Amid growing concerns over food security and declining productivity in Africa, agricultural development experts are calling for urgent reforms to make agricultural advisory services more inclusive of women. Despite comprising the majority of the agricultural workforce, women remain largely excluded from access to essential agricultural inputs, training, and extension services.
This was the central message at the opening of a three-day regional workshop in Accra, jointly organized by the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The training forms part of the Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP), which seeks to strengthen the capacity of African agricultural research institutions to incorporate gender and social inclusion in their work.
Dr. Mariame Maiga, Regional Gender Advisor for CORAF, lamented the structural and cultural barriers that limit women’s participation in agricultural decision-making and technical roles such as extension services. She noted that the gender gap in access to inputs, technologies, and advisory support continues to widen.
“Women are highly active across the agricultural value chain, yet they remain underserved. This inequality threatens not just their livelihoods, but the continent’s overall food security,” Dr. Maiga stated.
She advocated for targeted incentives and capacity-building efforts to recruit and retain more women in agricultural advisory roles and to ensure equitable access to research outputs.
FAO Senior Gender Expert Madam Terefe Bethel added that empowering women in agriculture is not just an equity issue—it is fundamental to building resilient food systems and alleviating poverty at the household level.
“Women’s contributions go beyond the farm. They are processors, traders, and household managers. When they are excluded from accessing services and technologies, everyone pays the price,” she emphasized.
Participants in the workshop, drawn from National Centres of Specialization and Regional Centres of Excellence, were trained in integrating gender perspectives into agricultural research, particularly in the selection, dissemination, and adoption of innovations across agro-sylvo-pastoral and fisheries value chains.
Dr. Kyky Ganyo, Assistant Coordinator for FSRP-CORAF, said the continent’s underrepresentation of women in agricultural extension work is alarming and must be addressed if Africa is to achieve sustainable growth in the sector.
“Technology and training are key to productivity. We cannot continue with business as usual when women are left behind in both access and influence,” he said.
The workshop is expected to lead to the development of more gender-responsive strategies and policy recommendations that will guide agricultural research and rural advisory systems across West and Central Africa.
