Giving Compass' Take:

• Dr. Mariame Maiga talks with Food Tank on her organization CORAF, which confronts gender bias in agriculture through reaching women with gender-smart and climate-smart technologies that help women with day-to-day labor and long-term business development in Africa. 

• How would the economy in Africa benefit from the untapped potential of women and their entrepreneurship? 

• Learn how women are key for a more sustainable food system. 

On “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg,” Dr. Mariame Maiga—Regional Gender and Social Development Advisor for the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF)—calls upon policymakers to examine the role gender plays in agricultural and sustainable development. “Unless we bridge the gender gap in the agricultural sector, to facilitate equitable access to agricultural production resources, we will not be able to meet [regional goals for food security],” says Maiga.

“This kind of challenge requires confrontation on a daily basis,” says Maiga. “The countries involved know that they need to deal with gender in any program or process because they need to think about how to address cultural challenges.” According to CORAF, women represent at least 62 percent of the active farming population in Africa. “We say that a minimum of 40 percent of women should benefit from CORAF projects,” says Maiga.

Read the full article and listen to the podcast on confronting gender bias in agriculture by Katherine Walla at Food Tank