Rome, 15 October 2015 - Women form a large proportion of agricultural labor force in sub-saharan Africa and thus play a vital role in ensuring family nutrition and food security. In eastern and southern Africa, agriculture continues to be a key engine for local and regional economies and is a critical source of incomes besides being the basis for food security and nutrition. However gender-based inequalities in access to and control of productive and financial resources inhibit agricultural productivity and reduce food security. At the same time, a changing climate means that there is a shrinking window of opportunity to close the gender gap in agriculture and seize the prospects for promoting women’s empowerment, economic development and societal resilience to shocks, including climate change.
A new study measuring the economic costs of the gender gap in agricultural productivity in three African countries —Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda— provides further evidence that reducing the gender gap translates into significant poverty reduction and improved nutritional outcomes. The study is the result of a collaboration between UN Women, the UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative, and the World Bank and will be launched at a side-event at the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) to be timely held on International Day of Rural Women 15 October 2015.
The report provides a unique quantification of the costs in terms of lost growth opportunities and an estimate of what societies, economies and communities would gain were the gender gaps in agriculture to be addressed. The gender gap costs Malawi USD 100 million, Tanzania USD 105 million and Uganda USD 67 million every year. Closing the gender gap could lift as many as 238,000 people out of poverty in Malawi, 119,000 people in Uganda, and approximately 80,000 people in Tanzania every year.
The findings of the report are striking and send a strong signal to policy makers in Africa as well as development partners that closing the gender gap is smart economics. The report also provides guidance as to the factors that must be targeted in order to close the gender gap by improving opportunities for women farmers. It concludes with a set of general policy recommendations of how women’s empowerment, agriculture productivity and economic growth can be addressed in an integrated manner and thereby contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level.
Key Facts & Figures
Malawi
- The gender gap in agriculture productivity amounts to USD 100 million in Malawi (or 1.85% of GDP)
- ·Closing the gender gap could lift as many as 238,000 people out of poverty in Malawi every year
- Closing the gender gap in agriculture productivity could increase annual crop output by 7.3%
Tanzania
- The gender gap in agriculture productivity amounts to USD 105 million in Tanzania (or0.46% of GDP)
- Closing the gender gap could lift as many as 80,000 people in Tanzania every year
- Closing the gender gap in agriculture productivity could increase annual crop output by 2.2%.
Uganda
- The gender gap in agriculture productivity amounts to USD 67 million in Uganda (0.42% of GDP).
- Closing the gender gap could lift as many as119,000 people in Uganda every year
- Closing the gender gap in agriculture productivity could increase annual crop output by 2.8%.
