Research in Kenya highlights the critical role gender dynamics play in the adoption of nature-positive agriculture, a key strategy for reversing biodiversity loss. The CGIAR Nature-Positive Solutions Initiatives (NATURE+) aims to address these challenges among others by re-imagining, co-creating, and transforming agri-food systems to deliver food and livelihoods for people sustainably through a qualitative study conducted under the framework of NATURE+. The study reveals that entrenched gender roles often burden women with the most labor-intensive farm tasks, while limiting their access to resources and decision-making power. As nature-positive solutions aim to restore ecosystems while enhancing food production, understanding these gender disparities is essential for success.
Key takeaways:
-
Gender roles impact adoption of nature-positive solutions: Women often face time poverty, balancing agricultural work with domestic duties, making it difficult to adopt more sustainable, time-intensive practices. These gendered responsibilities must be considered to encourage wider participation in nature-positive farming.
-
Economic power imbalances limit women’s agricultural influence: In many Kenyan households, men control valuable agricultural resources like livestock and land, while women typically manage less profitable crops and livestock. This power dynamic limits women’s ability to lead the transition to more sustainable practices.
-
Empowering women is key to sustainable agriculture: For nature-positive solutions to succeed, both women’s empowerment and men’s involvement are crucial. Education and training for women, alongside initiatives to engage men in decision-making, will promote long-term environmental sustainability and reduce gender inequalities in agricultural systems.
In conclusion, nature-positive solutions are critical for restoration and prevention of further biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, while ensuring that agricultural production bridges the food and nutrition security gap. Understanding gender-differentiated roles, constraints, and preferences can enable policymakers and practitioners to design and promote nature-positive practices that meet men’s and women’s needs while protecting nature. These should be disseminated in ways that reach, benefit, and empower women. Gender-responsive design and scaling of nature-positive solutions can help reduce gender inequalities in agrifood systems, while enabling both men and women to contribute to environmental sustainability. - Quote from the blog post