The document notes that IFAD has financed 53 projects in 23 countries of the region of LAC. During the first period of IFAD actions (1978/85), projects focussed on the promotion of gender issues through an analysis of the potential impacts of project activities on women. In the period following 1985, as the Fund became increasingly aware of the need for detailed targeting, more specifically defined gender issues were included in project design. This arose from the realization that rural women in project areas might not otherwise benefit from project activities. In the last few years (since 1987) projects have generally included specific project activities designed to benefit women or specifically outlined was of ensuring that women beneficiaries are included within the group of beneficiaries of mainstream project components. In the next sections of the document, it will be analyzed some of the factors which must be borne in mind in order to address the specific needs of peasant women by means of the basic components which generally constitute an agricultural development project. (MIBA)