CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform and the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) join forces to bridge global gender gap in agriculture

Hyderabad, India, July 11, 2023—The CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform and the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), an autonomous organization of Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate collaboration on research, knowledge exchange and capacity building to help close the global gender gap in agriculture. The MoU was signed by Dr.  Nicoline de Haan, CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform Director and Dr. P. Chandra Shekara, Director General, MANAGE at a function at MANAGE, Hyderabad.

The CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform synthesizes and amplifies research, fills gaps, builds capacity, and sets directions to improve gender equality, foster social inclusion and create opportunities for youth in agri-food systems. MANAGE and the CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform will, therefore, collaborate in designing activities that support women farmers to form producer groups and that provide them with training on improved, climate-resilient agricultural practices. The aim is to support women farmers to increase their earnings, maximize the benefits they gain from their work and enable them to be successful agents of agricultural transformation.

 “Part of our work is to gather evidence on what works, and we know that supporting women to enter into groups and social networks can improve their access to resources, improve their links with markets and boost their productivity,” said Nicoline de Haan. “Partnering with MANAGE will allow us to engage with one of the world’s largest agricultural extension systems, supplying it with a wealth of proven solutions, evidence and knowledge that can ultimately reach and benefit India’s women farmers.” In his address, Dr. P. Chandra Shekara stated that collaborating with CGIAR GENDER Impact platform would help share Indian innovations in agricultural extension thereby providing solutions to gender mainstreaming issues at global level.

The CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform is convening an international gender research conference in New Delhi in October 2023, titled From research to impact: Towards just and resilient agri-food systems co-hosted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and MANAGE will be a partner to the conference, contributing insights and experiences from their three decades of work with India’s agricultural extension system. “Our aim for this conference is to solidify the link from research to impact, and our partnership with MANAGE is a great example of how that can be done — by bringing together the researchers that generate evidence and the institutions that can ensure that this evidence is put into use,” said Ranjitha Puskur, Evidence Module Leader under the CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform.

Media contact

Aparajita Kujur: Aparajita.Kujur@irri.org

South Asia Regional Strategic Communications for International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

About the CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform

GENDER (Generating Evidence and New Directions for Equitable Results) puts equality at the forefront of global agricultural research for development to kick-start a process of genuine change toward greater gender equality, improved opportunities for youth and social inclusion. GENDER is a CGIAR impact platform that synthesizes and amplifies research, fills gaps, builds capacity and sets directions to enable CGIAR to have maximum impact. CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. https://gender.cgiar.org/

About National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE)

MANAGE facilitates the acquisition of managerial and technical skills by extension officers, managers, scientists and administrators in all sectors of the agricultural economy to enable them to provide most effective support and services to farmers and fisherfolk practicing sustainable agriculture, ensuring better income for their products. MANAGE is an innovative organization wherein new concepts are nurtured, tested and promoted. Over three decades, MANAGE has contributed significantly to improving and strengthening agricultural extension systems in India and developing countries through research, capacity development and policy advocacy. https://www.manage.gov.in/