Benítez Fernández Bárbara, Nelson Erin, Crespo Morales Anaisa, Ortiz Pérez Rodobaldo, Acosta Roca Rosa, Cárdenas Travieso Regla María
Department of Sustainable Agroecosystem Management, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences (INCA), San José de las Lajas, Cuba.
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Front Sociol. 2023 Oct 6;8:1256379. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1256379. eCollection 2023.
Compared to many countries, Cuba has made significant progress in advancing women's rights and gender equity; however, disparities remain. In the country's rural communities and agricultural sector, women continue to face barriers to equal participation and recognition for the value of their work. This case study shares the story of gender equity efforts that have been conducted within the framework of a broader development project-the Project to Strengthen a System of Innovation in Local Agricultural Development (PIAL, for its initials in Spanish). PIAL began in 2001 as a participatory plant-breeding initiative aimed at increasing the genetic diversity of key crops such as maize and beans. Over the course of two decades, the project's goals expanded to include an emphasis on increasing women's participation. In the beginning, those efforts focused on including women in the participatory plant-breeding activities, which enabled them to prioritize traits they cared about such as grain texture, cooking speed, and taste in the selection process. Over time, the participatory nature of the PIAL methodology empowered women to identify and pursue capacity-building in other areas of local agricultural innovation. While PPB remained central to PIAL, women also chose to pursue opportunities in seed bank management, leadership training, and small-scale farm-based entrepreneurship. The results of the PIAL work on gender have included not just more inclusive plant breeding, but also important economic improvements for rural women as they have been able to diversify their livelihoods, and social change as they have gained confidence and recognition as leaders in their households, communities, and beyond.
与许多国家相比，古巴在推进妇女权利和性别平等方面取得了重大进展；然而，差距依然存在。在该国的农村社区和农业部门，妇女在平等参与和其工作价值得到认可方面仍面临障碍。本案例研究分享了在一个更广泛的发展项目——加强地方农业发展创新系统项目（西班牙语首字母缩写为PIAL）框架内开展的性别平等工作的故事。PIAL始于2001年，是一项参与式植物育种倡议，旨在增加玉米和豆类等主要作物的遗传多样性。在二十年的时间里，该项目的目标扩大到包括强调增加妇女的参与。一开始，这些努力侧重于让妇女参与参与式植物育种活动，这使她们能够在选择过程中优先考虑她们关心的性状，如谷物质地、烹饪速度和口感。随着时间的推移，PIAL方法的参与性质使妇女有能力在地方农业创新的其他领域确定并寻求能力建设。虽然参与式植物育种仍然是PIAL的核心，但妇女也选择在种子库管理、领导力培训和小型农场创业等方面寻求机会。PIAL在性别方面的工作成果不仅包括更具包容性的植物育种，还包括农村妇女经济状况的重要改善——她们能够实现生计多样化，以及社会变革——她们在家庭、社区及其他领域作为领导者获得了信心和认可。
