Source: The Guardian
Investing in childcare and adult education, and giving women farmers the same access as men to fertiliser and training, could significantly increase food production and improve their lives and that of their families, according to a report that highlights the deep-rooted gender gaps in Africa's agricultural sector.

The report, published by the advocacy group One and the World Bank on Wednesday, found that despite women comprising more than half the continent's farmers, political indifference and social constraints mean productivity on female-managed plots is significantly lower per hectare than those managed by men.

It argues that closing the gender gap could bolster food security and livelihoods. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) estimates that if women had the same access to resources worldwide, their yields could increase by up to 30%, which could result in up to 150 million fewer people going hungry. Latest figures from the FAO show that 842 million people experience chronic hunger.

Comparing the differences between men and women farming similar-sized plots of land in similar contexts across six African countries – Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda – the report shows that production rates among women are 23% less in Tanzania and 66% less in Niger. In Nigeria, dramatic differences were found between women and men living in the south and north.

The report, Levelling the field: improving opportunities for women farmers in Africa, analyses data from national surveys of smallholder farmers conducted by the World Bank's Africa region's gender innovation lab between 2010 and 2013. The report is the first to pull this data together to look for trends across the continent, One says. More than 40% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa live in the six countries featured.

The authors make 10 recommendations to governments on ways to increase productivity. These include strengthening women's land rights, providing childcare facilities, offering education to women, supporting women's access to markets and increasing their use of quality seeds and fertiliser.

The report looks at the quantity of resources women can access compared with men and the returns they receive on these inputs. The research found that even when women had equal access to resources, it did not necessarily translate into equal production levels. "This novel insight points to broader norms, market failures or institutional constraints that alter the effectiveness of these resources for women," the report says.

One of the main barriers to women's agricultural output, the report found, is their inability to mobilise extra labour. On average, women tend to live in smaller households with fewer men, perhaps owing to widowhood or because the men have left to look for work. As a result, women have fewer relatives to assist with work on the land and household chores. The findings suggest women may also be less likely to afford hired help, or pay them as much as their male counterparts, and women may not be able to supervise hired hands as well as men because they are not able to spend as much time in the fields, due to housework or childcare responsibilities.

"Despite the fact that female farmers across all six profiled countries face these types of labour challenges, evidence on policies aiming to help women overcome these barriers is rare. For these reasons, African governments and donors must prioritise attention in this area and develop effective programmes that help women farmers hire outside labour, use tools and equipment that reduce the amount of labour they require on the farm, and access community-based childcare," the report says.

"We ignore this gender gap at our peril and ultimately at great social and economic cost," the Africa director of One, Sipho Moyo, said. "It is a real injustice to Africa's women farmers and their families that women make up nearly half of the labour force in agriculture but, on average, produce less per hectare than men. This absurd gender gap further undermines the sector's potential to drive inclusive economic growth, improve food security and create employment and business opportunities for millions of young Africans entering the job market every year.

"If governments and partners invest in agriculture and, in particular, its women farmers today, they can be assured of a legacy of greater equality and boundless opportunity that will benefit Africans for generations to come and may usher the beginning of the end of aid dependence for our people."

Makhtar Diop, vice-president for the World Bank's Africa region, said: "This report presents the clearest evidence to date about the breadth and depth of the gender gap in African agriculture. It argues that by spearheading proven, effective policies that target the needs of female farmers, such as strengthening land rights, governments can help farming families tackle the low-productivity traps that entrench poverty and prevent millions of farmers from leading decent lives."

About two-thirds of Africans depend on farming for their livelihoods. In January, One launched a campaign – Do agric, it pays – to push countries to meet their 2003 commitment to spend 10% of their budgets on agriculture. Only eight have met or exceeded this target.

The African Union has designated 2014 as the year of agriculture and food security.