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Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook. The World Bank, Food and Agricultural Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development. Washington DC: The World Bank (2009), pp. 727 + 36pp. index, US$34.95. ISBN 978-0-8213-7587-7.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2009

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Abstract

Type
Book Review
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

It has been well known for decades that women produce the majority of food as well as some speciality crops in many parts of the world. Nonetheless, agricultural programmes, projects and policies continue to be directed towards men or include ineffective efforts to include women. The Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook provides well-organized, easy to use and clearly written information on why including women is important and how to do it effectively. Separate modules address 16 topics (e.g. crop agriculture, agricultural markets, agricultural water management, land policy, rural finance and livestock). Each module contains an overview, specialized thematic notes (e.g. gender in policy-making processes, gender-responsive titling, gender and soil productivity management, family-based systems for aquaculture development in Asia and rural financial products), and innovative activity profiles from successful projects (e.g. Honduras: A Pilot Project Protects Women's Rights to Productive Resources; Tanzania: Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Development, and Malaysia: Community E Centers) with lessons learned and what is innovative in the project clearly identified. The peer-reviewed overviews and thematic notes are written by gender and topic experts (both scholars and practitioners), and provide suggestions for further readings representing a good selection of the gender and agricultural literature. While intended for practitioners and policy makers, the Sourcebook would also be suitable for undergraduate and beginning postgraduate classes. The most important take home message in this volume is that ‘gender neutral’ projects and policies are not gender neutral at all. To the contrary, gender neutral almost always means women will be forgotten, excluded by default. Agricultural development and creating food security requires the active participation of all manner of women farmers. The Sourcebook is an excellent tool to help achieve this. A well-used copy should be on the desk of everyone concerned about agricultural production and natural resource management, including experimental researchers.