Statement on CTA's Gender Strategy

It is often said that 'the latest technologies always reach the rural poor last'. When we consider the remarkable improvements made in new biological and information technologies in the past decades, this saying seems quite justified. Additionally today there is a 'digital divide' that adversely affects women who make up the majority of the rural poor in developing countries. Compared to men, rural women in African, the Caribbean and the Pacific regions are much less likely to access new agricultural technologies because they are generally less educated and hold less economic and political power relative to men. Women however, play a major role in agricultural production and rural livelihoods. Gender issues are therefore fundamental concerns for agriculture, food security and rural development and inevitably, the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in these areas.

The gender concept
Gender is the term used to refer to the socially constructed relations between women and men in society, as opposed to the purely biological attribute. These relations and the roles that women and men may assume are culturally and institutionally embedded. Gender is a social identity that changes over time (historically) and space (geographically). Therefore, the gender roles of men and women may differ from society to society.

Gender studies, as an analytical approach, views activities, resources, and benefits as inequitably distributed within society and its institutions, including the family, the market, and the government and its public services.
Gender is thus one of the key considerations in any endeavour of poverty reduction, food security and rural development. Including the gender dimension in any programme, project or activity requires consideration of the specific roles and responsibilities of men and women (and differences within these groups, which are by no means homogeneous), as well as the potential impact of the activity on different groups of men and women, rather than focussing on women only.

Socially embedded inequities are structured into institutions that represent patriarchal, hegemonic interests. Confronting these inequities means that men have to be brought into the analysis, not set out apart from it. By focusing on the socially constructed relations between men and women in a particular society, the gender approach takes these considerations into account.

Why does CTA need a gender strategy?
In the process of formulating its Strategic Plan and Framework for Action for the years 2001-2005, CTA recognised that it was imperative to change in order to meet its new broader mandate and to integrate issues concerning gender. At the institutional level, gender mainstreaming may be best and most easily effected as part of an institutional strategy and when every project officer, not just the "institutional gender person", is responsible for, and can anticipate gender impact in strategy, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. CTA's gender strategy sets out to define the ways in which gender can become an integral part of the operational activities and institutional principles of CTA.

How did CTA develop its gender strategy?
CTA embarked on the process of actively formulating a gender strategy in April 2002, with an internal seminar on gender and ACP agriculture. This was followed by a series of activities that led to the strategy document in its present form. In September 2002, CTA focused its 5th ICT Observatory meeting on "Gender and Agriculture in the Information Society". This event built upon CTA-supported seminars in 1999 on "The Economic Role of Women in Rural and Agricultural Development: the Promotion of Income-Generating Activities," in Athens, Greece, 18-22 October 1999 (more) and a sub-regional gathering of stakeholders in Kampala, Uganda, 9-23 February 2001 entitled "Strengthening the economic condition and role of women in agricultural and rural development by revisiting the legal environment" (more).

Excerpt from the CTA gender strategy paper: mission, vision, principles and objectives

Mission
As stated in Annex 3, Art. 3 of the Cotonou Agreement, the mission of the CTA is "to strengthen policy and institutional capacity development and information and communication management capacities of ACP agricultural and rural development organizations". In this context, the Centre is requested "to assist such organisations in formulating and implementing policies and programmes to reduce poverty, promote sustainable food security, preserve the natural resource base, and thus contribute to building self-reliance in ACP rural and agricultural development".

In pursuing this mission, CTA has two axes of intervention:

the provision of information services, including better access to research, training and innovations in the spheres of agricultural and rural development as well as extension
the strengthening of ACP capacities for agricultural and rural development policy formulation, improved and decentralised information and communication management (ICM) at the local, national and intra-institutional level, performance monitoring, regional and international cooperation, and policy impact assessment.

Article 31 of the Cotonou Agreement, June 2000, specifically states that "cooperation shall create the appropriate framework to integrate a gender-sensitive approach and concern at every level of development cooperation including macro-economic policies, strategies and operation."

In pursuit of this goal the CTA Strategic Plan and Framework for Action 2001-2005, committed itself to supporting as a priority those partners whose efforts are directed at programmes with a strong presence of women, the young, and resource-poor farmers.

In brief, the CTA mission in relation to gender in ACP agriculture is:

To support initiatives to ensure that women in ACP agriculture and rural development have adequate and equitable access to relevant information products and services, and to strengthen their capacities to produce, acquire, exchange and utilise information in this area.

Vision
Our vision is a world in which women in ACP agriculture and rural development can, on equal terms with men, access and utilise the information they need in a timely, reliable, adequate and efficient manner, in which they can make their voices heard, and in which they can produce information and disseminate it to others.

CTA aims to be a key player in the provision of information services and ICM skills development for the equal benefit of women and men in ACP agriculture and rural development. This is why we intend to produce and distribute information products and services which are relevant and accessible to women in ACP agriculture and rural development, and to strengthen their ICM skills in order to contribute to their effective participation in decision-making at all levels.

Principles and Objectives
Given the basis of existing gender disparities in many societies, including those of the ACP countries, equal treatment of women and men alone is insufficient as a strategy for gender equality. Specific measures must be developed to address policies, laws, procedures, norms, beliefs, practices, and attitudes that maintain gender inequality.

The overall objective of CTA's gender strategy is to incorporate gender into the guiding principles of CTA, its partnerships, and its strategies and management processes, including decisions made with respect to resource allocation, in order to address existing inequalities and therefore improve the livelihoods of women in ACP agriculture and rural development.

Overall guiding principles for mainstreaming gender

Inclusion of the gender dimension both in CTA's operational activities and in its organizational structure and principles
Inclusion of the gender dimension in all projects and activities rather than as an appendage i.e. from the beginning of the project cycle, and as part of the process
Actively liaise with other relevant organizations in order to learn from their experiences and to adopt effective practices in gender mainstreaming.

CTA's specific objectives in relation to gender derive mainly from its operational objectives as stated in the Strategic Plan and Framework for Action 2001-2005, and from specific consultations held at CTA on gender. CTA aims to:

gain a better understanding of gender issues in ACP agricultural and rural development
raise awareness on gender issues in ACP agricultural and rural development
build gender-aware alliances and partnerships
increase the availability of information relevant and accessible to rural women and gender oriented institutions in ACP countries
promote the use of ICTs as an enabling tool for women in ACP agriculture and rural development
intensify information exchange and networking for, by and among rural women in ACP countries
enhance ICM capacities and skills of women's institutions in ACP agriculture and rural development
incorporate the gender dimension in CTA's project planning cycle, including the monitoring and evaluation phases
mainstream gender into CTA's internal decision-making processes and to have this reflected in its management principles and its rules and regulations.

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