The Role of Gender in the Energy and Agriculture Nexus

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Access to improved energy services can alter women’s social, economic and political status — reducing the time and effort involved in household activities, providing better health and educational conditions, enhancing income-generating opportunities, and facilitating their participation in public affairs. The integration of gender issues is thus vital for energy projects in developing and emerging countries. With view to the agriculture and energy nexus, the role gender plays is rather complex, as it concerns (1) the role of gender in agriculture/agricultural value chains (especially in the food processing stage), (2) the role of gender in energy poverty, and (3) the role of gender in energy projects. This implies that the role gender plays in the agriculture and energy nexus cannot be restricted to a single sustainable energy technology, a single value chain or region. Therefore, this article will look at above named aspects, while remaining at an abstract level.

 

Gender and Agriculture

Agriculture plays a large role for economic development in developing countries, yet agriculture is also very energy intensive (see: Energy within Food and Agricultural Value Chains). Up to 70 % of the labor force in developing countries works in agriculture, and women make up the majority of agricultural laborers.[8]  Gender inequalities are, however, widespread, especially with view to land distribution, access to credits and access to agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilizer, and reduce agricultural productivity and efficiency.[9] Women also fare worse in the adoption of agricultural technologies [10], although, according to the International Center for Research on Women, enhancing women’s access to vital agricultural inputs that require intensive use of energy, such as irrigation technologies can substantially boost their agricultural productivity and incomes.

See also: World Bank Sourcebook, 2008. Gender in Agriculture

Gender and Food Processing Enterprises

Furthermore, the majority of informal sector enterprises in developing countries are owned and operated by women, with women making up the largest proportion of the work force. Their enterprises tend to be concentrated in a relatively narrow range of activities, are often very energy intensive, yet rely on biomass fuels and have disproportionately low rates of return compared to the activities undertaken by men. Also men dominate those income activities that are more value adding and require more advanced equipment, such as energy technologies. In food processing enterprises it has been estimated that energy costs are 20 - 25% of the total inputs, which would suggest that technological interventions could increase the scale and profitability of these businesses.[7]

See also: Productive Use of Energy for Rural Development and Energy in Agricultural Processing

 

Energy Poverty and Rural Development

Expanded energy sources are necessary to provide: mechanical power for agriculture, food processing, water pumping and irrigation; modern fuels for cooking and heating; electricity for lighting, refrigeration, communications, commercial enterprises and community services in rural areas. Without access to efficient and affordable energy sources, rural communities have thus very limited opportunities for economic and social development.[8] Access to Modern Energy is however problematic in most developing countries. According to the estimates of the International Energy Agency (IEA), 2.6 billion people around the world currently rely on traditional uses of energy to cover their basic energy needs. This figure is expected to rise to 2.7 billion by 2030.[2] Over 80 % of these people live in the rural areas of Africa and Asia.

See also: Energy Poverty


Gender Issues and Energy Poverty

This lack of access to energy is experienced very differently by men and women in developing countries. The energy sector continues to be dominated by men, especially at decision making levels. Households headed by women are particularly disadvantaged, which constrains women’s energy access as well.[3] Poor women in rural areas generally have a more difficult time compared to men, due to their traditional socio-cultural roles. They often spend long hours collecting fuel wood and the time and labour spent in this way limits their ability to engage in other productive and income-generating activities. Their health suffers from hauling heavy loads of fuel and water, and from cooking over smoky fires. Their opportunities for education and income generation are limited by lack of modern energy services, and as a result their families and communities are likely to remain trapped in poverty.[4]  

 


Gender and Energy Projects

Although "gender inequality persists at every level of the energy sector, gender sensitive energy projects and research are still the exception rather than the rule” [7].

Women in rural areas face particular obstacles in accessing renewable energy technologies due to their relatively high poverty levels, lower access to credit (due to low access to land and other resources that could serve as collateral), lower literacy rates and less access to information.[5] According to the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy (WISIONS), lessons learned from their projects (SEPS) show that gender can influence the sustainability of a project, the technological choice, the use patterns and the decision-making. While they find that about 47% of project designs addressed gender issues less than fairly, the choice of technology had no significant influence on how far gender-related concerns were considered as part of the project concepts. Furthermore, while projects where implemented in over 40 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle-East, no concerning differences could be found between those regions. Projects in Latin America had, however, a slightly more gender-sensitive design. Yet, it has also been demonstrated that integrating gender issues i.e. women’s needs as a key variable in energy projects makes it more likely that energy will have a substantial impact on household and community poverty and on gender equality. Thus where energy interventions address women’s equal participation, the potential for benefits is much higher for all.[6]  

See: The Role of Gender Concerns in the Planning of Small Scale Energy Projects (WISIONS)


Gender and the Agriculture and Energy Nexus

In their article “Energy and Agricultural Technologies for Women’s Economic Advancement” the International Center for Research on Women (2012) states that engaging women in the development and distribution of a (renewable energy based) agricultural technology, which in turn enables their access and use of the technology, generates a positive chain reaction with extensive outcomes. This process unlocks two key pathways to economic progress for women by; 1) enhancing women’s productivity in existing economic activities, and 2) by creating new economic opportunities for women. For example, technology that irrigates arable land (e.g. Solar Powered Irrigation Systems) can improve crop yield and reduce the amount of time women must spend collecting water. To this end, female-headed households in Ethiopia increased their net incomes on average by US$268, or about 18 % by using treadle irrigation pumps.[11]

See also: Energy and Agriculture Nexus Projects

 


 Further Information

 For more information see:

 

[1] ENERGY AND GENDER ISSUESIN RURAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Yianna Lambrou and Grazia Piana. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006.

[2] IEA, 2011.

[3] UNDP 2012.

[4] UNDP 2001.

[5] Gender Briefing Notes: Supporting active inclusion of women in energy and development projects.

[6] ENERGIA/DFID, 2006.

[7] Cecelski, Elizabeth. 2004. Conceptual Review. Re-thinking Gender and Energy: Old

and New Directions. ENERGIA/EASE Discussion Paper.

[8] Clancy, J. S., Skutsch, M., & Batchelor, S. (2002). The Gender-Energy-Poverty Nexus: Finding the energy to address gender concerns in development.

[9] World Bank, FAO and IFAD. (2009). Gender in agriculture sourcebook. The World Bank: Washington, D.C.

[10] World Bank, FAO and IFAD. (2009). Gender in agriculture sourcebook. The World Bank: Washington, D.C.

[11] Peterman, A., Quisumbing, A., Behrman, J. and Nkonya, E. (2010). Understanding gender differences in agricultural

productivity in Uganda and Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 01003.

[12] The International Center for Research on Women 2012: Energy and Agricultural Technologies for Women’s Economic Advancement

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