Gender Mapping in the Wheat Value Chain. While efforts have been made in the past to map gender roles along various agricultural value chains, this does not seem to have been done for the wheat value chain. Additionally, the ability to design and implement social science research, such as gender-responsive value chain mapping, will enable universities and MAIL researchers to better target their research and extension efforts to audiences in each community based on current gender roles. XXXXX is currently partnering with Kabul University [redacted] and GRAIN’s XXX partner RSI to design and implement a wheat value chain assessment that is responsive to gender and family roles as well as responsive to regional differences to better understand the role of women along the wheat value chain, from production to processing and marketing. This study will draw extensively from secondary data and review of existing literature. Through this study, XXXXX will also have the opportunity to engage female university faculty and students as researchers, enumerators, and data analysts in a way that builds research capacity. To the extent possible, this study will sample communities in multiple agro-ecological zones. Through several coordination meetings with Kabul University’s [redacted], GRAIN and Kabul University have agreed for three Kabul University [redacted] to participate in the study. Significant progress on this activity is planned for Q2 during which time the study’s literature review, methodology, measurement instruments (surveys, focus group protocols, etc.) will be developed collaboratively with GRAIN, Kabul University, and [redacted] with student training to commence in March and data collection to commence in April, pending approval by MSU’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). The results of this research will inform future GRAIN activities. For example, the value chain mapping can be a resource used by University faculty or MSc and PhD candidates when preparing their research proposals. It will also be a key tool in helping ARIA determine how to prioritize research and extension materials that are gender responsive.
Gender Mapping in the Wheat Value Chain. GRAIN finalized a scope of work with the project’s M&E partner Rahman Safi International Consulting (RSI), to facilitate the Central Region Gender Mapping in the Wheat Value Chain Study, which commenced this quarter and will continue into the Q4. This activity aims to identify roles and power-dynamics in wheat production, processing, marketing, and consumption among men and women, to better target future research and outreach activities. Through a mixed method, exploratory approach, this study aims to map gender roles along the full wheat value chain in Central Afghanistan and to identify constraints and opportunities for women to participate in the value chain. Importantly, this study is being implemented as a capacity building activity by GRAIN, for researchers and students from KU’s Faculty of Agriculture. As such, GRAIN is providing training to faculty members and students, to prepare them to actively participate in study design, focus group facilitation, data collection, and qualitative data analysis. Roles and responsibilities of each party were developed early in the quarter, with the study implemented in three stages: literature review, workshop, and focus groups/interview sessions. The workshop was completed in the quarter. Fundamental to the study, an initial workshop was held 18 June, where 26 attendees (12 women; 14 men) from DAIL/MAIL and partner organizations (including NGOs, private sector providers, DAIL District extension representatives and vocational educational institutions) participated. The goal was to provide an updated gender map of the wheat value chain, with the output being utilized to inform primary research in the areas identified as those filled by women, as well as areas offering potential to be filled by women. For the workshop session, the facilitator divided participants into three main groups. Each group mapped women’s roles on flip charts, then presented findings to the broader group. Observations were exchanged, along with Q&A related discussions during the various presentations. The second phase of the study planned for Q4, involves implementation of more formal dialogue and focus groups in the field.
Gender Mapping in the Wheat Value Chain. The contributions of women in agriculture are often invisible or otherwise poorly recognized, especially in settings such as that of rural Afghanistan, where women’s work is largely home- based. This Kabul Gender Mapping in the Wheat Value Chain Study, a mixed-methods study, is intended to map gender roles in the wheat value chain through key informant interviews and focus groups with respondents from small and medium-size wheat farms in four key wheat producing districts of Kabul Province, Afghanistan. Constant comparative analysis was used to draw results from qualitative data. The field research was completed in PY2 through 12 focus groups, eight with women and four with men, nine to ten participants each (totaling 117 participants). In order to review and validate the results of the study field research conducted in PY2, a validation workshop was convened on 05 February in Kabul. The workshop brought together 22 individuals (five women), including Kabul university professors, district agriculture extension officers, and focus group discussion facilitators. The participants, all key contributors to the study, reviewed the analyzed results of the study (theme derived from qualitative Gender mapping study contributors gathered to analyze the study result for accuracy, Kabul data analysis), validated the results, and discussed recommendations to include in the report drawing from the results. Formal study results, now validated by the research team and participants, will be developed into a full written report by the end of Q3. Results indicate that both men and women view women’s roles as integral to adding value to wheat at various stages, including storage, washing and seed selection, cultivation, and harvest. Still, women are often overlooked by research and extension programming. Recommendations for practitioners and policymakers are further presented in the full paper. The participation of women proportional to that of men in the wheat value chain is shown in Figure 1, resulting from the first phase of stakeholder meetings on the wheat value chain in Kabul. Figure 1 Participation of women proportional to men in various processes of the wheat value chain in Afghanistan
