Evaluating the Impact of Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies on Women’s Economic Empowerment in Kenya

Over the past decade, Kenya has made gradual but positive progress in closing the gender gap and advancing women’s empowerment, spurred by the 2010 Constitution, which affirmed women’s rights. Kenya’s Gender Gap Index improved from 0.69 in 2017 to 0.73 in 2022, though it slightly declined to 0.71 in 2023. Key initiatives like free primary education, the Women Enterprise Fund, and the Uwezo Fund have aligned Kenya’s efforts with Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality. Women’s empowerment is also embedded in Vision 2030 and the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

Despite these efforts, women face persistent barriers in accessing climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies. To address this, the Women Economic Empowerment through Climate Smart Agriculture (WEE-CSA) project was implemented from 2020 to 2024 by UN Women and FAO, with support from KOICA. Using a difference-in-difference model, the study evaluated data from 492 participants in Laikipia, Kitui, and West Pokot counties. The project significantly increased adoption of CSA technologies, improved crop and livestock productivity, enhanced food security, and reduced poverty. However, it did not significantly strengthen household resilience to climate shocks.

The study recommends scaling up such initiatives by improving women’s access to extension services, credit, and climate information, while strengthening resilience-building components to ensure long-term sustainability of economic gains.