FAO Report on Gender Gap in Agri-Food Systems

• 18 Apr 2023

Recently, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a report highlighting the importance of closing the gender gap in agri-food systems.

• The report suggests that closing the gender gap in farm productivity and agri-food-system employment would increase global gross domestic product (GDP) by 1% or nearly $1 trillion.
• Half of small-scale producers benefiting from development interventions focused on women would raise the incomes of an additional 58 million people and increase the resilience of an additional 235 million people.
• Women in agri-food systems face barriers and constraints that men do not, such as rigid gender norms and roles, unequal power dynamics, and discriminatory social structures.
• The report suggests that eliminating discrimination against women brings tangible benefits and that intervention is essential at every level of agri-food systems.
• Engaging with men and boys can also help make change happen faster.
• Giving women more access to and control over livestock, water, seeds, land, technology, and finance is important to grow their livelihoods.
• The report also reviewed 13 agricultural development projects from nine countries in Africa and South Asia, which showed mixed impacts on empowerment.
• However, one-third of agri-food system interventions in projects in Africa and South Asia led to a statistically significant increase in household gender parity, while women's control over income, asset ownership, and group membership all increased in projects in Africa and South Asia.