Women and Marginalised Group inclusion in Pakistan smallholder agriculture

Inclusive engagement and adoption outcomes have become key concepts in international discussions on development with emphasis on providing employment and poverty reduction in developing countries. In particular, social
inclusion has become a core framework in many aid recipient countries and women’s empowerment in particular now rates highly on the development policy agenda in countries such as Pakistan. This paper draws on the experience and outcomes of a Social Research Project (SRP) on pro poor collaborative development in Pakistan that was part of a larger, multidisciplinary program involving technical commodity based projects (CBPs) in mango, dairy and citrus production and mango value chain development. The program was part of an Australia Pakistan Agricultural Sector Linkages Program (ASLP) funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
(ACIAR). The SRP was introduced after the conclusion of ASLP Phase 1 (ASLP1) that involved only the CBPs. In ASLP1, the CBPs had focussed on economic growth in rural Pakistan through improved production techniques and
improved value chains, but did not specifically focus on improving the situation for the rural poor and marginalised and hence did not seek to engage marginalised groups such as women and smallholder farm households. ASLP2 sought to remedy this by adding the SRP to the original four CBPs.