro-WEAI to meet the needs of various users: quantitative analysts, monitoring & evaluation specialists, donors, and field supervisors. Participants will receive digital certification upon successful...

Developing policies to foster inclusive rural transformation processes requires better evidence on how climate change is affecting the livelihoods and economic behaviours of vulnerable rural people, including women, youths and people living in poverty. In particular, there is little comparative, multi-country and multi-region evidence to understand how exposure to weather...

The Women’s Empowerment Livestock Index (WELI) is tailored for areas where livestock farming is prominent, aiming to assess the impact of livestock interventions on women's empowerment. By identifying effective interventions, the index seeks to improve empowerment opportunities for women in the sector, thereby enhancing household livelihoods, nutrition, and gender equity....

Défis Sud cette année publie deux dossiers : l’un consacré aux 60 ans des ONGs belges et l’autre à la souveraineté technologique du monde paysan. À l’occasion du soixantième anniversaire des ONG belges, nous écrivons que la solidarité est « le seul chemin possible pour relever les défis globaux et...

Cette note préparée par le Réseau International Formation agricole et rurale dans le cadre du séminaire international « Comment mieux prendre en compte le genre dans la FAR ? » traite de l’égalité des sexes dans l’agriculture en Afrique subsaharienne, avec un accent particulier sur les contraintes et les défis auxquels les...

Women's empowerment is essential for achieving agricultural development goals like increasing productivity among smallholders, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2.3 and 5. Agricultural collectives, including producer groups and farmer producer organizations (FPOs), offer promising avenues for empowering women and improving smallholder incomes. Research on this approach is growing, highlighting...

This study launched at the Gender Caucus during the UNCCD COP15 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, demonstrates that desertification, land degradations and drought (DLDD) is not only about the land but about people. Climate, ecosystems and human societies are interdependent. Women make valuable contributions to land restoration efforts through recovery of traditional...

Face au défi du renouvellement des générations, le manque d’attractivité du métier de chef d’entreprise agricole, en particulier auprès des femmes et des jeunes, devient une question stratégique de souveraineté alimentaire. S’intéresser à la dynamique de l’entrepreneuriat féminin en agriculture se présente ainsi comme une opportunité d’y répondre. Encore à...

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is negotiating a new climate finance goal, the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), to set future climate finance scales and ambitions. This is vital as the previous goal set in 2009 will expire in 2024. Integrating gender equality into climate finance...

Seed systems are essential to bring good genetic material to farmers. Women farmers, however, have benefited less than men farmers from seed systems in low and middle income countries. We identify factors that inhibit and promote women's success in seed businesses through three case studies of women's and men's entrepreneurship...