Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits

Small-scale irrigation is expanding rapidly in parts of the world, especially sub-Saharan Africa, offering smallholder farmers an opportunity to improve their livelihoods, diets, and resilience to climate change among other benefits. Growing research focuses on the potential for small-scale irrigati...

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Autores principales: Bryan, Elizabeth, Lefore, Nicole
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143400
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author Bryan, Elizabeth
Lefore, Nicole
author_browse Bryan, Elizabeth
Lefore, Nicole
author_facet Bryan, Elizabeth
Lefore, Nicole
author_sort Bryan, Elizabeth
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Small-scale irrigation is expanding rapidly in parts of the world, especially sub-Saharan Africa, offering smallholder farmers an opportunity to improve their livelihoods, diets, and resilience to climate change among other benefits. Growing research focuses on the potential for small-scale irrigation to offer a pathway for women’s empowerment, yet the factors conditioning the relationship between small-scale irrigation and women’s empowerment are not well understood. The evidence tends to be scattered across context-specific case studies that focus on targeted outcomes, without distinguishing between technology types, scales, or approaches to irrigation systems or technologies. This paper synthesizes the issues related to gender and small-scale irrigation using a conceptual framework that highlights the linkages between elements of women’s empowerment and small-scale irrigation. Because gendered dynamics with small-scale irrigation play out differently depending on the scale of irrigation and the technologies used, this paper applies the framework to examine case studies across a typology of small-scale irrigation systems. The case studies cover a range of farming and livelihood systems in which women’s roles and gender relations vary, highlighting the importance of the opportunity structure or context in which irrigation takes place. This paper then draws lessons on the various ways in which small-scale irrigation, gender relations, and women’s empowerment interact and highlights areas where research gaps remain.
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spelling CGSpace1434002025-12-02T21:03:03Z Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits Bryan, Elizabeth Lefore, Nicole gender women's empowerment smallholders irrigation women Small-scale irrigation is expanding rapidly in parts of the world, especially sub-Saharan Africa, offering smallholder farmers an opportunity to improve their livelihoods, diets, and resilience to climate change among other benefits. Growing research focuses on the potential for small-scale irrigation to offer a pathway for women’s empowerment, yet the factors conditioning the relationship between small-scale irrigation and women’s empowerment are not well understood. The evidence tends to be scattered across context-specific case studies that focus on targeted outcomes, without distinguishing between technology types, scales, or approaches to irrigation systems or technologies. This paper synthesizes the issues related to gender and small-scale irrigation using a conceptual framework that highlights the linkages between elements of women’s empowerment and small-scale irrigation. Because gendered dynamics with small-scale irrigation play out differently depending on the scale of irrigation and the technologies used, this paper applies the framework to examine case studies across a typology of small-scale irrigation systems. The case studies cover a range of farming and livelihood systems in which women’s roles and gender relations vary, highlighting the importance of the opportunity structure or context in which irrigation takes place. This paper then draws lessons on the various ways in which small-scale irrigation, gender relations, and women’s empowerment interact and highlights areas where research gaps remain. 2021-05-28 2024-05-22T12:13:51Z 2024-05-22T12:13:51Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143400 en https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-018-0812-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-018-9862-8 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133596 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Bryan, Elizabeth; and Lefore, Nicole. 2021. Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2025. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134425.
spellingShingle gender
women's empowerment
smallholders
irrigation
women
Bryan, Elizabeth
Lefore, Nicole
Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits
title Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits
title_full Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits
title_fullStr Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits
title_full_unstemmed Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits
title_short Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits
title_sort women and small scale irrigation a review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits
topic gender
women's empowerment
smallholders
irrigation
women
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143400
work_keys_str_mv AT bryanelizabeth womenandsmallscaleirrigationareviewofthefactorsinfluencinggenderedpatternsofparticipationandbenefits
AT leforenicole womenandsmallscaleirrigationareviewofthefactorsinfluencinggenderedpatternsofparticipationandbenefits