Strengthening gender-responsive training, research and education in Manica

Requesting party (and partners):

Institute of Agricultural Research (IIAM), Centro Zonal Central (CZC) (lead)

Instituto Agrário de Chimoio (IAC)

Consortium partners Q-point:

Project goal

Q-Point implements a training series for employees of the Institute of Agricultural Research (IIAM) and Instituto Agrário de Chimoio (IAC) focusing on applying tools and skills, intending to include gender in research and education.

The focus is mainly on learning by doing, through active participation of the participants during the training. We use workshops (tasks), group work and discussions for this, and after practicing with the various tools and frameworks, we perform practical work in the community.

The tailor-made training is designed to build institutional capacity to recognize and address gender realities within institutions and services. We do not lose sight of the corona pandemic, which affects the most vulnerable in the province of Manica.

Training contents

The training series begins by building consensus on why gender dynamics are important in decision-making, communication, stakeholder engagement and the design and implementation of interventions, as well as gender roles, gender identity, gender relations and institutionalized gender norms that influence how an intervention works, for who, under what circumstances, why and the degree of impact.

Nutritional approach

The emphasis in the training will be on a comprehensive nutritional approach and increasing economic opportunities for vulnerable groups. Gender equality is important for nutritional outcomes, as international evidence clearly shows that women’s empowerment is central to tackling malnutrition. We also focus on capturing gender-sensitive data, prioritization tools, management engagement and work plans for gender action.

As part of their education and training programmes, both institutions want to support skills training and agriculture improvement projects with rural women.