Agritech for Women Farmers: A Business Case for Inclusive Growth

The report examines the barriers women farmers face in accessing agritech and presents a business case for private sector investment in gender-inclusive solutions. It identifies demand-side barriers, such as sociocultural norms and limited land ownership, and supply-side challenges, including a lack of gender-disaggregated data. The document proposes a "5Ps" framework (Product, Price, Promotion, Place, People) to help agritech providers better serve women. It also highlights the "feminization of agriculture" as a market driver and provides recommendations for governments to create enabling ecosystems through data collection and the promotion of high-quality agritech jobs for women.

• Women are central to global food security, comprising nearly 43% of the global agricultural labour force and producing 60-80% of food in developing countries.
• Women farmers face significant demand-side barriers to agritech adoption, including sociocultural norms, limited access to land, finance, smartphones, and formal identification, as well as low digital literacy.
• Land ownership is a critical barrier; ownership rates for women in agriculture are as low as 4.8% in Bangladesh, 12.8% in India, and less than 20% in Nigeria, Tajikistan, and Peru.
• Agritech providers face supply-side challenges, such as the high initial cost of customer acquisition for women, a lack of gender-disaggregated data, and the underrepresentation of women in leadership and field roles.
• The "feminization of agriculture"—driven by the rural-to-urban migration of men—is creating a new, high-potential customer segment for agritech companies.
• There is a strong financial business case for serving women, as evidence suggests they are more reliable borrowers; for example, women are 10% more likely to repay monthly instalments on time than men.
• The report recommends a "5Ps" approach for technology providers: designing intuitive Products, ensuring affordable Pricing, using women-focused Promotion, utilizing existing female-led channels for Place, and investing in women for People (frontline roles).
• Digital agritech has demonstrated significant productivity gains; in Telangana, India, the Saagu Baagu programme reported a 21% increase in chilli yields and an $800 income enhancement per acre per cycle.
• Governments and development organizations are urged to create an online registry of women-led self-help groups (SHGs) and farmer producer organizations (FPOs) to reduce customer acquisition costs for agritech firms.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). Agritech for Women Farmers: A Business Case for Inclusive Growth. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Agritech_for_Women_Farmers_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Agritech for Women Farmers: A Business Case for Inclusive Growth. 2024. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Agritech_for_Women_Farmers_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Agritech for Women Farmers: A Business Case for Inclusive Growth |date=December 2024 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Agritech_for_Women_Farmers_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024agritech, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Agritech for Women Farmers: A Business Case for Inclusive Growth}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Agritech_for_Women_Farmers_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }