Nicole Lefore Roundtable on the Gendered Impacts of the Global Food Crisis June 13, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:30AM EDT

1. ROUND TABLE | JUNE 13, 2022
Gender Perspective
OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR
Nicole Lefore
Director, Innovation Laboratory for Small-Scale Irrigation
Texas A&M University

2. GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR
• Higher Food Prices
• Higher Energy Prices
• Risks of mitigation measures
• Risks of programmatic shifts
• Compounding crises
Pathways of the
gendered impacts of
compounding crises

3. Gender understanding
and approach to
resilience in crises
• From the Feed the Future
Innovation Labs
• Innovations ready to scale that can
increase resilience
• Lessons on how to facilitate scaling
• Policy guidance to enhance
resilience in medium to long term
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR

4. Gendered responses—
Key messages
• Intensify, don’t pivot, on
resilience-centered interventions
• Design for gender and context
specific; avoid gender myths
• Increase linkage between research
and development implementation
• Support private sector role in
building gender-equitable resilience
• Identify and support opportunities
for women
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR

5. ANNEX 1:
Gendered Impacts
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR

6. GENDERED IMPACTS:
Higher food prices
• Women and children eat less food and less nutritious food
• Nutritious food is difficult to access
• Women farmers and processors trade in informal markets
with less programmatic support
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR

7. GENDERED IMPACTS:
Higher energy prices—direct impacts
• Increasing the cost of pumping water and other inputs
• Reducing farmgate prices for irrigated produce related
(transport costs absorbed by small farmers)
• Increasing costs post-harvest collection, processing, and storage
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR

8. GENDERED IMPACTS:
Higher energy prices—indirect impacts
• Rapidly increasing prices and lower availability of inorganic fertilizer
• On-going exclusion of women from subsidized fertilizer
distribution systems
• On-going exclusion of women by fertilizer private market actors
• Increasing burden for women from application of manure and compost
• Increasing production of cash crops above nutritious crops
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR

9. GENDERED IMPACTS:
Household strategies
• Increasing storage of grains and groundnuts
• Increases risks of losses and fungal toxins
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR

10. GENDERED IMPACTS:
Risks of program change
• Decreasing public funding for relief / social protection measures
and other social programs
• On-going exclusion of women from public, formal sector programs
and operation in the informal sector that is not supported
• Decreasing funding for R & D in agriculture
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR

11. GENDERED IMPACTS:
Compounding crises
• Women have lower resilience capacities due to COVID-19:
Domestic burdens reduced time in agricultural production, eroded women’s
assets and savings, disrupted informal market linkages
• Mobility challenges extended by high transportation costs and reduced income
• Exited livelihood/employment and gave up farm plots, now face added
challenges to restart
• Some local markets closed and limited women’s marketing opportunities
• Girls left schools during COVID and some did not return
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR

12. ANNEX 2:
Gendered Responses
from Innovation Labs
(examples)

13. GENDERED RESPONSE EXAMPLES:
Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation
1. Partner with private solar pump companies to
improve access and finance tools for women farmers
2. Facilitate platforms and networking between
companies (equipment value chains to value chains),
with public partners (NARES), with USAID and other
implementing partners to share knowledge on
gendered approaches
3. Assess and provide guidance for gender-equitable
irrigated fodder—dairy value chains
4. Engage with Implementation Partners in USAID
resilience projects
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR
EXAMPLES AND PARTNERS:
Ghana (PEG Africa, PumpTech + Hortifresh)
Mali (ENNOS/ETM + SeneYiriwa)
World Bank farmer-led irrigation initiative

14. GENDERED RESPONSE EXAMPLES:
Peanut Innovation Lab
Reduced reliance on inorganic fertilizer and enhanced alternatives
1. Risk tool for farmers to evaluate how effective various inputs will
be in the face of production pressures. Farmers assess financially
viable mitigation approaches of various inputs and practices.
2. Research into time use enabled understanding of the efficiency
(and equity) of labor distribution and deployment, to develop and
test potential solutions through Farmer Field Schools (Ghana)
3. Research into youth in peanut value chain has led to a better
understanding of out-migration and how to bring knowledge
back to villages (Senegal)
4. Optimized Shrub System and similar regenerative/conservation
agriculture approaches have clear long-term benefits, but create
challenges for immediate and medium-term adoption.
Potential mechanisms (carbon credit, index insurance, policy,
additional technology?) could incentivize widespread adoption.
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR
EXAMPLES AND PARTNERS:
Ghana (FFS, CSIR-SARI, UDS, KNUST,
Project Peanut Butter)
Malawi (LUANAR, DARS, Pyxus Ltd.)
Senegal (ISRA, CERAAS, U ofThies)

15. GENDERED RESPONSE EXAMPLES:
Innovation Lab for Fish
1. Engage with women entrepreneurs and fish
farmers in 6 privately owned demonstration rice-
fish farms in Kebbi and Ebonyi states in Nigeria
2. Engage women in the sustainable supply of fish
seedstock through community-based fish
breeding and seedstock production
3. Engage women in community-based black soldier
fly larvae meal production
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR
EXAMPLES AND PARTNERS:
Nigeria (UN Food and Agriculture
Organization, University of Ibadan,
WorldFish, and University of Georgia)

16. GENDERED RESPONSE EXAMPLES:
Women-led food system linkages for inclusive benefits
GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE WAR
Beatrice Adjei
(Women in Poultry
Association)
Smallholder Farmer-Based
Organizations, Value Chain
Committee in the North
Feed shortage
Access to market (premium),
eggs for consumption and sale
Upcoming trips with more WPA members & interventions,
in response to worsening food (and feed) crisis…