Unpacking gender transformation in African food systems: context, barriers, and opportunities

Mila Sell (), Kaisa Karttunen (), Linda Rosengren (), Amit Ashkenazy (), Alice Turinawe () and Rosemary Emegu Isoto ()
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Mila Sell: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
Kaisa Karttunen: University of Helsinki, Department of Economics and Management
Linda Rosengren: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
Amit Ashkenazy: Mentes Visíveis
Alice Turinawe: Makerere University, Department of Agribusiness and Natural Resource Economics, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Rosemary Emegu Isoto: Makerere University, Department of Agribusiness and Natural Resource Economics, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Agricultural and Food Economics, 2025, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: Abstract The challenges of global food systems are highly linked to issues of gender equality, as women are key actors in many spheres of the food system. Thus, there is a consensus that for a transformation of the food system to be successful, a gender transformation is also required. The objective of this paper was to identify how local women and men perceive challenges and barriers to gender transformations in food systems and what solutions they propose. We conducted focus group discussions with men and women engaged in the food system in four Sub-Saharan countries: Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia. We then used established dimensions of gender and food systems, and a set of determinants for gender transformation rooted in science and development practice to conduct thematic analysis of the discussions. The results revealed a high level of awareness about gender-related constraints among local stakeholders. Several normative sanctions that limit gender transformation were identified, and accordingly, many of the proposed solutions were targeted at these deep-seated norms that surpassed the traditional boundaries of food system interventions. This shows how intertwined food system and gender roles and interventions are.

Keywords: Gender transformation; Food system transformation; Africa; Small-scale farming; Determinants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1186/s40100-025-00424-z

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