Agritech for Women Farmers 2024

Executive summary Women farmers are critical to global agriculture. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that women contribute close to 43% of the global agricultural labour force.1 They also produce between 60% and 80% of food in developing countries, highlighting their importance for food security in the long term.2 Despite this, women encounter many challenges limiting their full participation and potential in agriculture. Women farmers often bear the dual burdens of household responsibilities and farm work, which limits their time and productivity. Additionally, social norms restrict their access to and control over resources, constraining their capacity to fully contribute to and benefit from agricultural advancements, including recent innovations in digital agricultural technologies (agritech). Agritech can potentially transform agricultural systems by creating farm-level and macro gains. However, most agritech solutions do not consider the unique needs and challenges women farmers face. This systematically excludes women farmers as key customers while also limiting their contribution at the farm level. On the contrary, when technology service providers are gender inclusive – i.e. they account for women’s unique needs and challenges – the resulting solutions can unlock significant benefits across agricultural value chains. While gender inclusivity in agritech has conventionally been viewed from a social lens, in recent years, the private sector has recognized the potential business case of intentionally serving women farmers. Some first movers highlight that investing in gender inclusivity enhances an agritech company’s brand reputation and customer loyalty, which makes customer acquisition easier. Additionally, by prioritizing gender inclusivity, agritech companies can distinguish themselves in a competitive market and appeal to a broader customer base while contributing to sustainable development goals. Against this backdrop, this report presents a global overview of gender-inclusive agritech. It highlights the core challenges faced by women farmers in accessing technologies and challenges faced by technology solution providers while serving women farmers. The report provides recommendations to address some systemic barriers women face and encourages agritech companies to innovate on the “5Ps” – product, price, promotion, place and people – to better serve women farmers. While companies can progress with individual efforts, the road to gender inclusivity and equality at scale cannot be achieved in isolation. The report, therefore, addresses the role of multistakeholder collaboration to drive investments into gender- inclusive agritech to create an enabling ecosystem where women farmers can indiscriminately benefit from recent advancements in the sector. Gender-inclusive agritech boosts productivity, empowers women and offers companies a strong business case for market expansion. Agritech for Women Farmers: A Business Case for Inclusive Growth 4