Twitter Chat: Innovations and technologies for an inclusive, equitable food system

You are invited to engage in a one-hour lively discussion taking place on Twitter on International Women’s Day, March 8.
 
The aim is to engage stakeholders and partners in a conversation about how agricultural technologies and digital innovations can contribute to an inclusive, equitable food system. We expect that this will be an opportunity to garner attention for gender and social inclusion research, technologies and innovations from across and beyond CGIAR.

The following questions will be posted during the Twitter chat:

• Q1: Why are women less likely than men farmers to use new agricultural technologies—such as new crop varieties or machinery?  
• Q2: How can agricultural researchers and development professionals make sure that technologies and innovations work for both women and men farmers?
• Q3: How can women farmers benefit from digital innovations—such as mobile banking apps, weather forecasts by SMS or planting advice via voice messages?
• Q4: What can be done to increase women’s influence and decision-making power in food systems, including in technology design?
• Q5: Even when women farmers have access to technologies and digital innovations, they might not be fully able to benefit. What else needs to change? Could it be a policy issue? Unwritten rules about what women can and cannot do?
• Q6: What will happen if we are not able to close the gender gap in access to agricultural technologies and digital innovations?

• A Twitter chat is a scheduled, interactive discussion hosted by a Twitter account, in this case by @CGIARgender. Anyone with a Twitter profile can join in on the conversation.
• During the one-hour chat, @CGIARgender will post six questions, one at a time, from our account. Each question will be prefixed with Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. For example, @CGIARgender will post: “Q1: Why are women less likely than men farmers to use new agricultural technologies—such as new crop varieties or machinery?”
• Anyone with a Twitter profile can post an answer to each question, either by replying to the question tweet or by quoting the question tweet, adding your answer as a comment. Each answer should (ideally) be prefixed with A1, A2, A3, etc. and use the #GenderinAg hashtag. For example, you could reply “A1: Because women are less likely than men to receive information about new technologies #GenderinAg”
• During the chat, @CGIARgender will retweet a selection of responses. We also encourage you to retweet or respond to other participants’ responses, to create a lively discussion.
• After the chat, we will gather the highlights of the discussion and share them in our feed.