Articles authored by Njenga, Mary

Articles

Despite increased attention to gender issues in the international development arena since the rise of feminism in the 1970s, few agricultural research organisations have integrated gender in their problem diagnosis and technology development. Gender mainstreaming can significantly enhance the impact of research and technology development. Entrenching gender mainstreaming in organisations and their research agendas remains a challenge. To overcome it requires political will, accountability, a change in organisational culture, and technical capacity within an organisation.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 72 per cent of urban and 98 per cent of rural households use fuelwood for energy. In Kenya use of charcoal in urban areas has risen by 64 per cent in two decades. Despite the charcoal industry providing employment to 500,000 people and generating over US$427 million that benefits grassroots communities, it has been kept out of the formal economies of this country. This review presents the status of the charcoal industry in Kenya, highlighting its contribution to livelihoods, production, utilisation, and implications for the environment; policy issues; and stakeholders' involvement. The review also proposes strategies to improve the sustainability of this sector.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2013.780529