Project profile — Empowering Bolivian Women through sustainable small-scale pond Aquaculture

• Bolivia (100.00%)

• Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions:
Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (25.00%)
Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (0.50%)
• Agriculture: Food crop production (31161) (15.00%)
• Fishing policy and administrative management:
Fishing policy and administrative management (31310) (14.50%)
Fishery development (31320) (15.00%)
Fishery education/training (31381) (20.00%)
Fishery services (31391) (10.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (significant objective)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (significant objective)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project aims to reduce poverty and improve the well-being and gender equality for women and their families through equitable and sustainable aquaculture development. It responds to current issues around inadequate income sources, social marginalization, food insecurity, and women’s unequal access to resources while consolidating previous success in the region through two phases of the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (2011-2014; 2015-2018). The project uses the triangular model of cooperation between Bolivian, Brazilian and Canadian partners, including the Centre for Rural Agricultural Promotion (Bolivia); Ingenieria Marketing Gestion Consulting S.R.L. (Bolivia); Asociación de Productores Norte Integrado (Bolivian women-led aquaculture producer association); CIDRE (a Brazilian financial organization); Royal Roads University; University of Victoria (Gender Studies); and EMBRAPA (Brazilian state agricultural research and development company) to achieve sustainable results. Project activities include: (1) providing technical training for gender-responsible best aquaculture practices and pond management and technological innovations; (2) supporting women-led social entrepreneurship initiatives; (3) improving value-added production and marketing support; (4) supporting response protocols for facilitating access to local support groups (mitigating gender-based violence) and reducing participation barriers; (5) establishing a gender oversight committee for training and project review as well as an aquaculture roundtable; and (6) supporting training activities with producers in governance and equitable participation. The project benefits approximately 3,000 direct beneficiaries (including 60% women and girls) and 15,000 indirect beneficiaries (including at least 40% women) targeting ten municipalities in the Departments of Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, and Tarija.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) greater equity in access and control of sustainable aquaculture resources (inputs, production, income, value-added products, and benefits); (2) increased participation of women in decision-making and governance within their associations and the aquaculture sector; and (3) strengthened commitment of decision-makers to gender-equitable economic development, particularly in aquaculture.

Results achieved as of December 2023 include: (1) strengthened management capacity of a social enterprise with strong women’s leadership. This resulted in the negotiation of a 900,000 Bs (Can$175,403) loan from the Bolivian Productive Development Bank (BDP) to import new equipment and purchase land for the creation of a new industrial fish feed production plant; (2) improved practical skills of 36 fish farming leaders (22 women and 14 men) to request annual funding from the government of Bolivia; (3) made progress planning gender and environmental components of a university-level technical assistance in aquaculture program for 30 fish farmers; (4) identified fish merchants, restaurateurs, food manufacturers, ice makers, fingerling suppliers, and suppliers of other inputs for fish farming to provide them with training for gender-sensitive skills to improve the management of their businesses; and (5) provided virtual aquaculture training modules to 517 aquaculture loan clients (33% women) of the National Productive Development Bank (BDP) in the municipalities of Villa Tunari and Entre Ríos.

• Proactive disclosure