Fresh insights from new research shaping Africa’s food systems, resilience, and economic development
Key Insight of the Week
Women’s empowerment is closely linked to how households produce food and achieve food security.
New evidence from Malawi shows that women’s empowerment indicators are associated not only with crop productivity, but also with food security and dietary diversity. The findings also reveal important differences across households, highlighting the need for more targeted approaches to strengthening women’s empowerment and agricultural outcomes.
Featured Report of the Week
Women’s empowerment, crop productivity, and food security: Nationally representative panel data analysis in Malawi by Catherine Ragasa
Women and men jointly manage most farms in Malawi, and joint management of plots has increased over time. These dynamics highlight the importance of looking beyond individual decision-making to understand how intrahousehold relationships and joint decision-making shape agricultural outcomes.
Using nationally representative panel household data, the study examines women’s empowerment alongside gender gaps in plot management, access to extension services and education, and technology awareness and adoption.
The findings show that 20% of rural women in the sample were not empowered. Lack of group membership and limited access to and control over financial resources were among the main contributors to disempowerment. Women’s education and access to extension services were significantly associated with greater empowerment.
Importantly, women’s empowerment indicators were also associated with differences in crop productivity, food security, and dietary diversity. The strength of these relationships varied across households: while the association between empowerment and crop productivity was similar across asset and age groups, the relationship with food security was weaker among households in the middle asset group than among the poorest and wealthiest households.
The findings point to the importance of understanding who benefits, under what conditions, and where support is most needed when designing policies and interventions that aim to strengthen women’s empowerment, agricultural productivity, and food security.
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Looking ahead: gender and inclusion in food, land and water systems in 2050 (OA)
Bryan, Elizabeth; Malapit, Hazel J.; Lopez Avila, Diana; Thurlow, James; Escalante, Luis Enrique
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Singaraju, Niyati; Jones-Garcia, Eliot; Magalhaes, Marilia; Grossi, Amanda; Chamberlin, Wendy; Martins, Carolina; Kumar, Drishti
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Elias, M.; Zaremba, Haley; Bohra, Babita; Gumucio, Tatiana; Kyle, Jordan; Najjar, Dina; Mapedza, Everisto D.
A comparative analysis of food consumption data from 24-h dietary recall and household consumption and expenditure surveys in Tanzania (OA; PR; ISI)
Sandalinas, Fanny; Goto, Rie; Bliznashka, Lilia; Azupogo, Fusta; Osman, Mohammed; Kinabo, Joyce; Olney, Deanna K.; et al.
Food and Nutrition Bulletin. First published online on September 28, 2026
Perceptions, quality, and uncertainty in Ghanaian fertiliser markets(PR; ISI)
Asante, Seth; Andam, Kwaw S.; Simons, Andrew M.
Journal of Development Studies. First published online on September 14, 2026
Assessing the local economy-wide impacts of an anchor enterprise in rural Malawi: Evidence from Tropha Estates’ 2025 operations in TA Mtwalo (OA)
Kagin, Justin D.; Taylor, J. Edward
IFPRI Project Note
Beyond direct benefits: Anchor enterprise models and local economic development in Malawi (OA)
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MaSSP Policy Note
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Evidence for Africa highlights every week recent IFPRI research and insights relevant to the continent’s food systems, economic development, and policy priorities.
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