TUBA, Benguet – The Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) gears towards the use of the Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF) and Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines (HGDG) through a four day seminar-workshop on Integrating Gender Lens into a Project Development Cycle at Um-a Farm, Tuba, Benguet on March 5 to 8.
The seminar-workshop strengthened the knowledge and awareness of the Gender and Development (GAD) Focal Point System (GFPS), specifically, in assessing the agency’s level of GAD mainstreaming and identifying areas of strengths and improvement using GMEF.
The HGDG tool was also discussed to ensure the integration of gender perspectives in the agency’s Programs, Projects, and Activities (PPAs).
Dr. Susan Balanza, Chief of the Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Division (PMED), shared that the agency’s GAD plan was initially client focused and organizational focused. She furthered that Gender and Development is dynamic and evolving thus the agency’s PPAs cannot be totally attributed to GAD if it hasn’t undergone the HGDG assessment.
“HGDG is important. Even if our program beneficiaries are mostly women, we still cannot attribute it to GAD if our PPAs have not undergone the HGDG assessment. This is timely as we will be convening in the last week of March for the GAD Agenda setting workshop. Hopefully our final PPAs for 2025 will already be GAD mainstreamed,” expressed Balanza.
Dr. Ferdinand Gonzales, Accredited Gender and Development Technical Assistance Consultant and an accredited trainer by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), served as the resource speaker for the activity.
Accordingly, DA-CAR has more women employees than men, hence, there is a need to ensure that all aspects of the agency are gender sensitive. “Kung mas marami ang babae sa lalaki dapat mas marami ang cubicles sa comfort room ng mga babae than sa mga lalaki. There is always a part of what you’re doing that is attributed to GAD. So it is a collective effort to identify gender issues in your respective divisions,” explained Gonzales.
He challenged the agency to find ways in mainstreaming GAD in the agriculture level. “How can you propose a project that is gender sensitive? You always need to mainstream gender in all your PPAs. For instance, there should be explicit research about gender and development in agri programs and projects,” furthered Gonzales.
The workshop enabled the GFPS and representatives to identify GAD issues and concerns, and lacking GAD competencies that the agency needed to work on. Ways forward will be laid out through the DA’s upcoming GAD activities. By Chamanei C. Elias
