Posted: September 2nd, 2022

Theory of Change

Theory of Change
Theory of change represents an emerging understanding of how improvements in access to finance, technical assistance, markets for products and country-level infrastructure can unlock a virtuous cycle of productivity, improved resilience, and reduced risk that in turn leads to a positive impact on rural families, communities and ecosystems (Mayne, 2015). With many actors in the smallholder support community working at different levels of the agricultural value chain. This theory of change helps to create a shared vision for how these efforts combine to promote smallholders’ prosperity and environmental stewardship and recognizes that trust and shared value among value chain actors is paramount to ecosystem development.
The thinking around a Theory of Change can be applied to projects, programs, policy or strategies. It can also be applied within organizations. In all of these instances, be it organizational or for an intervention, a mission, objective or strategy is typically formulated. For example, reduce hunger (Breuer et al., 2016). The ‘how’ in the formulated goal is often not always explicitly addressed. In 1995, Weiss argued that a key reason complex programs are so difficult to evaluate is that the assumptions that inspire them are poorly articulated. Stakeholders typically are unclear about how the desired change process will unfold and therefore little attention was placed on early and mid-term changes that need to happen in order for a longer-term goal to be reached (Douthwaite & Hoffecker, 2017). The lack of clarity about the ‘mini-steps’ that must be taken to reach a long term outcome can reduce the likelihood that all of the important factors related to the long term goal will be addressed. Central to this process is recognizing the assumptions that are made. Understanding, and making explicit, the assumptions that will lead to the desired change is central to the Theory of Change.
The Theory of Change offers a way to describe the set of assumptions that explain the mini-steps that lead to the long term goal of interest. It helps to explain how activities are understood to produce a series of results that contribute to achieving the final intended impacts (Allen, Cruz & Warburton, 2017). It can be developed for any level of intervention an event, a project, a program, a policy, a strategy or an organization. It can be developed either for an intervention where the objectives and activities can be identified and tightly planned beforehand or in an intervention that changes and adapts in response to emerging issues and to decisions made by partners and other stakeholders.
A theory of change is usually presented in a visual diagram (or logic model) that allows the reader to see the big picture quickly. It does not usually provide a specific implementation plan. The purpose of the process is to allow people to think about what must be changed before doing it. Programs, projects, strategies, and interventions need to be grounded in good theory (Mayne, 2017). If the intervention is based on good theory, with well-tested assumptions, then managers can be better assured that their programs are delivering the right activities for the desired outcomes (Cadzow & Binns, 2016). By creating a theory of change, programmes are often easier to sustain, bring to scale, and evaluate, since each step from the ideas through to the outcomes it aims for, to the resource requirements are clearly defined within the theory. Farmers’ organizations worldwide continue to be dominated by adult men. This trend is often a result of deeply-rooted institutional norms and membership requirements that militate against the participation of more vulnerable actors, such as women and young people (Cadzow & Binns, 2016). These gender and generation gaps in farmers’ organizations limit the sustainability and cohesion of these groups and jeopardize efforts to reduce poverty

Theory of Change on Gender Equality in Agriculture and Rural Development
Agriculture is one of the most widespread activities in the world and has a crucial role in food production, environmental protection, landscape preservation, rural employment and food security (McCarthy, 2017). From a gender point of view, there are significant gaps between women and men. The gaps are regarding the unequal contribution of men and women in the agricultural sector, especially in rural areas. Women should participate and contribute on an equal basis with men in the social, economic and political processes of rural development and share fully in improved conditions of life in rural areas (Agunga, Sanga & Isaya, 2018). This is part of the Declaration of Principles and Programme of Action of the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, July 1979.
Women provide a large proportion of the labor of agricultural production, even though official statistics based on census and survey instruments often underestimate women’s work and its contribution to national wealth. Problems persist in the collection of reliable and comprehensive data on rural women’s work in agriculture and other productive sectors because of the invisibility of women’s work (Agarwal, 2019). Other reasons include the seasonal and part-time nature of women’s work and unremunerated family mostly women and children labor. Development of entrepreneurship and self-employment in agriculture and rural areas is also crucial for the improvement of women’s employment situation. The contribution of women in the rural economy may be promoted through self-employment and small businesses (Waiswa & Phelps, 2017). It is thus important to foster the equality of women in the rural agricultural sector. A theory of change will be essential in developing the basic idea on how to plan and execute plans for the necessary changes.
The Theory of Change specifies the following conditions for the attainment of gender equality and the economic and social empowerment of women in rural development and agriculture (Kumar, Hossain & Gope, 2015). One of the conditions is that women’s voices are heard and their influence felt in decision-making, as well as direction-setting, at household, local, national and global levels. Rights are implemented and laws are reformed and enforced in ways that help to shift norms and enhance the condition of women’s lives. Such rights include not only freedom from violence and access to resources and essential services, but also inclusion and participation in new social, economic and political spaces (Bayeh, 2016). One of the proposals for change is to expand women’s access to land and rural finance. It will include providing women with greater access to land, finance, and production inputs are critical to closing the productivity gap between men and women. Microfinance institutions and other financial service providers with a presence in rural areas can play a key role in supporting women farmers. The proposal also ensures that women benefit from land titling projects.
It is also important to link women to agricultural value chains. When women are linked to agricultural value chains from production all the way to processing and marketing, they help make traditional farming more productive and commercially viable (Jali & Islam, 2017). Inclusive value chains also offer work opportunities for women and men off the farm. Improving rural women’s access to training and information is also necessary. Knowledge of farming techniques is critical to productivity, however, women farmers have inadequate access to agricultural extension and training services. It is also important that training and agricultural technologies are accessible and adapted to rural women’s needs and constraints (Mayne, 2015). Produce knowledge, data, and tools that promote gender equality in agriculture and food sector projects: The Bank produces resources that help practitioners integrate gender-sensitive actions in their projects.
Enhanced agricultural policies, programs and incentives systematically improve rural livelihoods, along with rural and agricultural infrastructure and services. They also create equal access to economic opportunities that empower rural women and strengthen the rural economy overall. Efficient agricultural policies are essential to meeting the increasing demand for safe and nutritious food in a sustainable way (Breuer et al., 2016). While growth in demand for food, feed, fuel, and fibers presents significant opportunities for agriculture, government policies must address challenges such as increasing productivity growth, enhancing environmental performance and adaptation to climate change and improving the resilience of farm households to market shocks brought on by weather and other unforeseen circumstances. Policy evaluation provides needed evidence for governments to ensure that their agri-food policies address these challenges well (Breuer et al., 2016). Efficient policies clearly separate targeted measures that provide income support to farm households in need, from measures that support increased farm productivity, sustainability, resilience, and overall profitability.
Financial and productive resources are equally accessible to poor rural women and men. This access helps women develop entrepreneurial activities in agriculture mostly smallholder and other business activities. It is important that development strategies that aim to boost rural women’s productive capacity must enhance women’s direct access to financial services, i.e. not mediated through their husbands (Douthwaite & Hoffecker, 2017). A second benefit of improving women’s direct access to and control over resources is that this leads to higher investments in human capital and have a stronger impact on children’s health, nutrition and education with important long-term implications for families and societies. Rural women play an important role in all agri-food value chains, as workers, traders, entrepreneurs, and as owners of a substantial share of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agriculture sector (Douthwaite & Hoffecker, 2017). Financial inclusion, referring to the capability of accessing a range of diverse and tailored financial services, is often one of the most critical constraints to business growth and development for women entrepreneurs in rural areas.
Better community organizations and social structures are developed that include women and listen to women’s voices. Improvements in this area will help to limit women’s vulnerability and allow them greater influence in local decisions and will enhance the community. Social change requires long-term commitment and effort on the part of development agencies (Allen, Cruz & Warburton, 2017). The short donor funding cycles of one to two years simply do not allow for meaningful capacity-building within communities. Nor is there time for agencies to examine and address resistance and backlash that stall progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. Furthermore, there is a need to improve accessibility to training and education sensitive to the needs of girls and women. Innovative approaches to agricultural and rural development training are essential to both the technical and social needs of women (Allen, Cruz & Warburton, 2017). These can be adapted and scaled up for greater impact, and include recent efforts to engage men as agents of social change in value-chain initiatives and farmer field schools.

Theory of Change Model

Scope of the Problem
Available evidence suggests, for example, that it is not correct to say that women produce food by themselves, or that they form the majority of the poor. Also, female-headed households are not necessarily the poorest of the poor (Mayne, 2017). Though women appear to own only 1 percent of the world’s land, this statistic may be a reflection of the fact that such figures take into account only individual land titling and not joint titles and other tenure systems. Over 15 years of research, supported by the recent State of Food and Agriculture Report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), provide powerful evidence for the need to reduce the gender gap in agriculture and rural development. However, further research needs to be done to determine what works on the ground and can be more widely adopted and replicated. Women play key roles in agriculture and poverty reduction and their assets are vital, particularly in relation to the household (Mayne, 2017). Moreover, it is clear that rural women use the income they generate to improve the health, and food and nutrition security of their children, as well as to provide educational opportunities for them.
Not only is Africa a rich continent that could benefit greatly from efforts to modernize agriculture, but it is also becoming more technologically sophisticated and business-oriented. The scene across the continent is changing rapidly, with new pressures and challenges emerging (Cadzow & Binns, 2016). Smallholder farmers, particularly, are feeling the impact of climate change, global markets and commercial land acquisitions. There is a growing body of rural women and men producers and entrepreneurs. New opportunities are also emerging from enhanced access to information through new technologies, such as the availability of market information through cell phones.
Global Solutions
UN Women supports the leadership and participation of rural women in shaping laws, strategies, policies, and programs on all issues that affect their lives, including improved food and nutrition security, and better rural livelihoods. Training equips them with the skills to pursue new livelihoods and adapt technology to their needs (Cadzow & Binns, 2016). In India, with support from UN Women’s Fund for Gender Equality, the Dalit Women’s Livelihoods Accountability Initiative has helped women marginalized by the caste system engage in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. Between 2009 and 2011, in eight districts, their participation grew from 2,800 to more than 14,000. Many Dalit women now have bank accounts in their names and are unionized to defend their rights. In Zimbabwe, along one of the poorest stretches of the Zambezi River, new equipment and training offered by UN Women have helped women from the Tonga ethnic group break into the male-dominated fishing industry. Instead of selling fish purchased from men’s boats, they now market their own catch (McCarthy, 2017). Sales have doubled, and the women are organizing collectives, extending their market reach to larger towns and cities, and participating in a revolving fund providing small loans. Women farmers typically have less access to irrigation technology.
In China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, UN Women helped ensure that scores of women farmers are able to learn about, acquire and maintain advanced irrigation systems. Climate change has made the flow of local rivers, the traditional source of water, unpredictable (McCarthy, 2017). Many men have left their villages for jobs in cities, with women remaining behind to take up farming. To underscore new ways of thinking, local drama troupes have staged performances demonstrating the value of women’s participation in water management. Surveys have shown that local women, with their confidence bolstered by new skills and options, have become increasingly willing to voice their opinions in village affairs.
Action
Strengthening and reforming legal and rights-based frameworks along with customary practices, through adequate political will. Women and men must participate in this process and appropriate resources, including incentives, must be dedicated to it. Improving the policy environment for women, so that budgets are developed which respect the indigenous knowledge of communities and the specific needs of women (Agunga, Sanga & Isaya, 2018). Examples of innovative policy environments include Uganda’s system of decentralization of governments and spending, and South Africa’s gender policies and frameworks. Ensuring that women’s voices are heard through the enhancement of community education and awareness-raising programs, which encourage women’s participation as leaders, whether in rural councils or parliament. Examples include Rwanda, where women must form at least 30 percent of political representation; Kenya, which has strong and respected women parliamentarians and advocates; and Liberia, which has a female president and minister of agriculture along with other powerful female decision-makers (Agarwal, 2019). Identifying or creating essential systems, infrastructure, culture and traditions that benefit women. This process involves educating women and men about their national and international rights through communication channels both within the community and through the media (Agarwal, 2019). The benefits of women’s empowerment need exposure so that resisters become supporters. Extending small-scale capacity and local resources to support women’s participation in alternative agricultural production practices such as organic and agroecological farming.
Benefits of the Theory of Change of Empowering Rural Women Farmers
Empowering and investing in rural women has, over the years, resulting in significant improvements in productivity and rural livelihoods (Waiswa & Phelps, 2017). In most developing countries, women are responsible for nutrition and food security at the household level. Yet, they hold the smallest percentage of registered land. According to research by Farming First with the FAO Gender Department, on average, 43% of the agricultural labor force in developing countries is women. Of these women, 79% depend on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood. Most households are headed by women but their access to productive resources is limited. The effects of climate change make all the traditional tasks of the women uncertain and dangerous, yet they have no voice in decision making processes on policies regarding the environment (Waiswa & Phelps, 2017). The research also showed that a rural woman typically works longer than a man. They are employed in labor-intensive tasks and earn lower wages than men. As farming alone doesn’t often sustain the family, the off-farm economy is an important source of household income. Yet rural women do not have the same access to these employments opportunities as men.
“For so long, women have been neglected when it comes to all forms of support: functional literacy, financial, knowledge, and technology,” says Professor Ruth Oniang’o, founder and leader of the Rural Outreach Programme, editor-in-chief of the Africa Journal of Food, Nutrition and Development, and one of the winners of the 2017 Africa Food Prize (Kumar, Hossain & Gope, 2015). “We should move away from rhetoric and truly involve women in all facets of development.” Katrina Sasse, an Australian cereal farmer, and 2017 Nuffield Australia Scholar add that “structural and cultural issues within agriculture must change for the gender gap to close.” For generations, antiquated norms have dictated the social structure of rural communities (Kumar, Hossain & Gope, 2015). Women farmers are often relegated to unpaid farm work and household tasks while men receive training, resources, and land. Sasse explains that “the tradition of passing a farm down to a son means males continue to have greater influence and power within agriculture.”
Government organizations, agricultural bodies, universities, companies, regional organizations, NGOs and networks of agricultural organizations, have often come together with one objective: to improve livelihoods and support rural women’s rights. This will also promote sustainable development, strengthen women’s leadership, improve food and nutrition security and help increase rural women’s incomes so that they can meet their needs (Bayeh, 2016). Farming First suggests that we need to encourage rural women to participate in farmer organizations and cooperatives. By doing this, we can achieve economies of scale in access to markets and reduce rural women’s isolation while building confidence, leadership, and security (Bayeh, 2016). It’s time to bridge the gender yield gap because it will boost food and nutrition security globally and increase agricultural output. This is the journey we must make to reduce hunger.
Conclusion
Rural women are key agents for achieving the transformational economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development. But limited access to credit, health care, and education are among the many challenges they face, which are further aggravated by the global food and economic crises and climate change. Empowering them is key not only to the well-being of individuals, families and rural communities but also to overall economic productivity, given women’s large presence in the agricultural workforce worldwide. Rural areas are changing rapidly, but the shift does not affect women and men in the same way. In the process of rural development and transformation, as employment for both women and men expands in other sectors, employment in the agricultural sector is expected to shrink. Yet delving through available data and the literature, we find that the reality isn’t quite that simple. In a great number of developing countries, as men move out of family farming, women tend to stay–or move out of the sector a lot more slowly. Many women even take on new jobs and responsibilities in agriculture. We call this phenomenon the ‘feminization’ of agriculture.

References
Agarwal, B. (2019). Does group farming empower rural women? Lessons from India’s experiments. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 1-32.
Agunga, R., Sanga, C. A., & Isaya, E. (2018). Empowering Women Farmers in Tanzania Through Communication for Development. World, 5(2).
Allen, W., Cruz, J., & Warburton, B. (2017). How decision support systems can benefit from a theory of change approach. Environmental Management, 59(6), 956-965.
Bayeh, E. (2016). The role of empowering women and achieving gender equality to the sustainable development of Ethiopia. Pacific Science Review B: Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(1), 37-42.
Breuer, E., De Silva, M. J., Shidaye, R., Petersen, I., Nakku, J., Jordans, M. J., … & Lund, C. (2016). Planning and evaluating mental health services in low-and middle-income countries using the theory of change. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 208(s56), s55-s62.
Cadzow, H., & Binns, T. (2016). Empowering Freetown’s women farmers. Applied Geography, 74, 1-11.
Douthwaite, B., & Hoffecker, E. (2017). Towards a complexity-aware theory of change for participatory research programs working within agricultural innovation systems. Agricultural Systems, 155, 88-102.
Jali, M. R. M., & Islam, G. M. N. (2017). Empowering rural women in Pakistan: empirical evidence from Southern Punjab. Quality & Quantity, 51(4), 1777-1787.
Kumar, D., Hossain, A., & Gope, M. C. (2015). Role of a microcredit program in empowering rural women in Bangladesh: A study on Grameen Bank Bangladesh Limited. Asian Business Review, 3(4), 114-120.
Mayne, J. (2015). Useful theory of change models. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 30(2).
Mayne, J. (2017). Theory of change analysis: Building robust theories of change. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 32(2).
McCarthy, L. (2017). Empowering women through corporate social responsibility: A feminist Foucauldian critique. Business Ethics Quarterly, 27(4), 603-631.
Waiswa, M., & Phelps, M. (2017). Empowering Women: A case study of women’s participation in political processes in Nakuru county.

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