IFAD ESA
Division workshop explores links between climate change, gender and land tenure
projects and programmes
By Katie
Taft
On the
occasion of World Food Day, 16 October, the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Kanayo F. Nwanze said: “on this World FoodDay, let us renew our commitment to a world without hunger.”
At the same time and more than 5000 kilometres away in a small conference room in Nairobi, Kenya, more than 30 development practitioners from across the East and Southern Africa region gathered to do just that by looking at the linkages between climate change, land tenure and gender empowerment.
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Saint-Ange speaks about importance of linking knowledge
to action
across climate change, gender and land issues. ©IFAD/Ann Turinayo
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In addition
to looking at the cross-cutting thematic areas, IFAD’s regional team in East
and Southern Africa are hosting this forum to provide an opportunity to discuss
the design and implementation of the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP) among the country teams from Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi,
Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda.
There was
some question if we should have this forum in Nairobi,” Saint-Ange said,
referring to the attack at a local mall several weeks ago. “Despite the
difficulty that this city was exposed to and our staff felt here, we will not
let this distract us and we will not run away. In fact, this has only increased
our resolve to remain and work harder.”
Saint-Ange
said that beyond recent upset in the city, Nairobi is a perfect location for a
forum of this kind, considering that three technical staff – each in gender,
land and climate change – are working out of the regional office here. He said
that for a long time climate change, gender and land tenure sat in their own
silos with few connections made when designing projects and programmes. But
now, the experience of IFAD, and in particularly of the regional office in
Nairobi, is showing that there are ways to exploit and expand upon inherent
linkages between the three disciplines.
“We put a
lot of pressure on governments to coordinate and to link up their work,” he
said. “At IFAD we are moving towards an integrated approach, which will be
crucial as we move forward into a post-2015 world.”
Nadine
Gbossa, the IFAD country programme manager of Kenya, said the time is ripe for
linking up the three areas when designing projects and programmes, not only in
Kenya, but also across the continent.
“The
challenge is even bigger for Africa due to high reliance on rain-fed
agriculture, our lower capacity to resist, recover and adapt to climate
change,” she said. “But we also know that Africa has the means to meet this
challenge.”
Over the
three-day forum, IFAD country and
project staff and partners from WFP, FAO, UN-Habitat and CGIAR will hear about
best practices and existing tools and instruments across all three areas, in an
attempt to, according to Saint-Ange, “link knowledge to action.” At the same
time, the forum will also explore ways to overcome challenges such as the
complex policy landscape that differs from country to country.
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The "nightmare" policy environment that Saint-Ange
says to turn into a "dream". ©IFAD
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“All of our
planning to now has been happening in a nightmarish kind of environment that is
difficult to navigate,” Saint-Ange said, referring to one of the presentation
slides on climate change and land policy. “As much as we must link gender, land
and climate change when designing programmes, we have to unbundle these policy
issues in order to move forward quickly where we can make dreams come true.”
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