Seeds of Change

April 01, 2019 — April 04, 2019

Gender Equality Through Agricultural Research for Development

On April 2 through 4, the CGIAR gender community will come together in Canberra, Australia for our annual scientific conference – Seeds of Change: gender equality through agricultural research for development.

This year, for the first time, the conference will convene jointly with partners – the University of Canberra and the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). As part of the conference, more than 250 researchers and practitioners will participate, 100 of which from CGIAR.

Six themes will define the conference, three of which will be lead by CGIAR researchers:

1. Gender and Equity for Nutritious and Healthy Food Systems - Hazel Malapit, Gender Research Coordinator CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), Platform Advisory Committee member, IFPRI.

2. Gender, Agricultural Productivity and Rural Transformation - – Cheryl Doss, Gender Flagship Leader, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), Oxford University.

3. Cultivating Equality: Bringing Evidence from the Field to Close the Agricultural Gender Gap

4. Men, Masculinity and Changing Rural Economies

5. Labour and Production Relations

6. Gender Integration in Agri-food Systems Research for Development- Ranjitha Puskur, Gender research Coordinator, CGIAR Research Program on Rice, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), AND, Cynthia McDougall, Gender Research Coordinator, CGIAR Research program on Fish, WorldFish.

WLE at Seeds of Change

Practice Workshop: A gender transformative approach in agrifood systems: What, Why and How? - Cynthia McDougall, Lone Badstue, Afrina Choudhury, Steven Cole, Marlene Elias (Bioversity International)

Sessions at Seeds of Change, featuring our partners

Opportunities and constraints to youth involvement in small scale fisheries and aquaculture and youth aspirations: A case study of Kyon Ka Dun Village in the Irrawaddy Delta - Indika Arulingam (IWMI)

Women’s empowerment in agriculture: Lessons from qualitative research - Ruth Meinzen-Dick (IFPRI)

Convening of the Gender and Water Community of Practice

There is increasing consensus that business as usual in agriculture is not in the best interests of the planet nor its people, prompting radical transformations to ensure sustainable agriculture intensification (SAI).

At this critical point in agricultural history, we consider: How does a focus on water, inclusion and gender contribute to the wider agenda of SAI and sustainable irrigation intensification (SII)?

Please join the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems and the International Water Management Institute for a convening of the new Gender and Water Community of Practice, panel and discussion on the dual goals of equity and sustainability.

In this session, five panelists will present key perspectives on Sustainable Intensification and the benefits of viewing equity and sustainability within a waterscape lens. Attendees will be encouraged to take part in the following discussion in creating messages and key actions for the community.