Women Matter: Overcoming

Gender Barriers to Agricultural

Development

Dr Cathy Rozel Farnworth

Empowering Women Makes a

Difference

Fewer Resources Less Output

• Average yield gap between men and

women farmers approx 20–30% due to

inequities in resource access and use.

• Bringing yields on the land farmed by

women up to the levels achieved by

men could increase agricultural output

in developing countries between 2.5

and 4%.

Less Output Less (good) Food

Closing the gender gap in agriculture

could bring down the number of

undernourished people in the world by

between 100-150 million people.

Source: FAO 2010

Women Making a Difference

1. Monica Munachonga

2. Violet Shivutse

3. Rudo Gaidzwana

Monica Munachonga

Governments for Gender Equity

Indigenize gender: participatory

consultative approach to promote

ownership of strategies and processes

Twin-track approach

Institutional change: policy/planning,

positions, systems, implementation,

M&E tools, reporting

Human resources: gender capacity dev.

for leadership, accountability, and will

Monica +

Research to support government

planning and programming: gender-

focused, sector-specific to produce sex-

disaggregated databases & sharing of

experience/ information

Investments in gender-sensitive farming

technologies:

• labour saving to reduce workload

• increase women’s participation in low-

input value chains

Violet Shivutse

Empowering Grassroots Women

Work with a grassroots woman to enable

her to articulate the issues affecting

her, enable her to be a change agent,

link her up with other women who

believe in the same to have a

collective voice.

Violet +

GROOTS Tools

• Map women’s vulnerabilities. Map

spaces of power.

• Link women together for collective

advocacy.

• Dialogue to hold leaders accountable.

• Transformative leadership training to

empower grassroots women to sit on

committees.

Rudo Gaidzwana:

Land plus Resources

Policy frameworks need to consider

impact of policy, criteria, delivery

processes re land-titling on married,

single, divorced, widowed women and

girls in comparison to men and boys.

Increase women’s productivity and

ability to accumulate assets for

collateral via mechanisation/credit.

Rudo +

• Clarify which law – customary or statutory

– is to be used in land allocation.

• Both women and men in a marriage should

be legal registrants

• Women seeking land in own right should be

legal registrants

• Women to establish national and local

unions to represent them in credit/input

negotiations, contracts, produce marketing

Men as Well

• Work with men to

help them to

support women

• Identify and address

male gender needs

in farming e.g junior

• Work towards

transforming

relationships/ GDL

Ways Forward

Write Shop (next 2 ½ days)

• Draw up PRACTICAL recommendations

for how to empower women in

agriculture

• Institutions. Productive Resources.

Markets. Climate Smart Agriculture.

Extension. Human Rights. HIV/AIDS.

Gender-based Violence.

For Voice, for Dignity, for Change

Thank You