A Fest for Women and Men: Genderizing a Feed-Assessment Tool

Abstract

Over the last 7 years, scientists at ILRI, CIAT and ICARDA have developed a tool, known as the Feed Assessment Tool (FEAST), that consists of two parts: a rapid, participatory assessment using focus groups, and individual farmer interviews. The feed assessment is conducted with a focus group of farmers and follows a set of guide questions. It identifies problems and opportunities within a given farming system and identifies potential interventions. A subset of farmers is then interviewed individually to generate quantitative information that is input into a specialized computer application. While our national partners have found FEAST useful, they also commented that it was “gender blind”. This project responds to the question: “How do gender relations affect design, delivery and adoption of innovation, in particular feed interventions?” Integrating gender into an existing, established tool is a powerful opportunity to support research and practitioners to bring key aspects of gender relations to the surface. The engendered tool can assist researchers and practitioners to assess how gender relations affect livestock farming, and especially feeding practices and innovations.