Source: Tanzania Daily News
THE African Director for ONE Campaign, a non-profit organisation, Dr Sipho Moyo, has expressed disappointment that Africa's women farmers, though they comprise nearly half of the labour force in agriculture, on average produce less per hectare than men.

"We ignore this gender gap at our peril and ultimately at great social and economic cost," said Dr Moyo, adding: "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."

A new report published recently by the World Bank Group in collaboration with ONE Campaign, states that the gender gap holds back Africa's women farmers. It also identifies policy interventions to narrow and eliminate gender inequality.

"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 in the beginning of the end of aid dependence for our people," Dr Moyo says.

To narrow the gender gap, the report calls for African governments to address key policy areas which will help empower women farmers such as to strengthen women's land rights, improve women's access to hired labour and enhance women's use of tools and equipment that reduce the amount of labour they need on the farm.

Other key policy areas are to provide community-based child care centres, encourage women to use more, higher quality fertilizer, increase women's use of good quality seeds, tailor training to women's needs and use social networks to spread agricultural knowledge, promote the cultivation of high-value and cash crops by women farmers and help women access and participate in markets.

The report, 'Levelling the Field: Improving Opportunities for Women Farmers in Africa', examines the scale and causes of the dramatic differences between how much men and women farmers produce in six African countries - Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda - which together make up more than 40 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa's population.

The report finds that although almost half the agricultural workers across the continent are women, productivity on their farms is significantly lower per hectare compared to men.

In the six countries profiled, women produce less than men, ranging from 13 per cent in Uganda to 25 per cent in Malawi.

This first of its kind report reveals deep-rooted gender gaps in African agriculture, identifies factors holding back women farmers, and sets out concrete actions that policymakers can take to reduce inequality, arguing that closing the gap could help boost household incomes and livelihoods, as well as provide cheap and nutritious food to Africa's growing population.

• Tanzania