Transforming Gender Relations in Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa

The report argues that climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is only effective when it addresses gender inequalities that make women more vulnerable to climate change and hinder their adoption of sustainable practices. It highlights that women often face barriers such as insecure land tenure, limited capital, and restrictive social norms. Through case studies in countries like Kenya, Ghana, and Uganda, the document demonstrates that successful interventions require a combination of enhancing women's agency (through training and knowledge networks), reforming institutional structures (securing land and credit rights), and transforming gender relations (encouraging male support and shared decision-making). Specific examples include the use of biogas digesters to reduce women's domestic workloads and the implementation of 'climate analogue' visits to share adaptation strategies.

• Women in many regions are more susceptible to climate change impacts than men due to their heavy reliance on natural resources for livelihoods, responsibilities for household food and water security, limited assets, and socio-political barriers that restrict their mobility and decision-making power.
• Gender inequality acts as a barrier to the adoption of climate-smart strategies; for instance, the TerrAfrica partnership identified that women's lack of capital, insecure land tenure, and limited farm inputs were primary obstacles to adopting conservation agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Research into 'climate analogue' visits—where farmers visit regions already experiencing the predicted future climate of their own area—indicates these are more difficult for women to participate in than men because of household obligations like childcare and gathering water and wood.
• The Africa Biogas Partnership Programme (ABPP) found that while biogas digesters significantly reduce women's daily workloads—saving time previously spent on firewood collection and cooking—women rarely make the decision to purchase the technology because ownership is typically vested in male heads of households.
• The PROMARA initiative in Kenya's Mau Forest Complex demonstrated that empowering women and youth to adapt to climate change is most effective when gender-responsive programming, including budget allocations and needs assessments, is implemented from the start of the project.
• To make CSA 'gender-smart,' the document recommends a three-pronged approach: enhancing agency by capturing women's indigenous knowledge and providing training; reforming structure by securing land rights and enrolling local institutions; and improving relations through co-learning and multi-stakeholder dialogues.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). Transforming Gender Relations in Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SIANI-Gender-Africa-book/SIANI-2013-Transforming-Gender-Relations-Chapter9.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Transforming Gender Relations in Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SIANI-Gender-Africa-book/SIANI-2013-Transforming-Gender-Relations-Chapter9.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Transforming Gender Relations in Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SIANI-Gender-Africa-book/SIANI-2013-Transforming-Gender-Relations-Chapter9.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendtransforming, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Transforming Gender Relations in Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SIANI-Gender-Africa-book/SIANI-2013-Transforming-Gender-Relations-Chapter9.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }