The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is undertaking an initiative to link gender, land tenure and climate change in all of its projects in the East and Southern Africa region under its Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP).

An article on IFAD’s Social Reporting Blog describes a workshop that was held to kick-start the initiative, involving representatives from a range of partner organizations including the World Agroforestry Centre. Participants discussed likely climate change impacts in the region and how these will be compounded by the region’s high poverty levels, weak infrastructure, poor natural resources management and dependence on rain-fed agriculture.

“We have to reshape our agendas to be able to address the various cross-cutting issues of land, climate change and gender,” said Perin Saint-Ange, IFAD regional director.

According to Elizabeth Nyambura Ssendiwala, Gender & Youth Coordinator, climate change adaptation strategies for women and men may be different due to the gender differentiated access to resources; unequal voice in decision making as well as gender-based division of labor.

Land tenure security, especially women’s land rights, decentralized land administration, and equitable access to irrigation and watershed management are also factors that need to be integrated into sustainable development projects.

Read the full story: IFAD’s new projects in East and Southern Africa to be gender responsive