By Aghan Daniel | aghan@meshascience.org
As the world marks the International Women’s Day today, Sunday, March 8, 2026 a recent report on the status of women in agrifood systems in sub-Saharan Africa, shows that greater investment in women’s empowerment can boost social justice and unlock inclusive growth, food security and climate resilience.
Securing African women’s rights to natural resources and ecological repair are also essential for achieving gender equality, enhancing their agency and economic opportunities, and increasing their resilience to climate, environmental, health and economic shocks.
Despite these recognitions and potential, women’s contributions remain undervalued, and their working conditions are often more precarious: irregular, informal, part-time, low-paid, labor-intensive, and highly vulnerable. They continue to face systemic barriers, including limited access to land, finance, technologies, education, extension services, and participation in decision-making at all levels.
Quoting The 2025 report on The Status of Women in the Agrifood systems in sub-Saharan Africa, Dr Susan Kaaria, Executive Director of AWARD, said that 49 per cent of the work force in Africa are women which is 11 per cent higher than the global average. She added that 76 per cent of working women are employed in agrifood systems. The report reveals the huge inequality that continues to exist in financial services, access to markets, extension and advisory services, decrying the fact that in some of those services, disaggregated data still lacks that allows for discussions on the specificity of women challenges.
“We need to pay attention to accessing better data,” she said.
Women have less access to cooperatives contrary to popular belief. Besides, the report brings out how unpaid labour as they do not have adequate systems in place.
In her remarks Dr Nicole de Haan, Director for the CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion Accelerator said that despite women delivering so much in the agrifood systems the gender gap will take a century to fill. She added that the fact that the world is celebrating the day alongside International Year of the Woman Farmer presents an opportunity to renew and accelerate commitments – to make food systems work for women farmers, and for science to deliver solutions that work for the smallholder farmer and her husband.
Against this backdrop, there is a clear need for deliberate, action-oriented conversations that center women’s lived experiences and amplifies their contributions and voices in shaping equitable agrifood systems.
In an effort to address the case of women farmers in Africa, a partnership between African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), the CGIAR GENDER Accelerator, the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) and CIFOR-ICRAF, convened a half day meeting on Monday March 2, 2026.
The meeting ignited critical conversations on strategies for dismantling barriers that undermine women’s contribution and benefits in agrifood systems, spotlighted women leading innovations in agrifood systems, and enablers for improving women’s experiences aligned with the International Year of the Woman Farmer.
The event spotlighted the contributions and lived experiences of women farmers and those working for women farmers. The program featured dialogues on research, policy, and investments that drive gender responsive action, including sessions highlighting how researchers and farmers co-create solutions.
Additionally, the event included discussion segments led by women farmers and an exhibition where they showcased their work.
