The Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for developing and implementing the government policy on agriculture and rural development. At instutional level, a Gender Focal Point was established in 2015 within the Department of Education, Training and Research (DEFR) with the following tasks:
- Coordination and monitoring of all actions of the Department of Agriculture aimed at mainstreaming the gender dimension in the agricultural sector
- Coordination with national and international partners and other ministerial departments.
The DEFR is also a member of the national technical commission in charge of monitoring the implementation of the government’s equality plan.
In addition, a network of approximately fifty regional focal points has been established within the Ministry with a view to a stronger integration of the gender dimension into programmes and projects for agricultural value chains development.
An operational action plan was developed in 2016 to ensure the effective implementation of a gender strategy in agriculture. The action plan focuses on two major areas of intervention, the first being more oriented to promoting changes in the institutional infrastructure and the second more specific on the integration of gender dimension in the agricultural strategy.
A monitoring and evaluation system has also been established and data are collected by focal points, both at central and regional level, in order to report on all actions undertaken towards gender equality in the agricultural sector.
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