The “Gender Agenda” in Agriculture for Development and Its (Lack of) Alignment With Feminist Scholarship

Abstract

Sustainable food systems require sustainable agriculture. To achieve this, we argue, inclusive approaches are required that incorporate the voices and lived experiences of diverse social groups. In agriculture-based international development efforts (known as Agriculture for Development or A4D), it is increasingly being recognized that sustainable agriculture requires attention to gendered power relations. In the past, gender inequality has been a major barrier to developing inclusive, sustainable food systems, and continues to be so today. At the same time, however, gender is increasingly “on the agenda” in A4D. Yet what sort of agenda is being promoted and to what extent does it reflect progress in feminist scholarship? We examine the burgeoning “gender agenda” through the lens of policy materials produced by prominent A4D organizations. In doing so, we find problematic narratives that instrumentalise women in the name of sustainable agricultural development. However, we also find other more transformative discourses that, in troubling the drivers of gender inequality and promoting shared responsibility for change, reflect a deeper awareness of feminist scholarship. In any effort to advance sustainable agriculture, further progress is needed to address the myriad ways gender pervades not just development settings but development institutions and donor nations, and contributes to the production of as well as responses to global A4D challenges.

Gender inclusivity through maize breeding in Africa: A review of the issues and options for future engagement

“…Such integration has been especially challenging given the complexities involved and the time, budget, and staffing constraints faced by development projects, as highlighted in a recent review by Stoian et al ( 2018 ) on gendered programming for value chain development. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, strategies to mainstream gender in development have attracted criticism for failing to meaningfully incorporate feminist critiques or substantially change the way development agencies and initiatives function ( Cornwall and Rivas, 2015 ; de Waal, 2006 ; Farhall and Rickards, 2021 ; Harcourt, 2016 ; Moser, 1989 ; Smyth, 2007 ). As such, critical reflection on past experiences and innovative approaches to gender integration in agricultural development are warranted.…”

Promoting Gender Equity in Livelihoods Projects: Practitioners’ Perspectives Through the Lens of a Socio-ecological Model

“…Achieving a better understanding of how gender norms and power relations at household and community levels mediate choices influencing agricultural livelihoods and affect people’s well-being is a necessary precondition for more effective and equitable programming (Agarwal, 1997; Kantor et al, 2015). While some development organizations and projects have made some progress in this regard (Badstue et al, 2020), there remain challenges, especially in terms of incorporating feminist considerations in development practice (Calkin, 2015; Farhall and Rickhards, 2021).…”

How FAST are women farmers in Greece transforming contested gender identities in a (still) male‐dominant sector?

“…The advancement of gender issues in agriculture is perceived as very critical for achieving sector objectives as well as social and development goals in rural areas (Bock, 2010; Farhall & Rickards, 2021; Shortall, 2020). According to Eurostat (2016), there has been a rapid increase—since 2000—in the officially registered number of female farms, which are defined as farms with a woman manager (as farm head), excluding corporate farms or collectively run farms.…”