Subproject 3:

Gender sensitive analysis of  value orientations and perceptions of nature by male and female farmers in their social milieu

This subproject focuses on farmers, embracing both organic and conventional farms. Male and female farmers’ perceptions of framework conditions and of the new agricultural policy are analysed and related to their value orientations, their attitudes towards nature and their social milieus. Including the farmers’ assessments and their knowledge will be crucial to analyse opportunity structures at the grassroots level. This subproject will also contribute to the discussion of the potentials and resources of men and women in the field to support quality-oriented forms of agriculture and to gain benefits from new market trends and new policies. Moreover, subproject three will reflect on the relationship between gender and perceptions of nature and development. As a start, the actors’ conception of their daily routines and their perception of nature are analysed with regard to the question if, where and how gender differences are perceived and what images and patterns of interpretation are transported.

As generally in agriculture different women and different men are involved in different social roles, the aim is to find a basic approach, which overcomes a simple differentiation between men and women.