This year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme is “Accelerate Action for Women’s Equality” underscores the urgency of driving meaningful change toward gender equality. Women play an indispensable role in agriculture, food security, and economic development, yet systemic barriers hinder their full participation. Addressing these barriers and fostering grassroots leadership is essential for creating sustainable development in East Africa.

Agriculture is the backbone of many East African economies, with rural women contributing significantly to food production and household nutrition. According to the African Development Bank women provide 50 per cent of agriculture labour – spending most of their time tending to the farms.

Up to 80 per cent of women in the Sub-Saharan Africa are the dependable agents in ensuring that food and nutritional needs of their households are met. In East Africa, research shows that women farmers have lower agricultural productivity as compared to their male counterparts (UN Women,2019). This is because of gender discrimination in access to and utilisation of production resources such as land, agricultural inputs, and financial services.

Furthermore, women have limited decision-making opportunities. Climate change and extreme weather patterns exacerbate these challenges, highlighting the urgency of integrating gender-responsive policies and resilience-building initiatives.

Way forward

Women leadership especially in the community and farmer-based organisations is key in accelerating action towards gender equality in agriculture sectors. Several considerations can be undertaken to increase inclusivity in agriculture and development in rural areas.

Gender considerations in policies that relate to agriculture and rural development is key. This means that the policy makers must be alive to the fact that leaving women behind only aggravates the poverty situations in their countries.

Economic empowerment for grassroots women as powerful change agents must be supported. Expanding access to productive resources and services such as land, education, technology/ innovations as well as in provision of financial services will enhance their resilience. Investing in women-led agricultural enterprises and value chains will boost income generation and self-sufficiency. Promoting women’s leadership in farmer organisations- women must be included in leadership roles within farmer organisations to champion gender equality and advocate for inclusive decision-making.

Addressing gender-specific barriers (including lack of labour-friendly technologies, access to childcare and limited financial literacy) must be looked into. Therefore, it is important to involve women in decision making processes to ensure that agricultural interventions are gender-responsive.

Provision of capacity building for women in agriculture requires structured mentorship programs and leadership training to build their skills and capacity. Peer-to-peer mentorship programs that connect experienced women farmers with emerging leaders in agriculture, will enhance long-term growth and sustainability.

Access to timely agricultural information remains a significant challenge for rural women. Digital solutions such as mobile-based advisory services and farmer helplines can bridge this gap by expanding mobile banking and fintech solutions to facilitate women’s access to financial services.

Providing real-time agricultural training via mobile platforms and developing gender-sensitive digital literacy programs will further enhance women’s ability to leverage technology for agricultural growth.

Call to Action

To accelerate gender equality in agriculture and economic development, collaborative action is essential. Governments, private sector stakeholders, civil society organisations, and development partners must work together to, increase investment in gender-responsive agriculture, ensuring women’s access to land, finance, and productive resources.

They must also work together to enhance women’s adoption of climate-smart agriculture to strengthen resilience against climate change. Stakeholders must also work together to promote inclusive governance structures.

Stakeholders must also work together to foster public-private partnerships, facilitating market access for women-led agribusinesses.
All partners must also work together to support research and data collection to inform evidence-based interventions promoting gender equality in agriculture. Accelerating women’s leadership in agriculture is not only a matter of equity but also an economic necessity.

Investing in women’s empowerment strengthens food security, community resilience, and sustainable development across East Africa.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, policymakers have a critical role to play in creating enabling environment for gender transformation for women empowerment in the agriculture and rural development sector.

–The writer is the Regional Environment, Climate Change Resilience Advisor at Vi Agroforestry and part of the East African Dryland Agroforestry Expert Group