Biologicals

Gender Equality And Youth Inclusion: Ten Focus Areas For Impact

16 October 2024, Ghana: UN Women recently published The Gender Snapshot 2024. While the report highlighted some positive developments, no indicator under SDG Goal 5, Gender Equality, has been achieved.  

Women comprise around 43% of the agricultural workforce in low- and middle-income countries. However, their responsibilities and capacity are too often diluted by gender inequalities. Breaking down the barriers to women and youth employment in agriculture can benefit the sector, food security, and communities. As such, gender and youth are now a central feature of all CABI development work and a significant component of the CABI PlantwisePlus programme.  

A newly published report pulls together recent gender research commission by CABI. The synthesis report highlights ten key focus areas where CABI projects and programmes can significantly impact the goal to ‘reduce inequality through better opportunities for rural women and youth’.  

1) Information and Communication  

Communication and information sharing are essential for sustainable development. Since men and women access agricultural information differently, communication campaigns must adopt a gender-responsive approach to address these barriers.  

Culturally appropriate communication methods, such as drama, songs, drawings, and symbols, can help bridge the knowledge gap for women and youth. Expanding outreach and improving extension services can further empower these groups and reinforce their roles in sustainable agriculture.  

Women are farmers and we must reflect this in all forms of communication. The language and visuals used to represent farmers should not assume that all farmers are men.  Additionally, sharing success stories and promoting role models can inspire change and challenge misconceptions. 

2. Extension Advisory Services 

Advisory services do not always meet the needs of women and young people. Adjustments like scheduling around other commitments and providing gender training for extension staff can improve accessibility. Increasing female extension workers supports more inclusive services, while training that combines technical knowledge with market dynamics can equip women and youths with skills to mentor farmers toward profitable enterprises.  

Collaboration with national agricultural departments can ensure equitable access to inputs, training, and technology while shifting social norms improves women’s access. Moreover, joint efforts between male and female workers can model inclusive practices and encourage shared decision-making.  

3. Digital Advisory 

Technology can help farmers access information and increase productivity. However, the digital divide stops women from having equal access to advisory services, digital devices, and the Internet. Moreover, cultural norms often restrict technology use. 

Targeted interventions are needed to provide rural women with the opportunities, tools, and information required to access and benefit from digital agriculture services. By prioritizing digital inclusion, a more equitable adoption of innovative agricultural practices can be planned, leading to increased productivity and empowerment for women farmers.  

4. Farmer Cooperatives 

Farmer cooperatives help farmers gain access to capital, information, technology, networks, and markets. However, these groups often exclude women and youth, undermining their potential and diluting their voices. 

In many countries, women-only cooperatives successfully bridge resource and access gaps. This reaps economic gains and fosters a supportive network that amplifies women’s and youth’s voices. As a result, women and youth are more likely to gain control over agricultural production, underscoring the transformative power of community support and shared knowledge.  

What is more, research suggests that farming cooperatives support increased uptake of new and improved technologies, such as the use of biocontrols. As such, introducing new technologies through women’s collectives, significantly increases uptake. 

5. Youth Engagement 

The future of agriculture depends on youth participation, but many are drawn to urban jobs, leading to labour shortages and a loss of traditional knowledge. In most cases, it is young men who leave for off-farm work, leaving women to handle both an increased agricultural workload and their domestic responsibilities. 

To attract young people, farming must offer opportunities for growth by developing skills and improving resource access. This challenges policymakers and industry leaders to rebrand agriculture as a technology, sustainability, and entrepreneurship sector.  

Gender analysis highlights gender gaps in youth employment and opportunity. Promoting young women in new sectors through community sensitization, role modelling, and showcasing female entrepreneurs can challenge gender-based job segregation. Without an intentional focus on young women’s employment, we risk replicating existing disparities. 

6. Financial innovations 

Women and youth farmers face barriers to accessing financial services due to limited assets and collateral, compounded by gender and age bias. Without traditional collateral, formal institutions are reluctant to engage with them. Inclusive and responsive financial products are required to support their role in sustainable agriculture.  

Village-based saving committees promote pooled resources and investments, enhancing financial access. Empowerment workshops and digital financial education further boost their understanding of banking, savings, and credit, providing autonomy in transactions and reducing barriers to formal financial institutions. 

7. Leadership and decision making  

Empowering women and youth in decision-making boosts agricultural productivity and community well-being. Limited confidence and insufficient information hinder their participation. Targeted interventions such as education, training, and support systems are needed to strengthen their capacity and confidence, enabling active roles in decision-making.  

Comprehensive empowerment and mentoring programs, including leadership development and farming collectives, can cultivate communication, strategic planning, and assertive leadership skills. Women should be seen and heard as leaders, taking on decisive leadership roles in which they direct agricultural interventions, fostering resilient and adaptive agricultural practices.  

8. Livelihoods Diversification and Nutrition 

Women and young farmers are more vulnerable to external shocks, particularly those brough about by climate change. By integrating livelihood diversification with nutritional support programs, women can ensure a steady food supply. Simultaneously, strategies to reduce home and farm input costs can free up resources for reinvestment into diversified income streams. This helps stabilize income and fortify households against the impacts of climate change, food insecurity, and economic uncertainty. 

9. Policy Reform 

Empowering women and youth in agriculture requires elevating their profiles to provincial, national, and regional dialogues and recognizing them as key stakeholders in policy-making. This validation supports their labour, entrepreneurship, and capacity for agro-biodiversity innovation.  

Policy reforms are needed to address barriers like access to land, capital, and resources. It is crucial to establish inclusive frameworks that integrate their perspectives and advocate for land rights and social security. Collaboration with NGOs and advocacy groups can push for reforms, ensuring women’s and youth’s contributions are valued and compensated. 

10 Gender Norms 

CABI’s gender research reveals profound disparities in women’s access to agricultural resources, from land to financial services and technology, all perpetuated by social norms. Shifting these norms is critical to address the other nine areas of impact outlined above. 

Social norms limit women’s economic autonomy and productivity, keeping them in cycles of dependency. Shifting these norms requires engaging both men and women in community dialogues to transform perceptions of women’s roles in agriculture.  

CABI’s Community Conversations (CC) in Burundi successfully shifted social norms, increasing women’s empowerment and access to agricultural advisory services. This highlighted the need for targeted, long-term interventions to achieve gender equality and transform gender norms in agriculture. 

What’s next? 

The untapped potential of women and youth in agriculture awaits transformation. The challenges identified, ranging from harassment to limited digital engagement, highlight systemic issues that prevent women and youth from accessing the full benefits of agricultural trade and processing.  

The ten areas outlined in the report emerged from the respondents to CABI gender research as requiring critical and ongoing focus. CABI must reinforce its focus on these as unique components of the agricultural landscape and as each interacts with and overlaps the others. These findings support existing CABI work and the future trajectory for CABI’s commitment to gender equality and social inclusion.  

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