Special journal issue details gender-responsive agriculture in Africa

A special issue of the journal Sustainability presents results-oriented publications of gender-responsive agricultural approaches towards critical food crops in sub-Saharan Africa.

The collection involves new findings from fellows and mentors in the Gender-responsive Researchers Equipped for Agricultural Transformation (GREAT) project. GREAT centers around interdisciplinary gender training for agricultural researchers to take new approaches to their research and to deliver equitable outcomes for all women, men and youth. The project offers mainstream and custom courses to fit the diverse needs of partners.

“The GREAT approach to gender-responsive agricultural research training differs substantially from previous training models, notably in the emphasis on interdisciplinarity, the length of the courses, and the combined focus on personal reflection, theory, and methods,” wrote the editors in the preface to the issue.

Since 2015, GREAT has trained over 346 researchers from 75 institutions and 30 countries. The research in the special issue explores gender-responsive results related to critical food crops, including bananas, cassava, cowpea, rice and sorghum in Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Uganda.

• Stressors and Resilience within the Cassava Value Chain in Nigeria: Preferred Cassava Variety Traits and Response Strategies of Men and Women to Inform Breeding
  Olamide Olaosebikan, Abolore Bello, Obaiya Utoblo, Benjamin Okoye, Nathaniel Olutegbe, Elisabeth Garner, Béla Teeken, Elizabeth Bryan, Lora Forsythe, Steven Cole, Peter Kulakow, Chiedozie Egesi, Hale Tufan and Tessy Madu
• Access and Control of Resources and Participation in Rice-Breeding Activities among Men and Women Farmers in Southern Ghana
  Bright Owusu Asante, Ranjitha Puskur, Elizabeth Garner, Margaret Najjingo Mangheni, Richard Adabah, Maxwell Darko Asante, Benedicta Nsiah Frimpong and Stephen Prah
• Why Gender Matters in Breeding: Lessons from Cooking Bananas in Uganda
  Losira Nasirumbi Sanya, Reuben Tendo Ssali, Mary Gorreth Namuddu, Miriam Kyotalimye, Pricilla Marimo and Sarah Mayanja
• Exploring Gender Differences in the Role of Trait Preferences among Stakeholders in the Rice Value Chain in Ghana
  Bright Owusu Asante,Benedicta Nsiah Frimpong, Maxwell Darko Asante, Stephen Prah, Stephen John Ayeh, Bernard Sakyiamah, Negussie Zenna,Gaudiose Mujawamariya and Hale Ann Tufan
• Participatory Evaluation of Sorghum Processing and Sensory Attributes in Mali: Methodology for Improving Food Security Outcomes from Variety Development Efforts
  Krista Isaacs, Marjolein Smit, Bakary Samaké, Fred Rattunde, Fatimata Cissé, Abdoulaye Diallo, Mamourou Sidibe and Eva Weltzien
• Importance of the Social Structures in Cowpea Varietal Demands for Women and Men Farmers in Segou Region, Mali
  Almamy Sylla, Jummai Othniel Yila, Sory Diallo and Sékou Traoré

This is the second special issue detailing key learnings from the first phase of GREAT. The first issue in 2021 detailed pedagogy and model design, participant engagement and mentoring, training team composition and competencies, community of practice, and fellow engagement.