Background

Note: The ToRs are available HERE as a downloadable file.

Referring to United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP II) 2018-2023 aligned to National Strategy for transformation (NST1) under its strategic priority 1, Economic transformation aims to ensure that people in Rwanda enjoy an improved quality of life sustained by a modern economy that is globally competitive, knowledge-based and environmentally sustainable and UN Women Rwanda strategic Note 2019-2023 also attributes an exceptional focus on women’s economic empowerment including greater attention to women in rural areas most of whom are involved in agriculture.

The agricultural sector in Rwanda is the main source of income and livelihood for many people residing in the rural areas of the country. Women represent 69% of the total labour force in agriculture according to EICV4 (2015), and perform most of the agricultural work related to ploughing, planting, weeding and harvesting but yet, their incomes do not correspond to the amount of time invested. Agricultural services such as farm inputs, extension services and rural development loans are mostly accessed by men and in practice women do not have control over revenues from crop and livestock sales. At the national level, the constitution (2003) revised in 2015 enshrines gender equality and sets out the obligations of the State and others to support the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment. Government of Rwanda has consistently shown great commitment to gender mainstreaming as one of the best approaches to attain rapid and inclusive growth as evidenced by gender mainstreaming across national strategies and women tailored agribusiness products that respond to women’s needs to improve their involvement and ownership across economic development sectors of the country for example promotion of gender equality and women empowerment in agriculture through gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) has put in place 7 years’ gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in Agriculture (2019-2025) covering the five strategic areas of focus such as financial services; markets and value chain representation; extension, support, inputs and technologies; institutional mainstreaming and empowerment and decision making with purpose of promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture. Despite the strategy and agribusiness opportunities, women involved in agriculture especially in rural communities still lacking access to information on available in gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture and other women’s tailored agribusiness opportunities for example extension service opportunities, finance access, etc. to contribute to increased access and use those opportunities to improve their productivity and income. The summarized booklet for both strategy and women tailored agribusiness opportunity will empower rural women through knowledge and information access and use.

UN Women Rwanda in partnership with World Food Programme WFP, IFAD, FAO  is implementing the Joint Programme on Rural Women Economic Empowerment (JP-RWEE) with its goal of Accelerating Progress towards the Economic Empowerment of Rural Women to secure rural women’s livelihoods and rights in the context of sustainable development based on four outcome areas namely: improved food and nutrition security; increased income to secure their livelihoods; enhanced leadership and participation in rural institutions and in shaping laws, policies and programs; and gender responsive policy environments for the economic empowerment of rural women in its 3 districts of interventions namely Nyaruguru of Southern Province, Ngoma and Kirehe Districts of Eastern Province.

During the implementation of JP-RWEE, the programme recognized lessons learned and recommendations to improve awareness of women about the gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture for rural women to understand more their strategic guidance and opportunities through printable abridged booklet of the strategy and women tailored agribusiness opportunities in Kinyarwanda and English for rural women’s community especially those in JPRWEE intervention districts (Nyaruguru, Kirehe and Ngoma) and elsewhere.

UN Women Rwanda in collaboration with MINAGRI initiated the process of bringing gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture and women’s agribusiness opportunities to the level more women improve awareness on their rights and agribusiness opportunities toward improving women’s equality and women empowerment. The strategy in general contains potential information for all involved in agriculture to know the area of focus for inclusive and sustainable development for all; it has as much as many information for women’s economic empowerment in agriculture such as opportunities to access income through agribusiness activities; access to market; access to finance; participation; right to access and control capital assets; etc.

Women’s access to information still a challenge especially in agriculture women not easily accessing agriculture information because women’s spend their times working for household survival and home care services that why limited access to more time for reading strategic document and the same document not yet translated in local language of Kinyarwanda. The gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture now count eighty seven pages in English version with five potential action areas of financial services; markets and value chain representation; extension, support, inputs and technologies; institutional mainstreaming and empowerment and decision making.

Improving women’s understanding and awareness of potential information of the new gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture will improve women ownership of the strategy implementation at different levels as stated by the strategy; it will also increase the number of women in agriculture sector from understanding of the sector opportunities for gender equality and women’s economic empowerment toward improving women’s wellbeing and women will also contribute to country development strategy as well as sustainable development goals.

The process of improving understanding and awareness of the gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture in Rwanda wouldn’t be an easy tasks that why different approaches can be used to increase the number of women reading, understanding, advocating and applying their rights, access and use opportunities as stated in the strategy document and women can easily contributing to the monitoring of the gender strategy implementation progress on regular basis.

UN Women and MINAGRI adopted the approach of summarizing gender strategy in agriculture and women’s agribusiness opportunities in an easy to read abridged booklet of Kinyarwanda and English which will later be disseminated widely through a plan that will be set up jointly by MINAGRI and the Participating UN Organizations. The outcome of summarized booklet of gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture and women’s tailored agribusiness opportunities will be:

a.     To avail summarized gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture and women’s agribusiness opportunity content for women’s reading for more understanding and action toward strategy implementation

b.     To improve women’s awareness, knowledge and understanding  of strategy areas of action and strategy recommendations at all levels

c.     To improve women’s mindset change toward contributing to the implementation and ownership of new gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture

d.     To improve women’s awareness, access and ownership of existing tailored women’s agribusiness opportunities toward improved women’s economic resiliency

e.     Enhance institutional accountability at all levels to implement the strategy for a sustainable  impact in the lives of women involved in agriculture value chain

In this context, UN Women Rwanda in partnership with MINAGRI is seeking for an individual local consultant to conduct the activity of reading the new gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture (2019-2025) and other related documents referred by the strategy; Summarize the strategy and existing women’s agribusiness opportunities in meaningful manner as readable booklet for rural women in English and Kinyarwanda; design printable booklet of summarized new gender and youth mainstreaming strategy in agriculture and women’s agribusiness opportunities and facilitate the booklet distribution among JPRWEE women’s group leaders in JPRWEE three districts (Nyaruguru, Ngoma and Kirehe) by providing summary explanation to JPRWEE group leaders and guiding them on quick dissemination among their groups. The Consultant will work closely with UN Women and MINAGRI team who will guide the process of consultancy assignment. The individual consultant will undertake the consultancy assignment within twenty five (25) working days, starting from 5^th April  to 14^th  May 2021. All necessary information and guidelines are available HERE as a downloadable file.