This guide is based on Promoting Gender Equitable Opportunities in Agricultural Value Chains: A Handbook, which details a phased process for integrating gender into agricultural value chains. Prepared under WID's Greater Access to Trade Expansion (GATE) project, the handbook offers a straightforward methodology that guides practitioners through the steps needed to address the different types of gender issues that are embedded in how value chains work. This reference guide highlights the Integrating Gender into Agricultural Value Chains (INGIA-VC) process and its analytical framework, which is described in greater detail in the handbook.

Women are responsible for half of the world's food production, and in most developing countries they produce between 60 and 80 percent of the food. Yet, women continue to be regarded as home producers or assistants on the farm, and not as farmers and economic agents on their own merit. Empowering women farmers is vital to lifting rural communities out of poverty, especially as many developing nations face economic crisis, food insecurity, HIV/AIDS, environmental degradation, and increasing urbanization.

This document presents the GATE Project's methodology for conducting an economic analysis of gender in value chains. It illustrates the methodology using examples from two GATE value chain analyses: one covering the shrimp sector in Bangladesh, the other covering artichoke production in Peru. It also integrates findings from GATE research on the cowpea sector in Nigeria.

This handbook presents the "Integrating Gender Issues into Agricultural Value Chains"(INGIA-VC) approach. It is based on research studies and training programs conducted under the Greater Access to Trade Expansion (GATE) Project. The handbook presents a practical process for practitioners on how gender issues can inform the design, implementation, and monitoring of USAID value chain programs and provides a methodology for analyzing how gender issues constrain or support the ability of these programs to achieve their goals.

This is a summary version of the handbook that -- based on research studies and training programs conducted under the Greater Access to Trade Expansion (GATE) Project -- presents the "Integrating Gender Issues into Agricultural Value Chains"(INGIA-VC) approach. It covers conceptual and practical issues for addressing gender in agricultural value chains. It also includes a framework for analyzing gender issues and a process for integrating these issues into value chain development.

This brief outlines the following key "evidence-based correlations" among gender equality, competitiveness, and empowerment that inform the GATE Project's "Promoting Gender Equitable Opportunities in Agricultural Value Chains: A Handbook":

• Increasing asset equality between men and women improves growth in the agricultural sector.
• Increasing gender equality in the labor market improves economic efficiency.
• Increasing opportunities for women improves equality and empowerment.

This is the final report of the Greater Access to Trade Expansion (GATE) project, which was funded by the USAID Office of Women in Development (WID) and implemented by Development & Training Services, Inc. (dTS) from 2004 to 2009. The GATE Project worked to strengthen the capacity of USAID Washington Offices and Missions to institute gender-equitable practices and policies in USAID-funded trade and economic growth activities. The project worked in seven countries: Albania, Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, and South Africa.

This report reviews the gender implications of the activities of the USAID/East Africa Regional Economic Growth and Integration program, with particular reference to the Feed the Future and climate change initiatives. In East Africa, there is a need to incorporate gender dimensions into local, national, and regional climate change programs and discussions. It is commonly recognized that the poor and marginalized will experience the impacts of climate change most acutely and that they have the least capacity to adapt, and that women and girls make up a disproportionate number of the poor or marginalized.

This gender assessment presents a synthesis of the performance assessment findings for IEHA agricultural investments in sub-Saharan Africa and their ability to address gender constraints and increase the impact of agricultural programs for women, as well as men. It captures best practices and lessons learned and offers evidence-based recommendations on gender integration in order to maximize future agricultural investments toward the goals of rural poverty reduction and food security. Largely funded by AFR/SD and EGAT/AG, it represents a broader collaboration of offices including EGAT/ESP and EGAT/WID and organizations including the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

This document is a compilation of presentations, reference lists, case studies, and other materials from a December 2008 workshop on the importance of incorporating gender into economic growth and trade activities. The workshop focused on the East Africa region and was held in Nairobi, Kenya. The Greater Access to Trade Expansion (GATE) Project organized and led the workshop.

This report reviews the gender implications of the activities of the USAID/East Africa Regional Economic Growth and Integration program, with particular reference to the Feed the Future and climate change initiatives. In East Africa, there is a need to incorporate gender dimensions into local, national, and regional climate change programs and discussions. It is commonly recognized that the poor and marginalized will experience the impacts of climate change most acutely and that they have the least capacity to adapt, and that women and girls make up a disproportionate number of the poor or marginalized.

A team from the Greater Access to Trade Expansion (GATE) Project traveled to Kenya in September 2008 to train the staff of three USAID/Kenya agriculture programs on integrating gender into value chain programs. This trip report describes the development and execution of the gender integration training. This training is the first of three planned country efforts to improve the capacity of both Missions and implementing partners to systematically gather gender-related data for value chain assessments and to improve gender equity in agricultural value chains.

This document, produced under the WID-funded Greater Access to Trade Expansion (GATE) Project, shares the materials used in a September 2008 USAID/Kenya staff training on integrating gender into agricultural value chains. The objectives of the workshop were to help participants become familiar with value chain analysis, comprehend key gender concepts, understand the process of gender analysis in value chain development, and learn how to apply gender analysis to address gender constraints in value chain development activities. The training materials include PowerPoint slides and handouts.

This success story describes how the USAID-funded Integrated Initiatives for Economic Growth in Mali project (IICEM) has helped women's groups grow potatoes and make a profit selling them. The project's efforts have included helping acquire land for women to farm, providing potato farming start-up kits and training, and helping reduce the cost of seeds and transportation.

Kano State is in the heart of the Nigerian "cowpea belt". In 2007, under the GATE Project, a study was conducted to assess the cowpea value chain and provide recommendations on how to enhance the strategy of the USAID/Nigeria-funded Maximizing Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprises in Targeted Sites (MARKETS) Project by incorporating a pro-poor approach. The objective of the study was to identify strategies and opportunities for increasing the participation of and benefits to the poor, particularly poor women. This report synthesizes the findings of (1) an extensive literature review on cowpeas for Nigeria and the West Africa region and (2) interviews with a range of actors in the Kano cowpea value chain.

This is a collection of materials from a GATE workshop on integrating gender into agricultural value chains. The workshop was held in Arusha, Tanzania in 2008. It aimed to enable participants to:

• become familiar with gender and value chain analysis,
• understand key gender concepts,
• understand the process of gender analysis in value chain development, 
• learn to apply gender analysis to address gender-based constraints in value chain development activities.

This report, by the GATE Project, seeks to assist donors and policymakers in understanding the effects of trade policies on key sectors in Bangladesh, as well as on poor producers, consumers, and entrepreneurs. This analysis employs a gender perspective, assessing where men's and women's experiences under trade liberalization diverge and suggesting actions that would create more gender-equitable opportunities for both men and women to gain from increased trade openness. The report summarizes the findings from three separate papers: (1) a gender and pro-poor analysis of the shrimp value chain; (2) a gendered Computable General Equilibrium model of Bangladesh; and (3) a legal and regulatory analysis.

This study, prepared by the Greater Access to Trade Expansion (GATE) Project, explores the factors that make a successful Albanian agribusiness woman. Through case studies of women agriculture producers, an underexplored group of farmers in Albania, it aims to increase understanding of the variables that influence the progress of women in agricultural enterprises. The study looks at the most important variables for successful, sustainable enterprises as well as the strategies women employ to mitigate constraints.

This report was prepared for USAID/Peru by the Greater Access to Trade Expansion (GATE) project with support from the Centro Peruano de Estudios Sociales (CEPES). It explores the artichoke value chain in Peru using a pro-poor and gender-sensitive analysis to examine the nature of production, the relationships between various actors in the value chain, and the terms and conditions of employment. With an emphasis on promoting pro-poor growth, the study aims to identify interventions that will improve market outcomes, raise productivity, and increase income for male and female farmers, day laborers, and agro-industrial workers along the value chain.

USAID/Egypt undertook a gender assessment as part of its strategic review of its support to the Government of Egypt to control the spread of Avian Influenza (AI) in poultry and avoid human infection. The analysis focuses on understanding the underlying gender issues related to AI, especially in terms of food security, child malnutrition, poverty, and human infection. It also provides recommendations to take account of gender in future AI-related activities.