The aim of the Gender and Agriculture Partnership (GAP) – an open and inclusive partnership program between gender experts in the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Consultative  Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) AWARD program, the FARA Sub Saharan  Africa Challenge Program (SSA-CP), NGO networks and Regional and Sub-Regional Fora in SubSaharan Africa, Asia/Pacific and West Asia/North Africa – is to create a virtuous cycle of research  prioritization, technology development and adaptation, dissemination and uptake that directly  responds to the needs and priorities of resource-poor farmers, in particular those of women farmers. 

 

The GAP has planned a set of activities aimed at analyzing, communicating and implementing gender  mainstreaming to “make innovations better serve the needs of women farmers”. The case study in  Niger is one of these activities. 

 

The overall aim of the GAP is to “shake” the agricultural innovation process, with the ultimate aim of  improving agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. In contributing to this, the Niger case study  aims to further understanding and awareness of the differentiated needs and priorities of women and  men farmers (demand) and whether or not innovation systems respond to these (supply), while  highlighting relevant elements for change. This study makes the case for using a demand-driven and 

gender approach in order to improve the efficiency of the innovation process. The methodology  adopted is simple, participatory and easily replicable. 

 

A FAO mission, composed of Anna Crole-Rees and Kirsten Mathieson, travelled to Niger from 13 to  23 October 2011 to carry out the case study research. Eliane Najros and Mauro Bottaro (FAO)  accompanied and supported components of the mission.