Vivian Polar, the gender research coordinator at CGIAR’s International Potato Center (CIP), argues that, if COP28 is to achieve its aims as a “food COP”, it must also pay special attention to the under-appreciated role of female farmers, who are also disproportionately impacted by climate change. Drawing on evidence from various regions, including Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, Polar stresses that achieving sustainable food systems and climate solutions hinges on addressing gender inequality at COP28.
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The COP28 presidency has made food and agriculture a priority issue at this year’s climate talks. The sustainable transformation of food systems undeniably goes hand in hand with climate action, but the reality is that neither will be achieved without first addressing gender inequality.
The outcome of COP28 must therefore include a global commitment to address women’s rights to deliver climate justice in the transition to climate-smart food and agriculture.
Women play a significant yet under-appreciated role in both farming and climate action. They account for more than 40% of the agricultural workforce globally and are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change.
Evidence from Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia suggests that women are more likely than men to adopt tools and practices on the farm that help adapt to new climate extremes when given the chance. This makes women powerful agents of resilience in the effort to protect food systems from the emerging and inevitable impacts of climate change.
Multi-purpose innovations exist and continue to be developed constantly to help both men and women farmers adapt to the pressures of droughts, floods, extreme temperatures and new pests and diseases.
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For example, the practice of growing potatoes in the mulch of leftover rice straw has helped farmers in India and Bangladesh to diversify their crops beyond rice to de-risk farming and recycle crop waste that would otherwise be burned. And planting potatoes in rice mulch rather than deep in the soil helps reduce the labour burden on women by making them easier to harvest. All of this helps optimise farmers’ food and income security despite the growing threats from climate change.
Mobile phone-based decision support apps and tools are another innovation that can also equip women farmers with reliable guidance on the amount of pesticide and fertilisers to apply to get the best outcomes on their farms according to local conditions. The use of technology to reach farmers directly can empower women who might otherwise have limited access to extension services and training.
However, innovations such as the ones described above are not reaching enough women farmers at the scale across the Global South to make full use of the women’s capacity to support food security and climate action. Insufficient attention, resources and investment are directed toward enabling women’s equal participation in agricultural processes and food systems to accelerate the fight against hunger, malnutrition and climate change.
For example, a survey of more than 340 farmers in rural Ethiopia found women were less able to adopt conservation agriculture compared to men because of gendered restrictions on land rights, membership of cooperatives and water user associations, and access to credit.
Similarly, research in Kenya found that women were less able to adopt climate-smart practices such as composting or planting crops into ridges because of limited access to labour and time poverty related to gender norms and household responsibilities.
This is why COP28 must be a turning point in addressing gender inequality as part of global efforts to tackle the food and climate crises.
Ensuring women farmers have the same access to finance, resources and information as men could increase agricultural yields by 20 to 30%, according to research, which would translate into lifting 100 to 150 million people out of hunger. In Malawi alone, for example, closing the gender gap in agricultural productivity corresponds to an estimated 19% increase in crop production.
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Policymakers must help drive this systemic shift by addressing the conditions that limit access to technologies for women, including gender and cultural norms, as well as access to finance and capacity-building opportunities. This requires gender-responsive policies, including subsidies and public programs, that prioritise equal access to agricultural resources.
For more gender-equal food and climate policies, governments also need more and better evidence. This needs researchers to consistently incorporate gender-disaggregated data as part of their research and design process to ensure innovations are developed and deployed in ways that account for women’s unique needs.
Women’s rights in the context of climate-smart food and agriculture are a matter of equity, which also makes them a strategy for global sustainability. Under-utilising women’s role in agriculture and climate action is equivalent to handicapping the world’s ability to confront the challenges posed by climate change.
Climate change is making it harder for farmers to feed the world, and it is harder still for women farmers, who face the dual burden of inequality and vulnerability.
By acknowledging how crucial gender equality is to achieving global goals for climate-smart agriculture, COP28 can trigger the commitments needed to address rights, resources and power imbalances, thereby enhancing the design and adoption of agricultural tools that address both climate change adaptation and mitigation.
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