Jul 31, 2018 | News

Priority action for effective engagement of women in agribusiness

Women account for a significant proportion of the agribusiness workforce along the agricultural value chain, providing inputs and functions that are critical to business performance. Over two-thirds of all women in Africa are employed in the agricultural sector, producing nearly 80% of household food and play a key role in household food security.

 

Increased investments are required to enhance women’s access to productive resources including secure serviced lands, adaptive extension services, functional training, improved infrastructure as well as innovative financial products and services.  Such measures should be integrated in the design and implementation of National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIPs).

 

The 2014 Malabo Declaration is the guiding document for implementing African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) at country level. Under Malabo commitment 4 (“Halving Poverty“) a specific sub-target calls upon its member states to:

“Support and facilitate preferential entry and participation for women and youth in gainful and attractive agri-business opportunities.” NAIPs are the ideal tool to anchor such measures on a national policy level.

roductivity of women however continues to lag behind men at an average of 20-30%. Women’s roles along the value chain are limited largely to primary production and small-scale marketing of produce without being integrated comprehensively into other high value sectors of the value chain. While not unique to women, constraints to agribusiness  disproportionately affect the operations of women and militate against their effective participation.

It is important that the following recommendations be taken into consideration in the design and implementation of NAIPs to enhance their gender responsiveness thereby ensuring women’s effective integration in agribusiness. 

  • Women-targeted access to productive resources
  • Gender-responsive extension delivery
  • Women-responsive access to skilled labour and new technologies
  • Infrastructural and telecommunications development for enhanced women access
  • Facilitating gender-sensitive market access and development
  • Facilitating cross border trade to improve women participation
  • Gender-sensitive innovative financial products & financial training
  • Effective communication and strengthened advocacy
  • Increased gender awareness and sensitivity in policy and programme development

Effective inclusion and implementation of the above listed recommendations in NAIPs will:

  • Support and facilitate preferential entry and participation for women in gainful and attractive agribusiness opportunities as mandated in Agenda 2063 and the 2014 Malabo Declaration. It will help deepen initiatives undertaken by African governments, regional and sub-regional organisations towards gender equality and women empowerment.
  • Increase women’s access to productive resources and raise agricultural production by 2.5-4%; reduce the number of hungry people by 100-150 million worldwide and significantly increase gross domestic product.
  • Significantly reduce the unemployment challenge faced by many African economies as gainful job opportunities will be opened to a large segment of the population, especially women and youth, who are currently underutilised and underserved.
The full policy brief can be accessed at: http://www.nepad.org/resource/policy-brief-priority-action-effective-engagement-women-agribusiness