Skip to main content

Tag: gender and social inclusion

Planting seeds for bringing youth into agriculture

Written by Richa Sharma Puri on . Posted in Blogs.

When it comes time to consider career plans, very few young people even consider agriculture as an option. Many young people believe urban areas offer more profitable jobs with less physical labor. However, agriculture in India is evolving every single day. New digital innovations and cutting-edge technologies are making farming more profitable and smarter.

To deliberate on young people’s challenges and solutions to address them, a parallel session was held during the CGIAR GENDER conference, From Research to Impact: Towards Just and Resilient Agri-food Systems, October 9–12, 2023, in New Delhi, India.

In the four-day conference, gender researchers and practitioners from 68 countries shared their perspectives, knowledge and skills about improving gender inclusion in food systems. The conference served as a platform where policymakers, practitioners and private sector actors came together to share the goal of equitable food-systems transformation. They aimed to bridge the gap between research and practice and foster gender-equal and socially inclusive, resilient food systems.

Technology and combined efforts from academia, industry and the government will continue to play critical roles in collectively attracting young people toward these new, innovative ideas in agriculture. Agricultural education can, therefore, play a profound role in shaping the future of sustainable agriculture in India.

Panelists L-R: Neerja Prabhakar, SKLTSHU, Hyderabad; Dorte Thorsen, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex; P.S. Pandey, RPCAU Samastipur, Bihar; R.C. Agrawal, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad; Laura Estelle Yeyinou Loko, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Biosciences et Biotechnologies Appliquées (ENSBBA); Geethalakshmi Vellingiri, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University; Seema Jaggi, ICAR.

How academia can enable opportunities for youth

S. Pandey, vice-chancellor of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Bihar, shared his thoughts on addressing youth-centric issues in agriculture. He emphasized that artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly vital because of its many applications and benefits and that it can help youth to use the power of big data and the internet.

“Use of AI can change the entire scenario: technology-driven agriculture is the need of the hour. New tools and techniques are important to address the current challenges where youth can be at center stage,” he said.

In addition, Geethalakshmi Vellingiri, vice-chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) said, “Agriculture is looked at as manual, hard work, and not as a lucrative job, which makes it unattractive to youth. TNAU is starting One Student One Farm Family linkage for the first-year students. In this model, students will get to know about the issues being faced by the farmers in the field. They will then link the farmer to the scientist for probable solutions, thus bridging the gap.”

Government’s role in shaping policy

“Students are unaware of the different dimensions of agriculture; hence, their inclination towards agriculture education is not much,” said R. C. Agrawal, deputy director general of the Agricultural Education Division of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and moderator of the youth careers session. “ICAR is designing a new agriculture-based curriculum for primary, middle and secondary levels to attract more youth. ICAR has initiated its efforts towards integrating the agriculture world with this new education policy.”

Industry opening doors for youth in agriculture

Ch. Srinivasa Rao, director of ICAR’s National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM), Hyderabad, spoke about the importance of industry. “The youth, both men and women, should be sensitized towards the agrifood sector. Start-ups can help to attract youths’ attention. We should characterize farms as an industry, farming as a business and the farmer as a businessperson. If this orientation doesn’t occur, livelihoods cannot be improved, and youth retention in agriculture won’t be achieved.”

Empowering women smallholder farmers in Africa with climate-resilient and nutritious maize varieties

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Blogs.

In the vast landscapes of sub-Saharan Africa, where agriculture is the backbone of many communities, the quest for improved maize varieties is a vital step for ensuring food security in the face of climate change. Women, who represent approximately half the clients of maize breeding programs, have been essential in the realm of agricultural research. While significant gender-based differences in trait preferences exist in many African-staple crops, these appear less drastic in maize. However, there are gendered differences in management practices and productivity in maize-based systems.

After decades of work on maize improvement projects, CIMMYT has made a bigger commitment to researching, supporting and delivering drought and heat tolerant maize to smallholders in Zimbabwe. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Recognizing the need to bridge this gap, the CIMMYT-NARES (National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems) regional maize breeding networks in eastern and southern Africa have embarked on a transformative journey to empower farmers, especially women, through their innovative approach to maize breeding. The breeding networks are focused on ensuring smallholder farmers have access to a steady stream of climate-resilient and nutritionally enriched maize varieties that thrive in today’s stress-prone environments. To ensure these new maize varieties meet the needs of diverse users, including women, the breeding networks continue to adapt approaches to increase gender-responsiveness.

Linking science with the realities on the ground

Testing the performance of potential new maize hybrids coming from the breeding pipelines within farmers’ realities is critical to the ultimate success of these new varieties. In collaboration with over 400 farmers in southern Africa, the CIMMYT-NARES maize breeding network conducts extensive on-farm trials to evaluate the performance of these new maize varieties. A similar approach is adopted in eastern Africa. What sets these trials apart is the fact that over 40% of these trials are led by female plot managers. Farmers evaluate these varieties within the context of their own realities, including their own management practices, and provide valuable feedback to the breeding teams on the potential of new varieties.

By involving women in decision-making processes, CIMMYT-NARES networks ensure that their preferences and needs are considered when selecting the most promising hybrids for product advancement, announcement to partners, varietal releases and ultimately commercialization. This inclusive approach not only empowers women but also harnesses the collective knowledge and experience of the farming community. CIMMYT’s research recently showed that there is a relatively high degree of joint management within maize plots, and since 2022, the on-farm trials included a target of approximately 30% jointly managed plots.

Gender is only one axis of social difference that impacts agricultural production, variety selection, and end uses. Social differences including marital status, age, education level, ethnicity, wealth, access to capital, market access and livelihood orientation do play a role in the adoption of new varieties and farm productivity. By embracing the diversity within farming communities, CIMMYT-NARES networks are actively working towards understanding different farm types, while ensuring that the improved maize varieties are tailored to meet the diverse demands of the regions.

As the CIMMYT-NARES maize breeding networks continue to make innovative strides in breeding climate-resilient and nutritionally enriched maize varieties, they are not only transforming agriculture but also empowering individuals and communities. Through collaborative efforts, with the woman farmer at the heart of the approach, they are paving the way for a future where farming communities can thrive and contribute to food and nutritional security.