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The most exciting things in science often happen when two disciplines meet for the first time, or when two complementary groups join together.  It seems the stars are aligned, as we’re happy to report a new partnership on gender and climate (change).  Agricultural and climate scientists from CIAT and CCAFS have joined forces with gender experts in the University of Florida to explore and unravel the links of gender and climate change.  Last week an agreement was signed during a visit of CIAT Director General Dr. Ruben Echeverria with the University of Florida to work on the following objective:

Contribute to the design of  processes, technologies and related policy and institutional frameworks for the adaptation of farming systems in the face of future climate uncertainties that reduce gender disparities in critical vulnerabilities, reduce female drudgery and improve incomes for resource-poor men and women. Specifically, we’re interested in exploring the gender dimensions along agricultural supply chains.

Leading the collaboration is Dr. Carmen Diana Deere, a renowned Latin American gender research expert from the University of Florida, who will bridge to CIAT’s incoming  postdoctoral research fellow on gender (Jennifer Twyman, currently finishing her PhD in U. of Florida).  The joint work will contribute to CCAFS ambitious targets to really make headway on bridging the gender gap through careful analysis of the social differentiation implications of different climate smart agricultural interventions.  The CCAFS gender strategy outlines how this might happen.

This collaboration has come about thanks to Dr. Jacqueline Ashby from the CGIAR Consortium Office, who is supporting CIAT build up its gender analysis research, and focus our work on the issues that really will make a difference.  Watch this space as we operationalise this collaboration.

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