We Have The Evidence. Now We Need The Action.

Research across food systems shows that excluding women farmers from knowledge systems, innovation networks, and climate services weakens productivity and resilience. The scale of this inequality is well documented. According to FAO’s 2023 report on The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems, farms managed by women are on average 24 percent less productive than those managed by men on farms of similar size — largely because women have less access to resources, services, and opportunities. Closing these gaps could reduce global food insecurity for 45 million people and generate nearly $1 trillion in economic gains. 

These inequalities matter even more as climate change intensifies pressures on food systems. Farmers are navigating unpredictable rainfall, rising temperatures, new pest pressures, and volatile markets. Access to timely information — on climate-resilient crops, weather forecasts, soil management, and water use — can determine whether households adapt successfully or fall deeper into vulnerability. 

If food systems are at the frontline of inequality, they are also a powerful opportunity for transformation. Evidence from Africa and Asia consistently shows that women farmers adopt improved practices and technologies at rates similar to those of men when they have equal access to information and inputs. In Ethiopia, for example, closing gender gaps in extension services significantly increased the adoption of improved crop varieties and soil management practices. Women farmers are not “hard to reach.” They are underserved by systems that were never designed with them in mind. 

Women make up around 40 percent of the global agricultural labour force, and much higher shares in many countries. But extension systems, farmer organizations, and innovation platforms often continue to overlook them. When systems are built around male farmers, women remain peripheral beneficiaries rather than central actors. 

A rights-based approach requires something different: designing agricultural innovation systems that recognize women as farmers, innovators, and leaders.