Gender and Development

Nepal

Loan 2102-NEP: Community Managed Irrigated Agriculture Sector, 2004¹

Background:

With a per capita income of around $241, 39% of Nepal's population live under poverty and 48% of Nepal's children are chronically malnourished (2002). Over 90% of the poor live in rural areas and poverty is more concentrated among smallholders and landless people and among ethnic minorities and dalit (occupational castes at the lowest stratum of Hindu social hierarchy). Agriculture contributes 39% of GDP, but it plays a central role in the livelihood of the poor, providing employment for over 80% of the active workforce and meeting their nutritional needs. Yet productivity remains low and largely subsistence oriented due to

1. difficult terrain conditions vulnerable to natural calamities such as floods and landslides
2. poor physical capital base such as irrigation and rural roads
3. limited access to inputs, output markets, and financial services
4. low technology base and weak extension
5. insufficient governance of public institutions to deliver development services to a socially diverse and disadvantaged population

Due to the highly erratic rainfall pattern in Nepal, irrigation is an essential input to improve agricultural productivity. The Community Managed Irrigated Agriculture Sector project (CMIASP) is based on the lessons learned from three earlier ADB initiatives and focuses on improving the performance of existing small and medium size farmer managed irrigation systems thereby enhancing the livelihoods of poor men and women including ethnic minorities and disadvantaged castes. The executing agency for CMIASP is the Department of Irrigation (DOI). CMIASP is a targeted intervention with economic growth, governance and gender and development thematic priorities.

Top

Objectives and Scope:

The goal of CMIASP is to promote inclusive economic growth while reducing poverty in rural areas of Central and Eastern Development regions. The purpose is to improve agricultural productivity and sustainability of existing small and medium size farmer managed irrigation systems (FMIS) suffering from low productivity and high poverty incidence and thus enhance the livelihoods of poor men and women, including ethnic minorities and dalit. To achieve this objective, the Project will (i) provide improved means for WUA empowerment, irrigation facilities, agriculture extension, and targeted livelihood enhancement to build the human capital of the poor including women and traditionally neglected groups; and, strengthen policies, plans and institutions for more responsive service delivery and sustained impacts. CMIASP has two main components:

1. Participatory Irrigated Agriculture Development for FMIS:
1. Participatory planning and beneficiary mobilization through strengthened water user associations (WUAs) that are able to receive investment support and enhance agriculture production
2. community based irrigation and associated infrastructure designed in consultation with WUAs and simple structures constructed by the WUAs with DOI support
3. agriculture development enhanced through agricultural extension services to improve farmer productivity and targeted livelihood enhancement activities to improve productivity of women, the landless and dalit
4. support for sustainable operation and maintenance of irrigation systems


2. Policy Dialogue, Institutional Strengthening and Project Management
1. advisory support provided for national-level reforms in the agriculture and water resources sectors, as well as to promote irrigation policy, plan and institutional strengthening
2. advisory support to establish operational guidelines for FMIS and accountability measures for project institutions to improve management, monitoring and quality control for FMIS renovation
3. capacity building training of project personnel and stakeholders

Top

Framework for GAD Activities:

In Nepal, 91% of economically active women are engaged in agricultural work compared to men's 64%. Women's involvement is highest in the hills and mountains, in small and marginal households, and lower in the terai (plains) amongst high caste groups. Women's role in irrigated agriculture is becoming more important as able-bodied male family members continue to migrate out of rural areas in search of more lucrative employment elsewhere. In areas of high agriculture growth, the demand for wage labor is increasing and is a critical source of income for poor women. CMIASP potentially will benefit women as it directs investments in the poor rural areas of the central and eastern Nepal.

However, in irrigation systems, access to water is closely related to the social context and power structures. Differential access reflects existing social relationships in terms of caste, ethnicity and gender. While the physical FMIS improvements provide an opportunity to establish equal rights to irrigation water use through WUAs, it does not establish the necessary user capacity to manage the renovated systems. The Project will promote new approaches to more equitable resource distribution and modification of gender relations through:

• Policy measures to equalize opportunities and access to irrigation
• Increase in WUA capacity to promote good governance such as representation, participatory decision-making and equitable benefit distribution
• Specific activities that target women and disadvantaged groups
• Compliance with social safeguard measures before initiating any construction work

Top

Gender Inclusive Design:

At the time of loan processing, the Government was revising its irrigation policy which provided an opportunity to increase women's access to irrigated agricultural technology through the CMIASP. The policy was revised to increase women's representation from 20% to 33% in the registered WUAs. During loan appraisal, the project design was modified to include an action research and pilot implementation of innovative non-conventional micro-irrigation systems based on the positive results of a pilot demonstration activity that improved impacts on women and poverty reduction. A Gender Action Plan was prepared and covenanted for CMIASP with the following features:

1. Participatory Irrigated Agriculture Development for FMIS:

Key strategies will include capability training to ensure participatory skills are developed and used through applied learning techniques, promotion of farmer-to-farmer learning, support to decentralization in planning, implementation and follow-up of training and construction activities, and special consideration to gender mainstreaming and environmental mitigation in all activities. A gender and poverty specialist will be recruited, along with a participatory development training specialist and a social mobilization specialist, to facilitate participatory processes at all levels.

In particular,

1. the social mobilization process will aim to increase women's participation rate up in WUGs to at least 33% as required by the new irrigation policy. Gender sensitization training will be provided to all WUA members and leadership training to women to facilitate their active participation in WUA activities
2. each field channel group will have at least 35% women farmers to receive irrigated agricultural extension in line with the MOAC's policy on women's representation
3. special programs will be developed for women in agriculture and water management and included in the district gender action plans to provide direct guidance at the local level
4. at least 35% women or female centered households will have access to non conventional irrigation schemes such as drip and sprinkler, and water harvesting to increase production on small plots of land with very small investment
5. microfinance will be made available to women through NGOs to support livelihood activities and improve the productivity of women


2. Policy Dialogue, Institutional Strengthening and Project Management:

Gender inclusive policy development will be pursued by undertaking two regional and one national workshop in conjunction with the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC), the National Planning Commission and the National Women's Commission.

To strengthen institutional capacities and project management on GAD issues

1. a local gender and poverty specialist will be employed at DOI to support all gender related activities
2. gender specialists will be recruited by NGOs/ firms to work closely with the Women Development Officers of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MWCSW) and the District Development Committee (DDC) gender focal point to support gender mainstreaming activities at the district level
3. gender issues will be included in all training activities in addition to specific gender sensitization training to be provided to all stakeholders including DOI, DOA, DDC (senior and mid level government officials involved in extension and field level interaction) all WUA members, and NGOs/firms
4. gender disaggregated information will be collected in irrigation and agriculture activities in baseline survey of each district and ensuring that this data is included in subproject planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
5. at least two decision making positions on WUA management committee will be encouraged to go to women in areas where there has already been progress in increasing women's participation
6. partner NGOs/firms will be required to have at least 50% women field staff; and (vii) at least 50% female Community Organizers will be recruited to enhance outreach and benefits to women farmers

Top

Guidance on GAD Activities:

The project expects to increase labor requirements to 5.03 million person days annually of which 58% are additional female employment opportunities. This will increase income earning opportunities for women and men, and reduce the need for male migration with positive impacts on women and improved family well-being. Increased agricultural yield is expected to enhance food security, enhance nutritional intake, and improve employment opportunities for both women and men, thereby contribute to achieving sector goals. The Nepal Gender Specialist will work in close collaboration with the DOI to monitor project implementation including the specific activities outlined in the Gender Action Plan to ensure that these expected impacts are achieved.