1 Introduction

In the plant production sector, the palette of activities bridging the gap in time and space between production and consumption is called the post-harvest sector. This includes:

• conditioning (threshing, winnowing, shelling, peeling, husking, drying, curing);
• storing and stock protection (small or large-scale storage);
• transport (e.g., from field to warehouse, from warehouse to market, from mill to market);
• processing (on individual or collective basis);
• distribution / marketing (own use, gifts, sale and purchase).

Hardly any comprehensive support has been given to the post-harvest sector and its interlinkage with primary production. Rather, the problem of losses has been emphasised, thereby placing storing and stock protection measures in the forefront. However, the post-harvest sector is being viewed increasingly as a whole system, putting individual aspects into a relative perspective. Thus a shift in emphasis has also occurred on the problem-solving level. More and more attention is focused on the individual actors in the post-harvest sector: producers, dealers, processers, consumers, etc., each representing his / her own interests, which can conflict with those of the other actors. The various functions, in turn, can be carried out by women as well as by men. Social status, as well as the roles and tasks allotted to individuals, vary according to gender, ethnic group, age, social level and distinctive sociocultural features. These gender-determined differences between men and women - their gender roles or the relationship between the genders - are what is meant by the term "gender."

Gender aspects in the post-harvest sector are particularly significant with regard to the following factors:

The first entry point to the subject lies in the key role women play in the post-harvest sector, beginning with the storage of grain, roots and tubers and on through to the sale and processing; e.g., the preparation of products. Despite regional, ethnic and cultural variations, women frequently take a substantial part in this process.

The second entry point results from the inefficiency and inappropriateness of a great number of technologies and mechanisms to be found in the post-harvest sector, and from the varying impacts of technological transformation on men and women. Frequently these lead to a worsening of conditions for women, or to a degree of risk they are scarcely able accurately to estimate.

The third entry point to gender issues in the post-harvest period derives from the starting points for improving both the practical circumstances in which women live and their social status in the framework of this agricultural (sub)sector as well as adjacent fields.

Organisation of contents and pointers for creative use of this guide

To identify gender-specific impacts and potential for change in the post-harvest sector, questions will be formulated in regard to three central components:

• living conditions of women and men in rural areas (Chapter 2);
• gender-specific division of labour (Chapter 3);
• access to and control of resources (Chapter 4).

For a better understanding of the small farming structures that occupy a prominent place in this guide, the introduction to gender-specific living conditions in rural areas was placed at the beginning. The pointers in chapters 3 and 4 are more strongly oriented to specific issues in the post-harvest sector.

Chapter 5 points out the potential of women to act and outlines approaches to the further development of existing project approaches. To clarify individual factors, actual cases from West Africa will be drawn upon.

These pointers should not be "worked through" from A - Z, but used selectively instead. Whether it is best to begin with the first chapter or with one of the later ones will depend on the user's experience with and knowledge of gender-sensitive procedures in the project cycle: a reader who knows a great deal about the subject might even start with the last section.

Depending on the context, certain questions will surely need to be reformulated, too. Thus, the questions suggested in the Annex are also only meant as starting points for the user's own analyses. Detailed criteria for a study must be selected according to the needs and requirements of the respective project. Almost none of the suggested questions should be addressed directly to the target group. Rather, these formulations are intended to stimulate the researcher's thinking; our direct, plain style, especially in regard to these sensitive matters, is more likely to offend than it is to gain information. Indirect questions and patient observation are often the best way.

It should always be kept in mind as well, when working with gender issues, that the careful but deliberate creation of greater awareness in a local extension worker who deals continually with the target group can lead to far more sustainable success than any single workshop.

Besides all the pointers given here specifically concerning the post-harvest sector, the Trainers Manual¹ of the pilot program for gender issues is indispensable for day-to-day work in the gender sector. In addition to detailed information on the subject, it provides handouts and overhead transparencies for seminars and workshops, describes the participatory rural appraisal (PRA) method that is most important in connection with gender and pursues the subject of gender through the entire project cycle. A detailed reference list is given for all secondary aspects.