Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agricultural Extension Services: A Facilitator’s Guide

The project aimed to increase the productivity of their assets and income from agriculture, ensuring their own and family members' nutrition and health. The project was led by Jan Henderson and Kathleen E. Colverson, and it was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agricultural Extension Services Project. The project was implemented by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in partnership with the University of California-Davis, the University of Florida, and Cultural Practice, LLC. The project developed a facilitator's guide to help public, private, and non-governmental organization (NGO) extension providers strengthen their capacity to address gender in a transformative manner and to integrate nutrition sensitivity in designing and facilitating workshops and trainings for men and women farmers. The guide was designed to be a template or framework for facilitators to adapt and modify to their distinct cultural and agricultural settings. The facilitator's guide was organized by a series of sessions, each with a specific focus and learning objectives. The sessions included introductions, exploring gender myths, examining power hierarchies, and creating agricultural value chains for small-scale, subsistence enterprises. The guide also included sample workshop announcements, agendas, and evaluations to help facilitators plan and implement their workshops. The project's approach to integrating gender and nutrition into agricultural extension services was based on a Training of Trainers (TOT) focus, encouraging a multiplier effect with participants sharing the knowledge and skills within their individual organizations. The guide assumed that two people would be facilitating the workshop, alternating between sessions, with one person capturing participants' responses and/or notes on what to improve for future workshops. The project's goal was to provide practical, action-oriented tools and exercises for extension providers to use in the field to promote gender equity related to nutrition and agricultural production. The project's outcomes included increased capacity among extension providers to address gender in a transformative manner and to integrate nutrition sensitivity in their work. The project's impact was measured through the facilitators' ability to identify the characteristics of an effective extension facilitator/trainer, examine the roles and responsibilities of men and women within the rural household, on the farm, and in the community, and explore gender myths and their impact on the lives of women/girls and men/boys. The project also aimed to analyze the amount and type of food available to members of a "typical" rural household, discuss the components of a nutritionally balanced meal, and create an agricultural value chain for small-scale, subsistence enterprises. The project's outcomes and impact were evaluated through pre- and post-workshop evaluations, which assessed participants' ability to complete specific activities and their understanding of gender and nutrition concepts. The project's evaluation also included a post-workshop evaluation, which assessed participants' ability to apply their knowledge and skills in their work. Overall, the Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agricultural Extension Services project aimed to empower women to make agricultural production and marketing decisions, increase their productivity and income, and ensure their own and family members' nutrition and health. The project's approach was based on a Training of Trainers (TOT) focus, and its outcomes and impact were measured through pre- and post-workshop evaluations.