FAO's Integrated Support to Sustainable Development and Food Security Programme (IP) was initiated in March 1998, with funding from the governments of Norway and Finland. It is a normative programme implemented in collaboration with partners in Namibia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The aim of the IP is to promote synergy through interdisciplinary collaboration and information-sharing across and in support of ongoing rural development programmes. Gender is mainstreamed throughout the programme, and several of the activities involve capacity-building in relation to gender. Workshops on Socioeconomic and Gender Analysis (SEAGA) and Gender disaggregated data have been held in partner countries, and activities focusing on appropriate farm technologies for women and men are under development. Namibia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe have an interdisciplinary national task force (NTF) or national working group (NWG) who are responsible for planning activities and providing technical advice. Each country has a national facilitator who is responsible for the logistics, co-ordination and implementation of the activities.

Activities in Uganda

In collaboration with partners from the veterinary medicine, research, statistics, extension, farm animal genetic resources, agricultural engineering and others, the IP in Uganda has developed activities in line with the national priorities presented at the IP planning workshop in July 1999.So far the focus has been on establishing networks and collaboration between diverse sectors that are working towards food security in Uganda. Much of the work has been centered on gender mainstreaming and participatory tools and methods.Several training of trainer's workshops in Socio-economic and Gender Analysis (SEAGA) have been conducted, and the National Facilitators have acted as resource persons for national and international organisations in Uganda on gender mainstreaming issues.

The IP has collaborated with the Household Agricultural Support Programme (HASP) in training their extension staff in Socio-economic and participatory tools and methods. The HASP programme is a part of DANIDA's support to the Agricultural Sector Programme, and they are implementing activities in collaboration with the local government and the Ministry of Agriculture. SEAGA training of trainer's workshops were held in May 2000 in the Pallisa, Tororo, Masaka, Rakai and Kabarole districts, and 118 men and 25 women were trained.

The IP in Uganda has also collaborated closely with the National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO), and assisted in the facilitation of a gender sensitisation workshop in the spring of 2000. In collaboration with Buckley High School, Makerere University and other partners, the IP facilitators have presented participatory tools and methods at a seminar for teachers in addition to gender sensitisation activities. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Makerere University is collaborating with the IP in engendering the curricula.

A one-day meeting for users and producers of data took place in November 2000. The objective of the meeting was to initiate a dialogue among key stakeholders in data production and utilisation and to identify training needs in gender disaggregated data among stakeholders at all levels. In mid-November, a Ugandan participant (statistician) from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF) attend an IP workshop on gender disaggregated data in Namibia. A training workshop on gender disaggregated data was held for technical staff in April 2001 in Entebbe.

More activities related to gender disaggregated data are under development.

For more information about the IP, please contact one of the IP National Facilitators in Uganda:
Forough Olinga on: ipuganda@utlonline.co.ug
Catherine Barasa on: barasa@infocom.co.ug

More information can also be obtained from the IP Website. Please visit our webpages on gender and the SD-dimensions:
http://www.fao.org/sd/ip
http://www.fao.org/Gender/gender.htm

Socioeconomic and Gender Analysis (SEAGA)

The SEAGA Programme promotes a general awareness and sensitivity towards gender issues. It also strengthens the capacity of development specialists to incorporate gender considerations into development planning. SEAGA offers practical methods and tools that can be used at the field, intermediate and macro levels.

The SEAGA Programme was initiated in 1993 to operationalise gender analysis in an integrated and practical manner and to respond to the major development challenges of the 1990s and beyond.

Approach
The SEAGA Programme incorporates an approach to development based on an analysis of the socioeconomic patterns that affect development projects and programmes in practice, and on the participatory identification of women's and men's priorities for development.

Principles
Guiding principles of the SEAGA Programme are that gender roles and relations are of key importance, that priority should go to meeting the needs of disadvantaged people, and that participation of local people is essential for development.

Objectives
The overall objective of the SEAGA Programme is to strengthen socioeconomic and gender analysis capacities at the regional, national and local levels. It will develop a package of practical SEAGA tools and methods, disseminate the package to development specialists, and establish a dedicated network of development specialists.

Content
The SEAGA Programme's core concept is the "Development Context" - the combined analysis of socioeconomic patterns at macro, intermediate and field levels. An assessment of the Development Context makes it possible to begin to define and prioritise steps towards positive change.

Package
The SEAGA Package is composed of interrelated materials and tools developed with inputs from experts from many regions. It includes a Framework and Users reference, Handbooks for the Macro, Intermediate and Field levels, Guides, Training-of-trainers materials, and an Information Kit. The Package is being produced in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Users
The SEAGA Package is designed for development agents who work directly with local communities, development planners in all types of public and private sector institutions, and a wide cross section of national- and international-level policy makers, from officials in government ministries to heads of NGOs or private institutions.

For further information on SEAGA, contact:
SEAGA/SDWW,
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
E-mail: SEAGA@fao.org
SEAGA website: http://www.fao.org/sd/seaga/
Uganda contact:
Forough Olinga, email: ipuganda@utlonline.co.ug
Catherine Barasa, email: barasa@infocom.co.ug