This brief, jointly developed by the FAO Regional Office for Africa and the FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa, aims to trigger a critical reflection on the concept of inclusive agribusiness and propose a new definition that highlights the importance of considering gender equality and women’s empowerment as an integral component of agribusiness development. Despite the overall ambition to make agricultural development and rural transformation more equitable, many of those concerned remain systematically marginalized and are therefore unable to seize opportunities arising from value chain and agribusiness development. Women, and rural women in particular, are among those who risk being left behind. Many examples of gender-based inequality and discrimination persist both in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and in the NENA region, preventing rural women from fully participating in, contributing to and benefiting from agribusiness development. However, these inequalities, and the solutions to address them, often remain overlooked in national and regional agribusiness policies, strategies and programmes.
By proposing a new definition of inclusive and gender-responsive businesses, and outlining their main features with concrete examples, this paper aims to help fill the gap and support future initiatives undertaken by FAO and other partners in SSA and across the NENA region.
Required citation: FAO. 2023. Inclusive is not enough – Agrifood value chains need gender-responsive business development. Accra. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc4481en
