Innovations in Gender Equality (IGE) to Promote Household Food Security Program

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Funded By
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Impact Area
Western Kenya – Siaya and Vihiga Counties
Dates
November 2012 – September 2014
The Innovations in Gender Equality to Promote Household Food Security (IGE) Project was a two-year project, awarded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Implemented by International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) in partnership with AGMARK in Western Kenya (Siaya and Vihiga Counties), from November 2012 – September 2014. It was awarded within the overarching framework of the Feed the Future Program of USAID.
A dedicated farmer in a rural African field inspects young corn crops, highlighting gender equality's role in household food security

Goal

To promote gender equality and women's empowerment in the agricultural sector by Designing, implementing and evaluating an innovative gender responsive capacity development intervention that enhances Agrodealers client orientation, support to Farmer input savings and loans (FISLs) and Women farmer leadership

Objectives

  • To strengthen agro-dealers' skills in supporting FISLs and promoting gender equality.
  • To increase women and men farmers' purchase of inputs by catalyzing savings through FISLs.
  • To empower women farmers through targeted trainings and on-going support on leadership, group strengthening and governance.
  • To generate and disseminate learning on the effectiveness of different models of agro-dealer and FISL capacity building as a means of better addressing women farmers' needs, preferences and constraints in agricultural activity.

Activities

  • Conducted formative and Baseline Surveys.
  • Trained Agrodealers on Business Management.
  • Farmer Group Members trained on governance, FISL, gender dynamics and gender equality in agricultural decision-making.
  • Assigned Agrodealers and Farmer groups to 'Intervention arms'.
  • Trained Community mobilizers.
  • Conducted demand creation activities i.e. demo establishment and field days.

Key Achievements

30
Agrodealers Trained
96
Farmer Groups Developed
1,920
Smallholder farmers in groups
23
Demonstration plots established-Improved seed & Fertilizer
17
Field Days/Exhibitions Conducted
10
Agricultural Input supply Companies Participating