The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development organise an international exploratory workshop on the theme of Gender and Agriculture after Neoliberalism. This project and the issue area of Gender in Agriculture are part of the spearheads of the Graduate Institute’s “Programme on Gender and Global Change”, and part of UNRISD’s research programme on “Social Policies for Inclusive and Sustainable Development”.

The aim of the workshop is to make an inventory of literature and research on the gendered impacts of global forces, such as land-grabs and biofuel production, in agriculture. Against the presumption that development must entail a move out of agriculture, we hope to make evident the different pathways that rural development can take in a post-neoliberal context.

The proposed project will draw on the expertise of scholars in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to develop a conceptual framework and a research design to build research partnerships within the frame of the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development. The workshop is funded by SNSF and SDC.

Programme

Day 1: Thursday 19 July
Opening Session

Chaired by Zene Tadesse, University of South Africa (UNISA) Regional Learning Centre (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) and Member of UNRISD Board
9:00 – 9:15 Welcome and introduction, Elisabeth Prügl, Graduate Institute (Geneva, Switzerland), Shahra Razavi, UNRISD (Geneva, Switzerland)
9:15 –9:45 Framing the issue area: UNRISD/Graduate Institute paper “Gender and Agriculture after Neoliberalism”, Elisabeth Prügl, Shahra Razavi, Fenneke Reysoo
9:45 – 10:15 Discussion
10:15 – 10:45 COFFEE/TEA BREAK

Session 1 Changing land tenure systems and their gender implications

Chaired by Martina Viarengo, Department of Economics, Graduate Institute (Geneva, Switzerland)

10:45 – 11:00 Revisiting the role of women in Zimbabwe’s agrarian structure in the aftermath of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme, Patience Mutopo, University of Cologne (Cologne, Germany)
11:00 – 11:15 Gender and agriculture in Ghana, Dzodzi Tsikata, University of Ghana (Accra, Ghana)
11:15 – 11:30 Gender and land rights in Ethiopia: Agricultural commercialisation, political control and policy reform, Tom Lavers, University of Bath (Bath, UK)
11:30 – 11:45 Farming is not work! Assessing HIV/AIDS treatment from the margins in Mozambique, Carla Braga, University of Eduardo Mondlane (Maputo, Mozambique)
11:45 – 12:15 Discussion
12:15 – 13:30 LUNCH BREAK

Session 2 Agrarian capitalism, global forces and land grabbing: Continuity and change

Chaired by Andrew Fischer, International Institute for Social Studies (The Hague, The Netherlands) - TBC

13:30 – 13:45 The politics of global land grabbing: notes on some under-explored themes, Jun Borras, International Institute of Social Studies (The Hague, the Netherlands)
13:45 – 14:00 Continuity and change in Tanzanian agriculture, Marjorie Mbilinyi, Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
14:00 – 14:15 Gendered explorations of agricultural intensification, land grabs and villigization in Ethiopia, Zene Tadesse, University of South Africa (UNISA) Regional Learning Centre (Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia)
14:15 – 14:45 Discussion
14:45 – 15:15 COFFEE/TEA BREAK

Session 3 Feminization of labour within agrarian economies: Autonomy or subordination?

Chaired by Genevieve LeBaron, University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

15:15 – 15:30 Feminization of agriculture in a neoliberal India: How useful are village studies?, Supriya Garikipati, University of Liverpool (Liverpool, UK)
15:30 – 15:45 Where is gender inequality built? Gender and agriculture in Mexico, Patricia Arias, University of Guadalajara (Guadalajara, Mexico)
15:45 – 16:00 Women’s roles and collective actions in sustainable agricultural development, food security and poverty alleviation in China, Yiching Song, Centre for Chinese Agricultural Policy (Beijing, China)
16:00 – 16:15 Demographic dimensions of gender and agrarian change: towards a demographic Gershenkronian principle in social policy, Andrew Fischer, International Institute for Social Studies (The Hague, The Netherlands)
16:15 – 16:45 Discussion
16:45 – 17:15 WRAP-UP OF THE FIRST DAY AND PREPARATION OF DAY 2
 

Day 2: Friday 20 July

Session 4 Ways forward: Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development (r4d.ch)

Chaired by Shahra Razavi, UNRISD (Geneva, Switzerland)

9:00 – 9:30 Introduction to the overarching goals of the r4d.ch and its thematic call: Agriculture Production Systems and Food Security, Fenneke Reysoo, The Graduate Institute (Geneva, Switzerland)
9:30 – 10:30 Setting priority issues in theoretical and thematic approaches, Plenary brainstorming
10:30 - 11:00 Research partnerships projects, Plenary brainstorming
11:00 – 11:30 COFFEE/TEA BREAK

Session 5 Working groups: Research hypotheses and objectives of research

11:30 – 13:00 Working groups (2 or 3 parallel groups) elaborate first rough ideas of the research sub- projects according to r4d.ch research proposal criteria and format
13:00 – 14:00 LUNCH

Session 6 Working groups: Case studies and methods

14:00 – 15:30 Working groups (2 or 3 parallel groups) define country case studies and methodological approaches according to r4d.ch research proposal criteria
15:30 – 16:00 COFFEE/TEA BREAK

Session 7 Plenary Debrief

Chaired by Elisabeth Prügl, Graduate Institute (Geneva, Switzerland)

16:00 – 17:30 Rapporteur of each working group (20 minutes each) + Discussion
17:30 – 18:00 Next steps and closure
18:00 END OF DAY 2 – DEPARTURES AS NECESSARY, DINNER