$53bn GDP boost tied to closing gender gaps – Report

Women’s participation in sub-Saharan Africa’s agrifood systems presents a $53 billion economic opportunity, as new data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations shows that addressing gender disparities could significantly lift productivity, incomes, and regional growth.

Unveiled in Nouakchott, the Report on The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa finds that 76% of working women in the region are employed across agrifood value chains, the highest share globally.

Their role is even more pronounced in off-farm segments, where women dominate processing, distribution, and informal market activities critical to food supply systems. Despite this scale, structural constraints continue to suppress commercial output.

The Report identifies limited access to land, finance, and social protection as key barriers, with only 13% of women accessing cash benefits and less than 7% covered by pensions.

These gaps, analysts say, translate into lower productivity and missed market value across the agrifood economy.

Beth Bechdol, deputy director general of the FAO said the findings go beyond advocacy and outline clear economic priorities.

She noted that the report provides “the evidence and the roadmap of what needs to be done and how” to better support women sustaining food systems from household to continental levels.

The business case is reinforced by modelling in the report, which shows that closing productivity and wage gaps could raise Africa’s GDP by 2.58%, equivalent to $53 billion, while also improving food security outcomes.

Clara Park, senior gender officer and one of the authors of the report, cautioned that women’s resilience in the sector often masks deeper inefficiencies. She said coping mechanisms such as informal financing and livelihood diversification are responses to systemic gaps rather than substitutes for policy reform.

The report, developed with the Natural Resources Institute and African Women in Agricultural Research and Development, outlines investment priorities including expanded social protection, gender-responsive financing, and legal frameworks to address inequality across value chains.

Fatmata Binta, chef and FAO Regional goodwill ambassador for Africa emphasised the commercial urgency, stating that investing in women farmers is central to building resilient food systems, strengthening climate adaptation, and unlocking inclusive growth across the continent.

The findings position gender inclusion not as a social intervention but as a core economic lever for agribusiness expansion and food system transformation in Africa.