Tanzania has committed to increasing its budget for agricultural infrastructure to over Sh1 trillion in the next financial year to improve the production of food crops. The move follows the launch of the ‘Status of Women in Agrifood Systems Report’ by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which provides comprehensive data on gender in agrifood systems and highlights the need for more action to address gender inequality in the sector. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Agenda 10/30 seeks to address gender gaps in the sector.
Closing the gender gap will boost global GDP
Women represent 66% of those employed in Sub-Saharan African agrifood systems, with 50% of the labour force in Tanzania’s agricultural sector made up of women. However, women engaged in wage employment in agriculture earn just 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. The new FAO report reveals that closing the gender gap in farm productivity and wage employment would boost global GDP by almost $1tn, reduce global food insecurity by 2% and reduce the number of food-insecure people by 45 million.
Positive steps in Tanzania
The FAO report calls for multi-approaches to address gender inequality in agrifood systems, and while the Agenda 10/30 has set goals to increase the agriculture sector’s growth rate to 10% per annum by 2030, it is clear that more needs to be done. However, there are positive steps being taken in Tanzania.
Embedding pragmatic gender-transformative approaches
It is essential to embed pragmatic gender-transformative approaches to address gender inequality in agrifood systems. These could include improving women’s rights to own or have secure tenure over agricultural land, enhancing women’s access to agricultural extension services to maximise food security and nutritional outcomes, and setting up social security programmes.
Need for additional data
To address gender inequality in agrifood systems, there is a need for additional data on access to productive assets and services, climate-change adaptation, resilience, and nutrition. With policies established to address gender gaps in agrifood systems, the majority of women and their families will benefit. According to the UNDP report, by addressing gender gaps in agricultural productivity, Tanzania can expect to lift around 80,000 people out of poverty each year and add 0.86% to the country’s GDP.
The FAO report reveals that increasing women’s empowerment is essential for improving agricultural production and food security. Tanzania has made strides towards addressing gender gaps in agrifood systems, but more needs to be done. The FAO report has highlighted the need for multi-approaches to address gender inequality. By taking these steps, Tanzania can increase agricultural production, reduce food insecurity, and promote gender equality.
