Gender strategy plan under the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP)

Thelma Paris,1 Rita Afiavi Agboh-Noameshi,2

and Kamala Gurung1

1International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Baños,

Laguna, Philippines2Africa Rice Center, Cotonou, Benin, Africa

GRiSPGRiSP’’s missions mission

To reduce poverty and hunger, improve human

health and nutrition, reduce the environmental

food print, and enhance ecosystem resilience of

rice production systems through high-quality

international rice research, partnership, and

leadership.

GRiSPGRiSP’’s key entry pointss key entry points

• Lifting the productivity and resource efficiency of

rice production systems to unprecedented levels.

• Providing both men and women farmers access to

technologies and associated knowledge and

involving them in innovation.

Gender strategy in GRiSPGender strategy in GRiSP

UN millennium goal declarationUN millennium goal declaration

Promote gender equality and the empowerment of women as effective ways to combat poverty, hunger, and disease and to stimulate development that is truly sustainable.

Six major rice research and development themesSix major rice research and development themes

Theme 1. Harnessing genetic diversity to chart

new productivity, quality, and health

horizon

Theme 2. Accelerating the development,

delivery, and adoption of

improved

rice varieties

Objective Theme Focus Approach

1. Conduct strategic research and rigorous

gender analysis that will identify gender-

equitable rice research for development

and extension programs and examine

gender differential social and economic

impact of technologies

Theme 5 Focus on joint research activity of global

concerns that affect the more vulnerable

groups, including women of the rice farming

population

Strategic research: “Changing climate,

livelihoods, food security and gender roles in

rice-based production systems”

Use of qualitative and quantitative method of data

collection. This is followed by training of women in seed

production.

2. Involve both men and women farmers in

the technology development and

dissemination process to enhance rice

productivity and incomes, and empower

women farmers

Themes

2, 3, 4

Theme 2: New and promising tolerant breeding

lines for stress-prone (drought, submergence,

salinity) environments in lowland and upland

areas through farmer participatory approaches

in collaboration with NARES, NGO and farmer

organizations

Preference analysis of elite lines/varieties included in

researcher-managed trials, sensory evaluation, and testing

of farmer-preferred lines/varieties in their fields will provide

important feedback from men and women farmers to

scientists and research managers.

Theme 3: Crop and resource management

technologies for rice production

Social scientists and biophysical scientists to examine

gender roles in crop and resource management and

adaptation strategies due to environmental and

agroclimatic changes.

Theme 4: Training for African women and

testing of prototypes of improved energy-

efficient parboilers

Participatory research to study the strategies to scale up

good practices related to parboiling (aimed at women

processors).

Theme 6: Men and women included in building

extension capacity with NARES partners

Training programs for rural women on farm management

and technical information and skills from production to post

harvest.

3. Build and enhance capacities of women

scientists engaged in rice R, D and E and

use innovative strategies to empower

grassroots women with technical

knowledge and skills as well as disseminate

technologies to other women

Themes

1 to 6

Enhancement of male and female scientists

(biophysical and social scientists) and

development and extension workers from

different institutions

Training on a) leadership for Asian and African women in

research, development, and extension; b) gender analysis

and its application in rice-based farming systems for both

male and female researchers and extension workers.

4. Develop monitoring and evaluation tools

for gender and equity

Product-specific measureable milestones to

form the basis for all monitoring and reporting

Reporting on progress by measurable indicators at the

product level and aggregated up to product lines and

GRiSP themes.

Theme 3. Ecological and sustainable

management of rice-based

production systems

Theme 4. Extracting more value from rice

harvests through improved

quality, processing , market

systems, and new products

Theme 5. Technology targeting and policy

(Socioeconomic and gender analysis

for technology evaluation)

Theme 6. Supporting the growth of the global

rice sector (Effective systems for

large-scale adoption of rice

technologies in Asia, Africa, and LAC)

Prepared by: Amelia Cueno

IRRI, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines