Gender research and practice in agriculture for Protecting Ethiopian lentil crops: A pre and post training report

Abstract

This working paper examines the extent to which socio-economists, plant and animal breeders, and plant pathologists in agricultural research centers understand and integrate gender issues into their research activities. A training program was then designed and conducted to enhance their knowledge on fundamental gender concepts, the role of gender in agricultural development, major gender approaches, research mechanisms, tools, gender needs, and impact assessments. The training employed an interactive learning methodology, including presentations, discussions, group work, and practical exercises. Post-training assessments indicate that participants' understanding of gender concepts improved. Before the training, most participants had never conducted gender-sensitive agricultural research or integrated gender analysis into breeding activities. They acknowledged the lack of effort in incorporating women farmers’ knowledge on crop diseases and their varietal preferences in Variety Verification Trials (VVT) and Participatory Variety Selection (PVS) sessions. Furthermore, Ethiopia’s agricultural research centers were found to rarely consider women farmers’ expertise in pest identification, variety verification, and selection as critical to agricultural development. To address these gaps, participants developed action plans advocating for their research centers to systematically involve women farmers in plant disease identification and VVT/PVS sessions, particularly in the selection and release of improved lentil varieties. Additionally, socio-economist trainees committed to conducting gender analysis using sex-disaggregated data and gender-responsive sampling methods to inform plant and animal breeders about women farmers’ specific needs. These steps aim to ensure that agricultural research more effectively supports gender-inclusive innovation and development.