In line with CORAF/WECARD gender policy and strategy, WAAPP committed to ensure its contribution in closing the gender gap in West Africa agriculture, by facilitating an equitable access to agricultural research and development resources, opportunities and benefits for men and women, particularly for vulnerable groups such as women and youth, in delivering the following results:

• Gender smart technologies and innovations increased, throughout gender capacity building, and provision of gender mainstreaming tools in agricultural research programmes and projects to stakeholders;

• Gender smart agricultural policies and market policies identified and proposed;

• Gender mainstreaming in the regional agricultural research system strengthened and coordinated;

• Demand for gender technical assistance formulated by stakeholders to mainstream gender in agricultural research and development facilitated and satisfied.

Strategies put in place to meet the expectations consist to ensure gender mainstreaming in WAAPP all along with the following:

Develop tools for gender and social inclusion in project cycle;

Ensure gender screening of concepts notes and projects;

 Provide the stakeholders involved in WAAPP projects with gender capacity building and gender tools to mainstream gender in their various activities;

Provide female and young researchers with leadership and scientific capacity building, and follow up for their access to decision-making positions in Agricultural Research and Development (AR&D) in the region;

Assist WAAPP Projects Coordination Units (PCU) in the development of their Gender Action Plans, facilitate the identification of countries Gender Focal Persons and facilitate specific capacity building for them;

Provide WAAPP countries with gender technical assistance to foster gender and social inclusion in their various activities;

Demand for gender technical assistance formulated by stakeholders to mainstream gender in agricultural research and development facilitated and satisfied.