Validating the gender responsive Multi Stakeholder Framework (G+MSF) tool: a review of banana and sweet potato seed systems in northern Uganda

Abstract

Recognising the need for gender-intentional seed systems research, the CGIAR Research Program on RTB cluster (CC) 2.1: “Quality seeds and access to improved varieties’’ has put together gender-responsive sets of tools referred to as the RTB crops seed systems toolbox. The toolbox is a collection of approaches, tools and methods to guide gender-sensitive investigation into key research questions which follow the stages in the project cycle. The toolbox aims for a synergistic understanding of the physical and socioeconomic aspects of seed systems performance. The toolbox is also important for comparing the seed systems of different vegetatively propagated crops (VPCs) and to inform effective seed system interventions aimed at overcoming social, economic, and agronomic constraints.

One of the tools in the RTB toolbox is the Multi-Stakeholder Framework (MSF). The MSF tool seeks to identify the major stakeholders, their roles and the critical bottlenecks in the seed systems. The MSF lays out the actors and institutions that affect the functionality and sustainability of seed systems and for identifying entry points for interventions (Bentley et al., 2018). The MSF tool has been validated in several RTB crop seed systems including cassava, banana, sweet potato and potato in various geographies including Africa, Asia and Latin America. To incorporate a gender perspective in the MSF tool, a review of gender research in RTB seeds systems was done to identify opportunities and inform the development of guidelines for integrating gender in the MSF (Mudege et al., 2017; Mudege & Walsh, 2016b). A gender-responsive MSF (G+MSF) was then developed and this study sought to validate the G+MSF through testing the developed guidelines and research questions in the banana and sweetpotato seed systems in northern Uganda.