Remarks by Regional Director Maxime Houinato on "Empowering Women and Youth in Agricultural Value Chains" at Africa Food Systems Forum 2025
Date:
Regional Director Maxime Houinato delivers his remarks during the session on "Youth and Empowerment in Agricultural Value Chains" at the African Food Systems Forum 2025
Youth and Women Empowerment in Agricultural Value Chains
Africa Food Systems Forum Special Event
Monday 1st of September, 14h30-16h30,
Venue: CICAD, Knowledge Hub Classroom
Dr Maxime Houinato, Regional Director for West and Central Africa, UN Women
Opening Remarks
Hon. Manty Tarawalli, Minister of State in the Office of the VP of Sierra Leone and National Food Systems Convenor
Excellency, Ambassador Berik Aryn, Director General, Islamic Organization for Food Security,
Honorables, Excellencies, dear Community Leaders, Government Representatives, members of the Private sector and civil society, development partners and UN colleagues,
Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, all protocols observed.
Food security is a priority for governments in West and Central Africa. As the region is increasingly affected by complex crises, ranging from climate change, to conflict, displacement, or political instability, food insecurity is on the rise. These shocks exacerbate underlying challenges, including low agricultural yields and high food prices. Women suffer disproportionately the impact of hunger, poverty and malnutrition, due to gender inequalities in access to resources, economic vulnerability, and increased care responsibilities. Recognizing these challenges, governments across West and Central Africa are increasingly prioritizing food and nutrition security within national policy agendas, developing and implementing strategies and programs to address both the immediate needs and the long-term resilience of the population, including by placing particular emphasis on empowering women in agriculture.
Ladies and gentlemen, women and youth play a key role in agriculture in West and Central Africa: from production, to processing, and marketing, to household food and nutrition. In sub-Saharan Africa, they comprise 66% of the workforce in the agriculture sector. But despite their crucial role in the sector, women have lower wages, limited access to land, finance and other productive resources, and societal barriers restrict their participation in high-value agricultural activities.
Distinguished participants, let me be very clear, women in Africa are strong farmers. UN Women research in sub-Saharan Africa shows that gender gaps in agricultural productivity do not arise because women are less efficient farmers than men but because they experience inequalities in access to inputs. Our research shows that they:
- Have less access to male family labor
- Have less cash income, translating into lower use of modern farm technologies
- Are less likely to grow high-value crops
- Face disadvantages in access to credit and land
- Have less time to do agricultural work as a result of unpaid care and social norms
Closing gender gaps in agriculture is essential for improving food security, economic growth and prosperity in the region. According to the FAO, providing women with equal access to resources could increase agricultural yields by 20–30%, boost national food production by up to 4%, and reduce malnutrition by 12–17%1.
Women’s empowerment is key to transforming agrifood systems. Women’s full and equal access to and control over productive resources and decision making is critical to drive sustainable agricultural development, food sovereignty and security, resilience, and position women at the forefront of agrifood transformation.
This is the reason why UN Women and its partners advocate for women-centric development strategies to power rural transformation in West and Central Africa. Since 2017, UN Women has been working to promote women’s economic empowerment and improve climate resilience through its flagship program ‘‘Women’s Empowerment through Climate-Resilient Agriculture Value Chains’. Combining support to women cooperatives and policy advocacy and reform to address the structural barriers limiting women’s participation in agriculture value chains: improving women’s access to land, finance, skills and technology for climate resilience, as well as women’s access to markets. More than 70,000 are at the centre of rural transformation and empowerment as part of this initiative.
Since 2022, acknowledging the importance of climate change in shaping outcomes in rural areas and the agricultural sector, UN Women, through the programme “Gender and Green Transition in West and Central Africa” has: i) supported women’s access to green jobs in sustainable energy, waste management, and other emerging areas of the green economy; ii) supported policy reforms in the gender – climate change – green transition nexus; and iii) supported innovation to improve women’s access to green finance.
Last year, we launched the West and Central Africa Taskforce of Feminist Economists as a critical tool to promote systemic change across the policy and service delivery levels and to transform the way in which public institutions work and deliver services for women and youth in rural areas. Our taskforce is supporting governments across the region to integrate gender in their National Development Contributions 3.0, ensuring that the priorities of rural women are addressed in national climate commitments and plans.
In 2026, UN Women and the Islamic Organization for Food Security, will partner with Ministries of Agriculture in West Africa to scale up high-impact strategies to improve food security through women and youth leadership in a number of value chains.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by thanking you all for your participation in the Africa Food Systems Forum, and by calling on us all to join forces to tackle the challenges that the world faces today with better coordination, stronger partnerships and a renewed commitment to gender equality to help us transform societies and economies into more just systems that deliver shared prosperity for all.
Thank you for your attention