Browsing by Author "Zseleczky, Laura"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Gender and participatory mapping: Local knowledge and empowerment in development research
    Christie, Maria Elisa; Luebbering, C.; Agriesti, Keri; Byrne, M.; Montgomery, K.; Van Houweling, Emily; Zseleczky, Laura; Harman, Mary (2011)
    Participatory mapping as a research technique is a means for women to express their spaces and resources. This poster explores mapping as both a process and product in field work with smallholder farmers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. It draws on experiences including women and mapping gendered spaces. Examples include mapping Kitchenspace, mapping the “path of the peanut,” the “path of the pesticide,” and agricultural value chains. It considers the challenges and benefits of using participatory mapping, gendered and non-gendered findings, and the role of the mapping facilitator. The authors conclude that participatory mapping provides opportunities for semi-literate and illiterate women to contribute their knowledge and perspectives to development research projects as well as providing pedagogical opportunities for action research. Discussion with mapping participants and a gender analysis of the resulting maps can contribute to improved understanding of social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues.
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    Gender and Pest Management in Ghana: Implications for the Introduction of an IPM Program for Tomato
    Zseleczky, Laura (Virginia Tech, 2012-04-20)
    The purpose of this research is to identify gender-based constraints and opportunities to the introduction of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for tomato crops based on a case study of tomato farmers in the town of Tuobodom in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana. The study seeks to identify the knowledge, practices, perceptions, and access to resources of men and women tomato farmers in Tuobodom, specifically with respect to pesticides and pest management. A mixed methods approach combined quantitative and qualitative methodologies including focus group discussions, household interviews, participatory mapping, field visits, key informant interviews, participant observation, and a survey. Key findings in the areas of health and safety, markets and the tomato value chain, and information and training reveal general and gender-specific issues that an IPM program should address when working with farmers to develop an effective and sustainable IPM package for tomato in this area. The results of this study also demonstrate the importance of gender analysis in identifying context-specific gender issues. For example, while this study confirmed that men's roles in tomato production place them at higher risk of exposure to pesticides, results challenge the assumption that women's reproductive roles (e.g., food preparation, caring for the sick, and washing clothes) make them more aware of the risks of pesticides.
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    Participatory mapping and gendered space: Kitchenspace, value chains, peanuts, and pesticides
    Christie, Maria Elisa; Luebbering, Candice; Zseleczky, Laura; Agriesti, Keri; Harman, Mary (2014-08-26)
    Participatory mapping can be used to identify gender differences in the landscape. Beginning with women mapping dualities in “kitchenspace” in Mexico, researchers used this qualitative research technique to map the “path of the peanut,” the “path of the pesticide,” and agricultural value chains. In countries where women have considerably lower literacy rates than men, participatory mapping can help increase women’s participation in development research. In addition, working in women-only and men-only groups is a strategy for collecting sex-disaggregated spatial data that lends itself to gender analysis. Findings include the importance of food preparation spaces and gendered differences in access to transportation.
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    Preliminary Study: Gender, Higher Education and AET
    Zseleczky, Laura; Van Houweling, Emily; Christie, Maria Elisa (Virginia Tech, 2013-09-17)
    Agriculture education and training (AET) is important to increase human capital in agriculture, promote knowledge, raise agricultural productivity, and realize the potential of women in agriculture. This paper focuses on gender in higher education agricultural training programs. Female farmers play a vital role in agriculture around the world, yet they are poorly represented in agricultural programs in higher education. The objectives of the paper are to review global and regional gender data on AET in higher education, outline the major gender issues in AET, and initiate a discussion of good practices for addressing gender disparities in AET higher education programs. Following this introduction, Section 2 presents the background material and summarizes some of the global issues related to gender, higher education, and AET. Section 3 takes a regional look at these issues. Section 4 presents a case study of AET in three universities in Bangladesh and Cambodia to bring to life the experiences of women in AET programs. The paper concludes with a summary of good practices.