Gender as a Cross‐Cutting Issue in Food Security: The NuME Project and Quality Protein Maize in Ethiopia. Issue 3 (September 2016) - O'Brien, Cheryl
Abstract : Gender research and gender empowerment, particularly through the increased participation of women in extension services and activities, are recommended components in development initiatives toward achieving gender equality, food security, and improved health in rural populations. Gender dynamics have been under‐researched in the agricultural technology literature on Sub‐Saharan Africa. This article contributes a gender‐based analysis of the Nutritious Maize for Ethiopia (NuME) project, an initiative implemented through a partnership among national and international institutes for agriculture and public health. NuME promotes production of quality protein maize (QPM), a group of nutritionally improved or biofortified maize varieties, to improve food and nutritional security. Combining baseline data and case studies of project sites, our analysis illuminates opportunities and obstacles to the adoption and impact of QPM. We find that women in the project face barriers toward the adoption and effective utilization of such technologies. These include less contact with agricultural extension, lower awareness of QPM, and less input into decisions on and key aspects of adoption, production, and marketing. Our findings confirm a link between gender inequalities and food insecurity. We conclude with specific policy recommendations and gender empowerment strategies for governments and implementing partners to improve women's access to agricultural technologies and services.