Passport to mainstreaming gender in water programmes

As stated in The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2010-2011, the agriculture sector is under-performing in many developing countries, partly because women do not have equal access to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive. Women also have less access to education, agricultural information and extension services, technology, credit and other financial services. This booklet is designed for field staff involved in the design, implementation, operation and maintenance of water management projects for agricultural production. For this reason the guide was given a pocket format, so professionals, practitioners and other field staff can easily carry it with them to the field. The purpose of the passport is to support them in mainstreaming a gender perspective during planning, implementation and management of agricultural water management projects and programmes. The expected outcome is improved performance of water management projects and systems, while strengthening the position of rural women or other disadvantaged groups.