12/10/2025
Women in Agriculture: Policy Gaps and Opportunities for Empowerment – Africa as a Case Study
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Abstract
Women constitute the majority of the agricultural labour force in Africa, yet they remain marginalised within the policy frameworks that govern access to land, finance, technology, and decision-making structures. This paper critically examines the persistent policy gaps that constrain women’s empowerment in African agriculture and explores opportunities for transformative change through gender-responsive policy design and implementation. Drawing on feminist political economy and empowerment theory, the study employs a qualitative comparative case study of Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana. Data were collected from policy documents, interviews with agricultural officers and policymakers, and focus group discussions with women farmers. The findings reveal that while many African states have incorporated gender considerations in agricultural policies, institutional weaknesses, resource limitations, and cultural barriers impede their realisation. The paper argues that closing these gaps requires deliberate gender mainstreaming, inclusive governance, and accountability mechanisms to ensure that women are recognised not merely as agricultural labourers but as central actors in Africa’s agricultural transformation.
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1. Introduction
Agriculture remains the backbone of most African economies, contributing significantly to employment, food security, and national income. Women are responsible for up to 70 per cent of food production on the continent, engaging in farming, processing, and marketing activities (FAO, 2023). Despite their vital contributions, women continue to face gender-based inequalities in access to land, credit, inputs, technology, and markets. These disparities are reinforced by policy frameworks that inadequately address gender differences in agricultural participation and benefits.
Although African governments have adopted numerous gender and agricultural policies, the translation of policy commitments into tangible empowerment outcomes has been inconsistent. The challenge is not only the absence of gender-sensitive policies but also their poor implementation and weak institutional support. This article, therefore, seeks to explore the policy gaps that perpetuate women’s marginalisation in agriculture and the opportunities that exist for their empowerment through effective and inclusive policymaking.
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2. Literature Review
2.1 Women and Agriculture in Africa
Extensive literature has documented women’s central role in African agriculture. Studies highlight that women’s labour sustains subsistence and smallholder farming systems, yet their productivity remains constrained by limited access to resources (Doss et al., 2020). Gender norms often restrict women’s ownership of land and control over income, reducing their ability to make independent agricultural decisions.
2.2 Policy Frameworks and Gender Equality
The Maputo and Malabo Declarations, along with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, emphasise gender equality in agriculture. National governments have similarly introduced gender-sensitive agricultural strategies. However, many policies remain gender-neutral in design, failing to recognise structural inequalities. Scholars such as Quisumbing and Meinzen-Dick (2021) argue that gender-neutral policies inadvertently reinforce male privilege in agricultural systems.
2.3 Gaps in Implementation
Implementation gaps stem from weak institutional capacity, insufficient funding, and inadequate monitoring mechanisms. Moreover, customary land tenure systems often undermine statutory provisions granting women equal land rights (Yemisi & Aisha, 2019). The literature suggests that empowering women in agriculture requires multi-level policy coherence, institutional accountability, and participatory governance structures.
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3. Theoretical Framework
The analysis is grounded in Feminist Political Economy and Empowerment Theory.
• Feminist Political Economy offers a lens to examine how gendered power relations shape economic participation and policy outcomes. It highlights the intersection between patriarchy, property rights, and economic opportunity.
• Empowerment Theory focuses on the processes through which individuals and groups gain agency, voice, and control over resources and decisions. Applying this framework to agriculture allows for an exploration of how policies can either enable or constrain women’s empowerment across social, economic, and political domains.
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4. Methodology
A qualitative comparative case study approach was employed, focusing on Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana—countries selected for their contrasting policy environments and agricultural structures.
4.1 Data Collection
Data were drawn from three primary sources:
1. Policy Documents – including national agricultural strategies, gender action plans, and regional frameworks.
2. Key Informant Interviews – with policymakers, agricultural officers, and representatives of women’s organisations.
3. Focus Group Discussions – conducted with women farmers in rural communities to gather experiential insights.
4.2 Data Analysis
A thematic analysis was conducted, coding data according to major themes such as policy content, institutional barriers, empowerment outcomes, and opportunities for reform. Cross-country comparisons were used to identify convergences and divergences in gender policy implementation.
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5. Findings
5.1 Policy Gaps and Institutional Weaknesses
While all three countries have agricultural and gender policies, most frameworks lack mechanisms for enforcing gender equity. For instance, gender units exist within ministries of agriculture but are underfunded and lack political influence. Policies often fail to translate into local-level programmes that reach women farmers.
5.2 Access to Productive Resources
Women’s access to land remains largely mediated through male relatives or customary authorities, limiting security of tenure. Financial institutions continue to require collateral that women cannot easily provide, while agricultural extension services are disproportionately directed towards men.
5.3 Positive Developments
Some promising initiatives were identified. In Kenya, the Women Enterprise Fund has increased women’s access to credit, while Ghana’s Planting for Food and Jobs programme has begun to incorporate gender quotas. However, these interventions remain fragmented and insufficiently integrated into broader agricultural reform.
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6. Discussion
The findings affirm that policy intent alone does not ensure gender equity. The persistence of patriarchal institutions, limited capacity, and inadequate funding perpetuate inequality. Empowerment must therefore be reframed not merely as individual capacity-building but as structural transformation.
A holistic policy approach should:
• Integrate gender analysis at every stage of policy formulation.
• Establish accountability frameworks to monitor implementation.
• Promote inclusive governance, ensuring women’s participation in decision-making at community and national levels.
• Strengthen land reform and access to finance through innovative instruments such as group collateral and cooperative credit schemes.
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7. Conclusion
Women are central to Africa’s agricultural future, yet policy gaps continue to limit their full participation and empowerment. Addressing these gaps requires a paradigm shift from gender-neutral to gender-transformative policymaking. Governments, regional bodies, and development partners must collaborate to ensure that women are recognised not as beneficiaries but as equal partners in agricultural development. Only through inclusive and accountable policy reform can Africa achieve sustainable agricultural transformation and gender equality.
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