Advancing Gender Equality in Fragile Food Systems in the Sahel

Climate change, armed conflict, environmental fragility, and weak governance – and the impact these have on natural resource-based livelihoods – are among the key drivers of both crisis and poverty for communities in some of the world’s most vulnerable and conflict-affected countries. This initiative will invest in a cohort of research projects to identify and understand the gender-differentiated barriers and opportunities to building more gender-responsive, climate-resilient food systems in the Sahel. The research projects will be selected via a targeted call for proposals and led by organizations based in Africa.

As a result of this project, researchers will enhance their capacity to effectively integrate gender equality and social inclusion in pastoralism and agro-pastoralism research. Results will inform policies and practices to enhance more resilient and gender-equal pastoral and agro-pastoral food systems in the Sahel. Expected outputs include project profiles, peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations, and webinars.

This initiative will work in tandem with the Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises (SPARC) programme, a six-year (2020-2025), £17.65-million (approximately CA$32 million) initiative funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Research teams will be integrated into SPARC-wide systems for stakeholder engagement and communications to maximize research uptake. Researchers will benefit from opportunities for peer learning and exploring synergies with the broader SPARC network.