18 – 21 October, 2016 | Nairobi, Kenya
The goal of the workshop was to increase the relevance and benefits of plant and animal breeding to poor rural women producers in low-income countries, especially Africa. To this end, the workshop was designed to produce a synthesis of past success and promising novel approaches for incorporating gender considerations into the development of improved crop varieties and animal breeds.
The workshop aimed to identify the essential, “must have” ingredients of successful, gender- responsive breeding initiatives and to explore implications of the revolution in genomics for new opportunities and entry points in the breeding research cycle for effective integration of gender. This topic was addressed across crop, livestock and fish breeding.
Objectives
- Identify implications of the revolution in genomics for new opportunities and new entry points in the breeding research cycle for effective integration of gender;
- Analyse the types of research needed for breeding programs to define and address a target population of gender-differentiated beneficiaries as well as to target biophysical environments;
- Identify ways to improve gender-responsiveness and impact by sharing and harmonizing methods and approaches across commodities and regions;
- Learn from and build on successful cases;
- Identify gaps in the way in which Universities prepare breeders and social scientists to work together to ameliorate difficulties in properly addressing end user needs.
Participants
This included researchers, marketing experts and managers from diverse social and biophysical research fields and disciplines and a variety of international and national public and private sector Institutions. Participants presented case studies of different aspects of experience with integrating gender into breeding or keynote talks designed to stimulate debate from different viewpoints on the essential “must-haves” for success.
The workshop ran for four days and was organized to promote creative, cross-disciplinary interaction and exchange in different sessions that included:
Laying out the challenges and opportunities
The first session aimed to establish a common understanding and language among participants from social and biophysical sciences of the structure of a breeding program, the breeding cycle, the position of genomic selection (GS) within a breeding program, the rationale for characterizing and differentiating target beneficiary groups (or customers) especially in terms of gender and the stages of breeding when gender-related traits need to be considered.
Learning from case studies
Several sessions were interspersed throughout the program in which case studies were presented and analyzed to derive lessons and identify “must have” ingredients of success.
What are the implications of the revolution in genomics for effective integration of gender?
Speakers and panel discussants presented different approaches and viewpoints for further debate in small groups
What is needed for breeding programs to target gender-differentiated beneficiary populations as well as biophysical environments?
Speakers and panel discussants presented different approaches and view points for further debate in small groups.
Ways to improve gender-responsiveness and impact by sharing and harmonizing methods and approaches across commodities and regions
Participants discussed opportunities for use of approaches and methods of interest derived from case studies and presentations.
For more information, visit the CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research.