Dr. Blesshe L. Querijero delves into the strategies on how to integrate GAD core elements in a project’s development and implementation phases. (Image credit: Jo-Jee T. Ocampo, SERD, DOST-PCAARRD)
The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) leads in advancing the integration of gender dimensions in research and development (R&D) within the agriculture, aquatic, and natural resources (AANR) sector by hosting the gender and development (GAD) Training Series for 2024.
Held in Baguio City, Benguet from August 20–22 and September 24–26, 2024, this initiative seeks to improve the incorporation of gender dimensions in R&D practices, ensuring that the needs and perspectives of all stakeholders are effectively acknowledged and addressed.
During the opening program, DOST-PCAARRD Executive Director Reynaldo V. Ebora reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to serve as a model agency for gender mainstreaming. He emphasized that the training not only promotes the integration of gender and development (GAD) principles into the scientific value system, particularly in research settings but also leads in shaping key persons in R&D to become GAD advocates in the AANR sector.
Representatives from the Council's national research networks from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao attended the training and were able to enhance their R&D project proposals through the integration of gender analysis (GA) frameworks and statistics in the design and implementation processes.
The training series featured two phases, each focusing on the importance of utilizing GA tools and sex-disaggregated data (SDD) to identify and address the needs of women and men stakeholders in the AANR sector. The discussions were led by two GAD experts and members of the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) National GAD Resource Pool, Dr. Blesshe L. Querijero, and Ms. Maria Fe B. Singson.
Dr. Querijero is a former DOST-wide GAD Mainstreaming Coordinator and an Associate Professor IV of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). Ms. Singson is the current Supervising Science Research Specialist at the DOST’s GAD unit and a member of the Core Trainers on GA and Magna Carta of Women of the Philippine Commission on Women.
Members of DOST-PCAARRD’s national research networks participate in the 2024 GAD Training Series, Baguio City, Benguet. (Image credit: Jo-Jee T. Ocampo, SERD, DOST-PCAARRD)
In the first phase, Ms. Singson focused on fundamental GAD concepts within the context of the AANR sector, while Dr. Querijero covered GAD frameworks, tools, and the core elements of the Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines (HGDG) Design Checklist.
During the second phase, Dr. Querijero provided a refresher on GAD concepts, linking them to the stages of the R&D development cycle. She also discussed SDD and its importance in identifying gender issues, setting indicators, and facilitating data processing and dissemination.
The 2024 GAD training series concluded with remarks from the Socio-Economics Research Division (SERD) Director Ernesto O. Brown who echoed a unifying call for gender mainstreaming in AANR R&D. Dr. Brown reiterated that “to achieve gender-responsive R&D, we need combined efforts to ensure that gender analysis is applied to our programs and projects.”
This training series is part of the capacity-building initiatives of the DOST-PCAARRD-funded and -implemented project, “Enhancement of Gender and Development Integration Towards a More Inclusive R&D in AANR.” The project is implemented under the Gender and Development and Special Projects Unit (GADSPU) of SERD.