25-03-2025
To feed a warming world, we must also serve up gender equality
March 24 - This year will be pivotal for the sustainability of food and agriculture as countries submit their new climate strategies ahead of global talks at the United Nation's COP30 meeting in Belem, Brazil, in November. Nearly all countries recognize that the agrifood sector must be both protected and transformed to adapt to climate challenges while continuing to feed billions.
Yet, there is still a missing link to complete the chain for climate-resilient and food-secure futures: gender equality.
Women make up nearly half of the world's agricultural workforce, yet they are not prioritized in climate strategies and are underequipped to deal with the impacts of climate change on farming and food security. Every year, female-headed households experience more income losses due to heat stress and floods compared with male-headed households, yet these vulnerabilities remain absent from key climate plans and policies.
In recent years, there has been reason for optimism as global development agencies and donor countries increased commitments to expand opportunities for women, addressing gender inequalities in food and water systems, including those exacerbated by climate change.
But recent changes to overseas development assistance from the United States, UK and others, leaves the outlook clouded for making significant progress for women farmers.
Gender equality must continue to be a common thread that links climate action and food security, and this will need other countries and donors to step up to close the finance gap. There are glimmers of hope in this regard, including, for example, Australia's recently launched International Gender Equality Strategy.
The success of future food systems relies on both leveraging the skills, knowledge and leadership – as well as meeting the needs – of women as much as men. Research shows that if women farmers had the same resources and opportunities as men, agricultural production could increase between 2.5 and 4%, reducing the number of hungry people globally by 12 to 17%.
As we approach both the Bonn Climate Change Conference in June, which serves as a precursor to COP30, and the U.N. Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment at the end of this month, policymakers must keep gender at the top of the agenda in climate and agrifood discussions. Countries must build on the initial progress made at COP29 and maintain momentum for a new Gender Action Plan.
Women farmers are already making vital contributions to climate resilience and food security, but gender inequalities prevent them from reaching their full potential. When women farmers have access to information and resources and are actively involved in decision-making, they are highly responsive to climate-smart agricultural practices. However, limited access to training opportunities and technologies needed to adopt these practices hinders their participation.
Excluding women from agricultural decision-making weakens global climate resilience. A study conducted in Java, Indonesia, found that although women occupy key roles across agricultural value chains, more than 96% of them are left out of decision-making processes. Such exclusion fails to understand women's proven ability to contribute to climate resilience-building efforts and undermines their access to tools that address climate-related challenges. This is costly because women are involved in planting, harvesting and even processing agricultural products; without the right knowledge and tools to build resilience, yields will suffer.
On the other hand, when women are given the right support, they can advance climate-resilient, nutritious and sustainable food systems. In Tanzania 's southern highlands, for instance, climate-induced heatwaves, droughts and floods have affected dairy farmers' ability to feed their cattle and run profitable businesses.
Heifer International, the NGO that I lead, has supported women dairy farmers to adopt grazing practices that limit soil degradation and encourage restoration, improve milk yields through better nutrition and to access markets efficiently. This has increased monthly household income for these women's families by 35%.
In another Heifer-funded project in Bangladesh, women farmers trained in converting cow dung to fuel for biogas production were able to improve manure management, boost crop yields and protect local ecosystems from waste contamination. In addition, the biogas now provides clean cooking energy that is not harmful to health and does not come from unsustainable methods like deforestation.
With a wealth of evidence that speaks to women's indispensable contributions to food systems despite their climate vulnerabilities, the world cannot afford to leave them behind. As countries finalize their new climate strategies, they must make allowances and provisions for gender equality within agrifood plans.
Gender-responsive agricultural research and innovation is a crucial step toward greater gender equality. Emerging climate-smart technologies and practices must be developed with the realities of women farmers in mind, ensuring they are accessible, practical and effective for those on the frontlines of agriculture.
Investing in women farmers is an investment in food security writ large. This includes increasing and following through with women's access to climate finance to ensure that they receive the necessary tools and support to advance climate resilience in their communities. Research shows that if women in agrifood systems have the same access to resources as men, they could increase productivity by up to 30%.
Climate-resilient food systems cannot be built with only half the population. Gender equality is at the heart of ensuring food systems deliver for everyone in a hotter, less stable world.
This year must be a turning point for equitable, sustainable food systems that empower all farmers, regardless of gender.
