Although women represent a significant share of the agricultural workforce in some low-income regions (and a growing force in regions where agriculture has become increasingly feminized), they often have little or no voice in water user associations, lack the same access as men to extension and productivity services, and have both smaller and less irrigated land plots than men have. The aggregate impact of these gaps is evidenced in crop yields, nutrition, and income.
The Bank is taking an evidence-based approach to close these gaps. In FY23, Bank projects contributed to adoption of improved agricultural technology by 2.79 million farmers, of whom 1.13 million are female. A recent portfolio analysis of Bank irrigation projects revealed that 69 percent of projects approved between FY12 and FY21 had gender indicators and that of these projects, 10 percent included gender indicators focused on women’s leadership and decision-making in water user associations and other community-level irrigation institutions. In addition, numerous Bank operations embedded more holistic approaches to enhancing women’s voices.
For example, the operations changed eligibility rules for water user associations so that women without land titles could join, and they started to track extension services for and target these services to female farmers. One example of the continuation of this work is reflected in the Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation, and Land Project, which was approved in FY23 and which targets smallholder farmers. To address several gender gaps, the project provides matching grants for women landowners to pay for irrigation technology, supplies irrigation technology preferred by women, and supports demonstration activities that target the land plots of women farmers. The project conducts gender-disaggregated tracking to monitor whether female farmers are reached through these various efforts and whether their land plot sizes are increasing.
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