Early this year, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) commissioned a team of consultants to support the CGIAR research program on Livestock and Fish in designing and developing a comprehensive tool for gender capacity assessment. The tool was designed around a methodology which can be used by gender researchers and scientists to assess partner’s individual skillsets and their institutional capacities to conduct strategic and integrated gender research.

The objective of the tool is to guide the process of analysing the current gender capacities against desired future gender capacities of the program’s partners in four value chain countries (Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Nicaragua), and to subsequently design tailor-made capacity development interventions per country.

On 15 October 2015, ILRI and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) together with the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) joined hands to demonstrate their commitment to integrate gender in agricultural programs by sharing the gender capacity assessment methodology and tools developed by the Livestock and Fish program. The results and experiences from gender capacity assessment of the small ruminant value chain partners were also shared with staff at ATA to stimulate interest in and appreciation of the methodology and tools.

During the event, training was conducted using the tool, to assess gender capacities of staff at the ATA. The training which took place at the ATA office in Addis Ababa was attended by 14 staff members (9 females and 5 males) from different programs. Participants underscored the importance of recording qualitative data to complement the final scores. They expressed the need for clear guidelines on selection of people to engage in the focus group discussion since composition might influence the responses. Participants also appreciated the need for good facilitation skills and thought that collection of data from more than one focus group discussion within an organization with groups of staffs at different levels would generate more realistic information.

The meeting organizers highlighted that the assessment was useful for triggering subsequent actions towards development of ATA staff gender capacities. This activity also presented an opportunity for the three institutions to strengthen their collaboration in pushing forward the gender agenda.

The meeting was facilitated by Annet Mulema and Shiferaw Tafesse from ILRI-Ethiopia, Wole Kinati from ICARDA-Addis Ababa, and Diana Brandes and Seblewongel Deneke from ATA

Download a brief on the use of a gender capacity assessment and development methodology and tools in the Ethiopia small ruminant value chain project.

The activity was funded through the Livestock and Fish CRP and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-funded SmaRT Ethiopia Project – Improving the Performance of Pro-Poor Sheep and Goat Value Chains for Enhanced Livelihoods, Food and Nutrition Security in Ethiopia.