Knowledge

The causes of gender discrimination pervade different aspects of our lives – social, economic, political, environmental – affecting gender roles and relations in domestic, productive and public domains and from the local to the international level. Time-bound development projects need to
address the cross-cutting and multifaceted nature of gender inequality through multiple entry points.

Interventions in the agricultural sector to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) mainly focus on strengthening women’s economic opportunities and decision-making capacities as farmers or in groups. However, the same women often remain disempowered within the household.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target an interrelated set of issues that must be addressed to eradicate hunger and poverty and ensure a future in which no one is left behind. This year’s High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) focuses on “Transformation towards sustainable
and resilient societies”. The SDGs relating to water (SDG6), energy (SDG7), human settlements (SDG11), responsible consumption and production (SDG12), life on land (SDG15) and partnerships (SDG17) will be under in-depth review. In that context, the rural world – where most poor and hungry people live – deserves special attention.

Agriculture begins with seed. Without seed, there can be no crops and no food production. When harvests fail or seed stocks are lost, seed insecurity ensues, which can reduce food security and livelihoods. 

This How To Do Note (HTDN) in this toolkit on Supporting Smallholder Seed Systems tackles the complexities of seed systems, setting out a process to support national agricultural policy decision makers, national and international development agencies and IFAD Country Programme Managers (CPMs) in the design and supervision of seed-related projects. The other publications in this toolkit are the Teaser and Lessons Learned.

This publication, Lessons Learned, presents some key lessons from the experiences of IFAD and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and other seed-related development projects. These lessons will help the reader of the How To Do Note (HTDN) to have a greater understanding and appreciation of the framework for analysing national seed systems and how to use the HTDN to inform the design and implementation of more effective seed projects.

This paper challenges the traditional view that portrays income maximization as the main driver of migration and tests whether relative deprivation and social inequality lead to migration in sub-Saharan Africa. Examining data from the Living Standards Measurements Study – Integrated Surveys in Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda, the paper finds that a household’s migration decision is based not only on its well-being status, but also on the position of the household relative to the wealth distribution in the local community. Results indicate that relative deprivation of wealth was positively associated with migration, implying a need to renew the discussion of relative deprivation and social inequality as a cause of migration in sub-Saharan Africa.

Among ecosystems services, freshwater is one of the most fundamental for life. For smallholders, water means the difference between a decent life and poverty, hunger and malnutrition. 

This publication seeks to provide development practitioners, governmental and non-governmental organizations and agencies with insights into the case studies on overcoming the challenges that young people face in diverse contexts. 

Peru has made great strides in poverty reduction over the past decade, leading to a significant decline in the national poverty rate from 42.4 per cent in 2004 to 20.7 per cent in 2015. Nevertheless, by 2016 the gap between rural and urban poverty had tripled, at 44 per cent versus 14 per cent. Income inequality among Peruvian households remained virtually unchanged between 2004 and 2015. The most salient result is differential access by urban and rural people to education, health care, financial services and productive assets.