International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Contact: Delia Grace (d.grace[at]cgiar.org)

University of Ibadan, Nigeria; University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria

This project will characterize women's collective action in informal markets for livestock and animal source foods, identify the major associated food-safety challenges, and evaluate women's collective action for improving food safety. The goal of this research project is more wealth and better health for women, men and children involved in the production, trade, and consumption of informally marketed livestock and animal-source food (ASF).

The project addresses factors affecting differential participation in collective action by men and women involved in livestock production and trade. Research under a previous project in the study site has characterized group membership by women and men, revealing both different rates, and different types, of participation in collective action. This project builds on this work to investigate the gender roles and norms and other socio-economic factors that encourage or discourage women from participating in occupational groups.

The project will also address links between gender and the functioning of collective action. The existence in the study area of men's, women's and mixed groups, all organized around livestock, will allow the researchers to compare the advantages and disadvantages of mixed groups versus same-sex and the specific roles women and men play in those groups. They will also investigate the level of participation by women and men, their respective roles in the groups and how this influences group effectiveness.

Finally, the study will address the effectiveness of collective action and its impact on gender equity and poverty reduction. Specifically, an intervention for improving food safety and quality based on collective action will be rigorously tested and also evaluated for its impact on gender equity.

To achieve these ends, the study will adopt three complementary and interwoven methodological strands: participatory learning and action; epidemiology including laboratory confirmation; and gender analysis.