Gender and Development

Nepal

Crop Diversification Project, 2000

The Crop Diversification Project in Nepal, approved in 2000, aims to promote the production and marketing of agricultural crops with a particular focus on secondary crops in potential pocket areas based on a farmer group approach, thereby contributing to poverty reduction in the poverty stricken mid-western and far-western development regions.

The project components include:

• Provision on extension services for farmer groups
• Promotion of private extension services
• Promotion of client oriented research activities
• Project management support

During the project preparation, the social assessment revealed that DOA's training programs and extension services had not had any impact on the productivity of rural women because

• extension services did not fully take into account the gender division of labor
• gender bias in the provision of training and information
• absence of institutional support to women farmers

To address these issues, the project team, with the assistance of a Resident Mission Gender Specialist, prepared a Gender Implementation Strategy for the project, which is covenanted in the loan agreement. The Strategy includes provision to ensure that at least 35 percent of each pocket group of farmers benefiting from the project are women. Adult literacy classes will be held to enhance their participation. To ensure that gender is mainstreamed systematically in the project, at least one woman per field team will be recruited, and each Project Implementation Unit will have one women development officer. A local long-term development specialist will also be recruited to ensure co-ordination of their efforts, and the consulting team will include at least two women. Field teams will be provided with training on gender sensitisation, group mobilization and participatory assessment and planning. All project staff will be trained in gender mainstreaming, and consultant terms of reference will include gender- related aspects.

Sometimes measures designed for women at the project design stage get lost during implementation. To ensure that this does not happen in the Crop Diversification Project, indicators for social impact monitoring make particular reference to women's participation, capacity development and access to resources.