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By Monique Vanek
Eliminating discrimination against women in agriculture could increase the size of the world economy and reduce hunger at a time when a record 345 million people are expected to face acute food insecurity.
“Closing the gender gap in farm productivity and the wage gap in agrifood systems would increase global gross domestic product by 1%, or nearly $1 trillion,” according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems report. “This would reduce global food insecurity by about 2 percentage points, reducing the number of food-insecure people by 45 million,” the study said.
The number of people facing hunger this year is more than double what it was in 2020, according to the World Food Programme. The crisis has been worsened by severe droughts, export bans, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and pandemic-induced supply-chain bottlenecks.
“Sustainable and resilient agrifood systems depend on closing gaps in generating equality and empowering women,” said Lauren M. Phillips, deputy director of the Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality division at FAO.
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Policy actions recommended in the FAO report include boosting land ownership by women, improving access to childcare and increasing social protection, which can enhance employment and resilience.
This is vital as agrifood systems are more important for women’s livelihoods than men’s in many countries, according to the study. In sub-Saharan Africa, two-thirds of women are employed in the sector, compared with 60% of men. In southern Asia, 71% are, versus 47% of males.
“By making agrifood systems work better for women, we can transform them to be more inclusive, more sustainable, more resilient,” Phillips said in an interview. “Doing so is beneficial for women’s wellbeing, but it also brings an array of benefits for the global economy, for household incomes and household resilience.”
