“With the stakes so high for hunger, nutrition, climate change and economic growth, it is incumbent on all of us to ensure women have the access, agency and finance that will harness their potential, and transform agrifood systems for all, leaving nobody behind.”LORD COLLINS OF HIGHBURY
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa
[B5.1] The United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) commits to conducting an internal gender review.
Preliminary datasets of programmes and thematic indicators have been gathered. A cross-cutting review of this nature has not been conducted by FCDO to date.
Compile a set of recommendations that inform the development of future programmes and policies, and that help articulate results for the 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Addressing barriers to women within agrifood systems will contribute to a number of priorities of the United Kingdom. These include improving food security and nutrition outcomes, encouraging sustainable growth and employment, improving resilience to climate and other shocks, and ensuring women are able to secure better health and educational outcomes for themselves and their families.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) takes gender into consideration in all of its programming. It uses a system of internal markers to assess the extent to which this is a central priority, co-benefit or otherwise. The United Kingdom commits to undertaking a review of its portfolio, focusing on agriculture, nutrition, social protection, women’s empowerment, and disability inclusion programmes.
Conducting a portfolio review will:
The review will support FCDO efforts to increase data, research and evidence on gender equality and women’s empowerment in agrifood systems, and build efforts towards the 2026 International Year of the Women Farmer. The review will be shared across FCDO spending departments.
Required citation:
FAO. 2025. Commit to Grow Equality: investing in the future of women in agrifood systems – Progress report 2025. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd4123en
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