Database: Gender-responsive climate-smart agriculture

This database of gender-responsive climate-smart agriculture (CSA) draws together information on crops, practices and technologies which have proven to benefit women through rigorous scientific research and assessment methodologies:

Increased production and income
Decreased workloads and labour requirements for women
Improved household nutrition and dietary diversity
Sustainable farming practices leading to increased production

The database is intended for use by researchers, practitioners in research and development institutions who work with farmers at the local level in addressing the impact of climate change.

These technologies, tools and practices can range from crops and technologies to farming sustainability, conservation and labour practices.

"It is extremely useful to have a central repository for the carefully vetted gender approaches in climate-smart-agriculture. It is critical to government, development partners and the private sector to be able to invest in options that have been verified to work for women, and the AICCRA-CGIAR scientific scrutiny brings that additional reassurance. Gathering well established and innovative tools, technologies and approaches; the AICCRA Gender-Smart database brings evidence of success, lessons for application and context-specific guidance. We are very glad to have this resource at the ready and look forward to seeing this complement a growing body of gender-smart adaptions of climate-smart agriculture tools."

Patricia Van de Velde, Gender and Agriculture Specialist - World Bank

There are a number of examples of real-world impacts driven by these gender-responsive CSA technologies and practices:

In Nepal, a solar-powered drip irrigation technology tripled production, enabled sales in the local market and reduced women’s workload by reducing the amount of manual irrigation required. Putting the management of this technology in a local women’s committee increased these women’s status and agency within local communities.
CSA training in East Africa increased crop production and adaptive capacity in 82% of female-headed households that were involved. These households reported that CSA practices systematically improved yields and income, while also increasing access to and diversity of food in ways that increased resilience to climate shocks.
Sweet potato and cowpea are considered “women’s crops” in Ghana. Across 22 farming communities in the country, AICCRA hosted Farmer Field Days to demonstrate how yields can be improved using climate information services, CSA and One Health innovations. These efforts led to increased incomes for women in these communities. Women farmers are connecting through these demonstrations and devising common solutions to the practical challenges that arise in implementing CSA practices in these crops. In one community, for instance, women restarted self-help groups which provide ways to plant maize in rows, a requirement for the improved varieties of maize.

The database will be continually updated with research and scientific analysis as it becomes available, to continually assess the gender-responsiveness of CSA technologies, practices and crops in different regions and in different agricultural systems.

It is aligned with the CORAF Market for Agricultural Innovations and Technologies (MITA) database of technologies and innovations developed and tested in West Africa.

Researchers and practitioners are welcome to submit technologies for inclusion in the database.

For more information, contact Sophia Huyer, AICCRA Gender and Social Inclusion Lead.

With thanks to CGIAR institutions for their contributions so far. We welcome contributions from partners outside the CGIAR system, including AICCRA partners.

All the entries in the database are open access.

Gender responsive crops

Gender-responsive crops	West Africa	East Africa	Latin America	Asia	Gender-responsive dimensions	Source
DSR				X	Reduces women’s labour Allows crop diversification for dietary diversity	CCAFS
Crop diversification / veg gardens	X	X	X	X	Increased income Dietary diversity Safety net against market pressures and climate risks	CCAFS
Intercropping / agroforestry	X			X	Crop diversification for household nutrition and market Safety net against market pressures and climate risks	CCAFS
Crop rotation		X		X	Adaptation to climate change impact	Wiley
Terraces and Desho grass		X			Additional income Improvements in food diversity and yields	CCAFS
Improved sorghum		X			Resilient to impacts of climate change Local rather than improved varieties used due to cost Targeted information or extension services lead to adoption	MDPI
Soybean	X				Factors that increase the likelihood of adaptation by women: Being member of farmer-based organization (FBO) Access to credit and extension services Agricultural training	CGSpace
Fruit trees	X				Dietary diversity More decision making Crop diversification for household nutrition Market access	Frontiers
Banana				X	Female farmers tend to prefer shade tree species that provide food Social and cultural services	MDPI
Cashew	X	X			Opportunities to improve livelihood: Removal of barriers that limit women’s access to productive resources Building networks of community advisors to create awareness on gender issues at a grassroots level Farmers, cooperatives, processors, financial institutions, and community advisors are learning the value of women’s economic contributions	Technoserve
Beans	X	X	X		Provision of innovative technologies Credit and markets to create an enabling business environment	Alliance of Bioversity -CIAT / PABRA
Beekeeping	X	X			Can be integrated comfortably into a busy schedule, especially of women who tend to be overburdened with numerous household tasks; A technology that is consistent with commitment to actions on gender sensitivity; sustainable crop productivity and sound ecological land use; A technology that has minimum labour input requirements (it is estimated that only 25 hours are required to attend to a beehive in a year)	Government of Malawi
Sweet potato	X	X			Addresses gender-based constraints Informs and develops appropriate partnering strategies to acquire knowledge, land and equipment	Research Gate
Bambara groundnut		X			Managed in a traditional manner by women Frequently available and accessible to rural households	PLOS
Millet	X	X		X	High nutritional value Can withstand harsh climatic conditions and low soil fertility Short growing season Requires few inputs Long storage lifespan	JAFSCD
Potato			X		Important staple nutrition for farm households	Frontiers
Shea trees	X		X		Significantly contributes to: Nutritional health Livelihoods Community wellbeing Wellbeing of women collecting and families	Research Gate
Cowpea	X				Grown on small plots of land Nutritious Less labour-intensive than tomato	AICCRA
Sweet potato	X				Market access	AICCRA

Gender-responsive climate smart practices and technologies

Gender-responsive CSA	West Africa	East Africa	Latin America	Asia	Gender-responsive dimensions	Source
Irrigation			X	X	Reduces workload	CCAFS
Water meters				X	Reduces workload	CCAFS
Solar pumps				X	Reduces workload Women can play a role in decision making	CCAFS
DSR				X	Reduces women’s labour Allows diversification	CCAFS
Rice drum seeder				X	Reduces women's labour Increases production and incomes	CCAFS
Raised bed planting				X	Generates income	CCAFS
Green manuring				X	Potential to decrease workloads Organic fertilizer	Springer
Crop diversification / veg gardens	X	X	X	X	Increased income Dietary diversity	CCAFS
Market gardening	X	X	X	X	Surplus sold at market Safety net for farmers against market pressures and climate risks	CIFOR-ICRAF
Intercropping / agroforestry	X		X	X	Crop diversification for household nutrition and markets	CCAFS
Nutrient expert app	X				Capacity development Supports decision making	CCAFS
Green seeker app	X				Capacity development Supports decision making	CCAFS
Leaf colour chart	X				Capacity development Supports decision making	CCAFS
Integrated farming system	X				Increases livestock and crop options for women Dietary diversification	CCAFS
Intercropping	X	X	X	X	Dietary diversity Market production	CCAFS
Agroforestry		X			Dietary diversity Increased decision making Crop diversification for household nutrition and markets	Science Direct
Terraces and Desho grass		X			Additional income Improved yields Food diversity	CCAFS
Livestock (pig, poultry, sheep and goats)	X	X	X	X	Dairy and meat are high in nutrition	CCAFS
Contour farming	X	X		X	Increased productivity and income	CCAFS
Fallowing		X			Practised more frequently in households where women farmers were interviewed	Science Direct
Indoor piped drinking water				X	Women’s earnings increase Health improvements Children’s health and education outcomes improve	ADB
Harvesting cocoa waste				X	Enables the creation of a sustainable micro enterprise to encourage adoption of shaded cocoa production to generate biomass (waste) for organic compost production	T & F Online
Cooperatives - producer organizations	X			X	Empower women to be dairy producers by changing norms about who can participate in the sector Increases decision-making by women in milk and dairy sectors Farmer-based organisations also promote women’s access to extension through participation in meetings. Enhance women’s contact with extension services and their access to climate information services	Frontiers
VSLAs - Village savings and loans associations	X				Enhances access to capital	Research Gate

Other resources

Reducing rural women’s domestic workload through labour-saving technologies and practices	IFAD
How to do note: Design of gender transformative smallholder agriculture adaptation programmes	IFAD
Integrated promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment: economic empowerment, decision-making and workloads	IFAD
Gender-responsive CSA: the sub-Saharan Africa experience	AICCRA
Gender-smart agriculture: What, why and how	AICCRA
Gender transformation through GSI scaling	AICCRA

2023 CORAF Market for Agricultural Innovations and Technologies (MITA)

The CORAF Market for Agricultural Innovations and Technologies (MITA) conference (12-15 September 2023 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso) will highlight and disseminate agricultural innovations and technologies.

The MITA conference is an opportunity for research, the private and public sector and potential users of technologies and innovations to meet, present innovations to potential buyers, and where exchanges and reflections on major themes are organized.

This year’s conference has the theme of 'Gender and Nutrition-Sensitive Technologies', to focus on technologies and innovations that meet the specific needs of men, women, and young people for scaling up, in order to meet the food needs of populations and agro-industry in the region.