Contents:
 1. PRGA Program participation at ECABREN Steering Committee Meeting in Arusha
 2. Women's Day celebration at CIAT (March 8, 2010)
 3. PRGA Program participated in a special session on Climate Change in Colombia (in Spanish)
 4. Interesting article from the Economist: "Some innovations help women more than others"
 5. Katie Rickets from CIAT- DAPA shares an article: "Women and Agriculture"
 6. Upcoming Events

1. PRGA Program at the East and Central Africa Bean Research Network [ECABREN] Steering Committee Meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, (February 2010)

At the close of the recent East and Central Africa Bean Research Network [ECABREN] steering committee meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, participants unanimously agreed to begin implementing the gender guidelines introduced in PABRA's 2009 - 2013 framework.

Carried out by Dr. Patricia Biermayr-Jenzano, the PRGA Program leader, the ECABREN committee members were given an insight into what gender issues entail. Defining gender as the socially constructed roles attributed to males and females was the first item presented, alongside a sourcebook from the World Bank, Gender in Agriculture.

ECABREN photo credit

Read more:
http://ciatlibrary.blogspot.com/2010/03/ecabren-takes-on-new-gender-challenges.html

PRGA photo credit

To see presentation in Spanish:
http://www.prgaprogram.org/Presentations/Dia%20de%20la%20MUJER@CIAT2010.ppt

3. PRGA Program participated in a special session on Climate Change in Colombia (in Spanish):

"Cambio Climático y Cambio Ambiental: Causas, Efectos y Retos para Colombia y el Mundo" (February 16, 2010)

Ms. Claudia Ximena Garcia, PRGA Program Assistant Coordinator, represented our Program at the ICESI University, in Cali. Her reflections in relation to Gender and Climate Change are presented in Spanish to our audience.

PRGA photo credit

4. Interesting article from the Economist: "Some innovations help women more than others"

TWO recent innovations have garnered a lot of attention for the way they empower women. One is microcredit, a system of lending to very poor people, the majority of whom are female microentrepreneurs who are thus helped to climb out of poverty. The other is the mobile phone, which among other things has led to the emergence of an army of "telephone ladies" in countries such as Bangladesh, who earn a decent living by buying a phone and renting it out to other villagers.

ICT photo credit

More information:
http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15656289

5. Katie Rickets from CIAT- DAPA shares an article: "Women and Agriculture"

Our colleague Katie Rickets from CIAT DAPA - Decision and Policy Analysis, has shared a timely article on the International Women's day, about women and agriculture, released March 8th, 2010.

N. PalmerCIATphoto credit

To read article:
http://gisweb.ciat.cgiar.org/dapablogs/dapa-markets/?p=355