It is widely accepted that agricultural development will be severely curtailed without addressing the risks and capitalizing on the opportunities posed by climate change (FAO, 2010b). The agriculture sector must adapt to the impacts of climate change in order to provide food security to the world’s growing population. At the same time agriculture must mitigate its contributions to climate change (13.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions) in order to slow the progression of this global challenge (FAO, 2009). Concurrently, it is internationally recognized that addressing gender issues in agriculture reduces hunger and poverty. In fact, it is estimated that more than 100 million people could be lifted out of poverty if women had the same access to and control of resources as men (FAO, 2011a). Although they are important food producers and providers, women presently have limited access to and control of resources. However, to date, these ideas – that climate change and gender issues are integral parts of agricultural development – have not been implemented in an effective way. This guide seeks to fill that gap by supporting work to investigate the gender dimensions of responding to climate change in the agriculture and food security sectors. The final goals are to improve food production, livelihood security and gender equality in the context of the changing climate.

The coverage of improved sanitation in Vietnam is still low, especially in rural areas. As a result, water-borne diseases remain key threats to public health. While the government has committed itself to increasing the proportion of people with access to improved sanitation, it cannot afford to subsidise sanitation for the entire population. Thus, improving rural sanitation continues to rely heavily on financial contributions from household-level private users, which depend on their willingness to pay (WTP) for such services. Knowing people’s WTP is crucial when assessing the economic viability of projects, setting fees, evaluating policy alternatives, gauging financial sustainability, and designing socially equitable subsidies. However, such information on household-level demand is scarce to non-existent in Vietnam. We assessed the WTP for septic tanks among the rural population in Vietnam and identified the some factors that influence the level of WTP. The study was conducted in Hanam province, in northern Vietnam. Researchers randomly selected and surveyed 600 households, conducting personal interviews with the main breadwinners or decision-makers in each. Contingent valuation was used to obtain relevant economic data. This method consists in asking individuals how much they would be willing to pay for a change to the quantity or quality (or both) of a particular commodity. We found that 63% of the studied households were willing to pay for construction of a septic tank. The average WTP level was VND 16 million (US$ 800), which amounts to about 15% of the households’ annual disposable income. Economic hardship was found to be the major reason for not installing a sanitary latrine. Health, cleanliness, and prestige were found to be three major motivating factors for constructing septic tanks. Regression analysis showed that the odds for spending money on improved sanitation services were higher in households with better income, as well as in households whose head had better knowledge of sanitation.

Non-PR | IFPRI4

Book chapter | Non-PR | IFPRI-4

Non-PR | IFPRI4

Shortage of pullet supply and high mortality of local chicks arising from diseases and inadequate feed were the main challenges identified through a rapid diagnostic survey on the poultry value chain in Dale. Accordingly, women group-based commercial pullet rearing as an input for smallholder poultry production was initiated by the Office of Agriculture and Rural Development (OoARD) and IPMS. To develop the program, a credit scheme was initiated using IPMS’s credit innovation funds. With assistance of OoARD, eighty women subdivided into five (village) groups, collectively purchased 4000 day-old chicks (50/woman) and other inputs such as feed, vaccines, hay box brooder and watering equipment. The women were trained and developed their skills through their group structures. The required vaccinations were also given by the women themselves under the auspices of the group structures. After 4–5 months, 3470 pullets survived and were kept by the women or sold to others for egg producers. Empirical results show that: i) the group approach helped to improve linkages, communication, and access to knowledge, technology, finance, inputs (day-old chicks and feed), veterinary service, and market; ii) the groups were able to successfully produce and supply pullets thus making an additional income of Ethiopian birr (ETB) 833/hh; iii) the approach stimulates growing demand for the 5 months-old pullets, especially by government/donor financed programs. While being technically and economically viable, the system requires institutional upgrading so as to ensure sustainability of input supply (chicks, feed and vaccine/drugs). The commitment shown by WoARD to provide technical backstopping in all aspects of poultry production also leaves much to be desired. These are crucial at least for the first few cycles, while more emphasis should be given to promoting improved local birds. As the follow-up studies on subsequent egg production showed, considerable attention needs to be paid to building the capacity of poultry farmers to engage in semi-commercial egg production, since egg production was still far below its potential. The study also shows that a difference of as high as 35% existed between egg production level by households who had purchased the pullets privately and households who had received the pullets through food security funded projects in Dale area.